PHILIPPINE POLEMICS
by: Paulyn Navarette
There are many controversies regarding the
history of the Philippines. Despite the information that was stated by history, there were actually more than what the Filipino society had
accepted. One of the many hullabaloos in
Philippine history which played most of the
minds of the society is the Wave of Migration
theory, which was proposed by Henry Otley
Beyer. Basically, this theory states that the Filipinos originated from different migrants that
arrived in the Philippines through the use of
land bridges. There were different groups of
migrants that came in the country namely the
Negritos (or Aetas), the Indonesians, and the
Malays. Each group had distinct characteristics and contributions to the society of the Philippines in terms of culture and livelihood before it was colonized.
Because of such, it is impossible to prove that
those groups
of people definitely lived in the Philippines.
The only bones that have been dug up of the
early settlers of the Philippines are those of
the Tabon man in Palawan and the Callao
fossil in Cagayan.
However, saying that the Filipinos today originated from those particular groups of migrants is incorrect. There is insufficient evidence to support Beyer’s claims that the Filipinos came from those races. In addition, there
were no bones that have been dug up in order to support the claims that those types of
people were really present in the country, and
if ever there would be bones that actually exist, how could those bones show the physical
and cultural traits of a person?
Based from the effects of the Wave of Migration theory, it is a hypothesis which is unsuitable to be continued on because of its inaccuracy. In addition, it is not appropriate to be
taught in history and social science subjects
and to be printed at the books at school
which can lead to the confusion of the students.
The theory that is more accepted in explaining the origin of the Filipinos is the Austronesian Hypothesis which states that the Filipinos
are from the Brown race. It is evident in the
precolonial Philippine society th