3 Ways Filipinos Learn to Let Go of Invasion and Colonization Trauma

Filipinos have walked through centuries of struggle — invaded, colonized, betrayed, and tested — and yet here we stand: resilient, faithful, creative, and full of unexhausted potential. But let’s be honest… the past hasn’t left us untouched. It left marks in our memory, in our culture, and even in the way we think about leadership, foreign nations, and our own capabilities.

And here’s the big truth we rarely talk about:

Many of the fears, limitations, and doubts we carry today are not originally ours. They were inherited. Handed down. Passed on. Taught to us by parents, teachers, stories in school, and the traumatic echoes of history.

Yet healing is possible. Growth is possible. And most of all—transformation is possible.

In this long-form piece, let’s look at how the Filipino psyche has been shaped by history, how that affects our future, and what it takes to finally let go and rise as a nation ready for visionary leadership.

Let’s begin.

The Weight We Inherited: A Quiet Trauma We Never Chose

How does trauma rooted in colonization survive hundreds of years?

Simple: through knowledge, stories, and memory.

You cannot erase the Spanish friars’ cruelty by forgetting. You cannot remove the Japanese invasion from the collective consciousness because every Filipino family has at least one ancestor who lived through it. Even if a person never experienced these horrors directly, the stories passed down carry emotional weight.

Many Filipinos today — leaders, professionals, young people—carry subconscious fears and distrust, not because they are weak, but because their minds were shaped by narratives of oppression, invasion, betrayal, and survival.

This is why some leaders hesitate to trust other nations.

Why foreign investors sometimes intimidate us.

Why our people second-guess themselves and fear that progress will make us targets again.

But we must also be honest:

Much of this fear is inherited, not experienced.

And what we inherit, we can also release.

Before Healing Begins: The Benefits of Letting Go

If Filipinos—especially those in leadership positions—fully heal from historical trauma, three things become possible:

1. Leaders become clearer, bolder, and more visionary.

A leader free from trauma can think long-term.

Can plan without fear.

Can serve without insecurity.

Can dream without looking over their shoulder.

2. Families thrive under leaders who think with hope rather than fear.

A healed leader sees the future differently—less panic, more possibility. This influences their family, their work, and the nation.

3. You become someone God can entrust with greater responsibility.

Just like David in the Bible—courageous, trusting, and aligned with God’s purpose—a healed Filipino leader becomes a vessel for transformation.

Healing is not only psychological; it is spiritual.

Healing is not only personal; it is national.

Story 1: The Death March in Bataan – The Wound That Scarred a Nation

If we want to understand Filipino trauma, we cannot ignore the horrors of the Bataan Death March.

Historical accounts tell us:

• 65,000 Filipino soldiers and

• 10,000 American soldiers

  
  

were forced to walk 100 kilometers under scorching heat—hungry, thirsty, sick with malaria, beaten, tortured, and often killed if they collapsed.

An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Filipinos and 600 to 650 Americans died.

My own father, who joined a guerilla unit, was once shot by Japanese soldiers.

He survived—but not without scars.

He also witnessed fellow Filipinos betraying one another just to survive.

Imagine the emotional imprint that leaves on a young mind.

Imagine the distrust that grows.

Imagine how that distrust quietly becomes part of the Filipino subconscious for generations.

But here’s a truth rarely acknowledged:

The betrayal during war was not born out of evil — it was survival.

And if betrayal was survival, then we have no reason to distrust one another today, especially in government and leadership. That distrust is a trauma, not a truth.

Story 2: Hiroshima and Nagasaki – A Different Kind of Pain

Another trauma we inherited is the fear of global power.

When the atomic bombs were dropped:

• Hiroshima was 80% destroyed in seconds.

• Nagasaki followed three days later.

• Survivors suffered cancer and thyroid diseases for years.

• A Japanese survivor (whose name you can insert for accuracy later) spent her entire life campaigning against nuclear weapons.

  
  

This story matters to Filipinos because:

It taught us to fear global conflict.

It taught us to fear powerful nations.

It taught us to avoid ambition that might attract danger.

This is trauma—not logic.

This is memory—not destiny.

Why Filipinos Struggle to Bounce Back

Here’s an unexpected insight:

We fear nature more than we fear foreign nations.

Typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions—these shape our thinking more than colonization does.But historians often frame our “national trauma” through colonization.

The truth?

We fear a future we cannot predict.

We fear being attacked again.

We fear our prosperity being taken away.

And this fear affects:

• leadership decisions

• national policies

• economic strategies

• foreign relations

• even the willingness of young Filipinos to dream boldly

  
  

Fear has silently shaped our culture.

Why Filipinos Chose the Wrong Form of Government

Every government choice reflects a mindset.

Ours reflects fear.

Fear of foreign influence.

Fear of repeating history.

Fear of allowing leaders to be powerful.

Fear of giving institutions too much authority.

So we adopted a form of government that feels “safe,” not strategic.

But good governance is not about safety —

it is about effectiveness.

“Only in the Philippines!” – A Phrase Rooted in Hidden Hurt

When Filipinos laugh at their own dysfunction and say, “Only in the Philippines!” it is not humor—it is pain.

It's a coping mechanism.

A shield.

A way of saying, “We know something is wrong… but we don’t know how to fix it.”

This phrase covers:

• inferiority

• unprocessed trauma

• embarrassment

• fear of repeating the past

• fear of confronting our history

  
  

This phrase keeps us small.

It keeps us stuck.

It keeps us from dreaming bigger.

Why Some Filipino Leaders Struggle With Vision

Even the most educated Filipinos—lawyers, judges, professionals—can act smaller than their training suggests when it comes to governance.

Not because they lack intelligence.

But because trauma teaches survival, not innovation.

Survival-thinking says:

• “Don’t rock the boat.”

• “Stay small.”

• “Don’t provoke foreign powers.”

• “Don’t aim too high.”

  
  

Vision-thinking says:

• “Innovate.”

• “Rise.”

• “Compete.”

• “Transform.”

• “Lead.”

  
  

Survival-thinking is inherited.

Vision-thinking is chosen.

Repeated Colonization and the Filipino Psyche

Let’s look at the historical timeline again to understand why other nations recovered faster:

• Spain colonized us for 333 years, but India was colonized for 456 years.

• Britain ruled us for less than 2 years, but America was under Britain for 176 years, and Singapore for 144 years.

• America colonized the Philippines for 48 years, but Belgium was under Spain for 158 years.

• Japan invaded the Philippines for 3 years, but Korea was under Japan for 35 years.

  
  

Almost every nation suffered similar or worse trauma.Yet many have moved forward—some even faster than us.

And here is the painful insight:

We processed the trauma slower.

We internalized it deeper.

We associated colonization with identity rather than experience.

But that can change.

Healing Step 1: Understanding the Psychology of Trauma

Psychology teaches us that trauma affects:

• decision-making

• self-worth

• risk-taking

• leadership ability

• perception of others

• trust

  
  

Ziegler (2002) explains that trauma can alter the brain’s developmental processes—this applies to adults and children alike. And according to studies on bullying, witnessing abuse without acting creates cognitive dissonance, emotional discomfort, and long-term fear.

Colonization was bullying on a national scale.Filipinos were not just victims—they were also bystanders to each other’s suffering.

This creates a collective memory that shapes the present.

Healing Step 2: Embracing the Spiritual Dimension

Psychology heals the mind.

Spirituality heals the heart.

Both are necessary.

Christianity brings the message of renewal, forgiveness, courage, and purpose.Jesus Himself said, “I came that you may have life, and have it to the full.”He encourages prosperity—not for greed, but for the good of others.

Through faith, Filipinos gain:

• stability

• clarity

• inner peace

• hope

• the courage to rebuild

• the strength to forgive

  
  

And forgiveness is the key.Forgiveness is freedom.

Healing Step 3: Seeing Ourselves Through a Global Lens

We often admire non-Christian nations like Japan, China, and Singapore for their discipline, innovation, and progress. Yet we forget that many of the world’s most advanced nations are Christian:

• England

• Denmark

• Sweden

• New Zealand

• Australia

• United States

• Ireland

• Several European nations

  
  

Spirituality and progress are not opposites.They can coexist—beautifully and powerfully.

Even South Korea and Ireland rose from poverty to prosperity while respecting their unique spiritual and cultural identities.

And the Philippines, being a Christian nation, has even more reason to rise.

Why Filipinos Must Finally Heal

If we want to move forward as a nation:

We must resolve historical pain.

We must see colonization not as identity but as experience.

We must use history not to limit us but to strengthen us.

We must let God renew both our minds and our hearts.

We must stop thinking like victims and start thinking like creators, innovators, and leaders.

Look at the world today:

• 35 nations are collaborating to build the Tokamak in France—an energy machine hotter than the sun’s core.

• Space exploration is now a shared global mission.

• Powerful countries are more focused on discovery than domination.

  
  

Conquest is outdated.

Innovation is the new frontier.

There is no reason to fear being colonized again.

There is every reason to claim our future.

Conclusion: Independence Is Not About Separation—It Is About Imagination

Past leaders taught us that independence meant breaking away from others.

But true independence is the freedom to innovate, collaborate, and grow without fear.

It is independence from:

• limiting beliefs

• inherited fear

• historical pain

• over-cautious thinking

• distrust of foreigners

• distrust of ourselves

  
  

It is independence for:

• creativity

• innovation

• prosperity

• international collaboration

• leadership

• a renewed Filipino identity

  
  

Filipinos deserve healing.

Filipinos deserve progress.

Filipinos deserve a future led by visionary, confident, spiritually grounded leaders.

Let us rise together—from trauma to transformation—

and build a Philippines that the New Generation of Leaders will proudly inherit.