The Philippines is a colonized country. There are debates in the term post-colonial, but we know that in a literal sense, post- colonial is that which has been after colonization. In practice, and when it is used, it seems to be very unclear and because it is broadly used. Some however says that this term means independence as well, independence after the colonizers. In here, we can debate whether it is true that the Philippines could belong to the post-colonial period.

It seems that the country is not that independent, still under the power of big and powerful countries. There are writings about our history, the most famous perhaps are the works of our national hero, Jose Rizal that addresses matters of the Filipino identity, gender, race, and ethnicity. Also, some of the modern writers are challenged to develop a post-colonial national identity through their writings.

However, the national identity that the Filipinos are trying to have is not that achievable because of the almost four hundred years of colonization of the Spaniards and then the Americans, then the Japanese. We cannot just turn away from these colonizers even though, according to historians, they abused our country. Some of us are westernize even if the Philippines experienced the so-called Independence day long time ago, because almost everyone loves their culture and even their language.

Post-colonial critics are concerned with literature produced by colonial powers and works produced by those who were colonized. It is very interesting to know what the colonized countries view about their colonizers, like the Philippines, wherein they tend to reclaim and maintain the connections with the colonizers. Post-colonial theory looks at the topic of politics, religion, power, economics, and culture and how these things work in relation to colonial form of government.

In the Philippines, we are shaped by our colonizers, we cannot do something about this. English is a common language used and Spanish or Japanese are taught in schools openly. Even in literature, one cannot stray from using the English language, it is the only language that can be used for world transactions. Also, most of us are descendants of these colonizers and our outer appearance cannot deny that.