Tagalog: U.S. - Philippines Conflict Resolution Game for AP Students Created by Ruth Paget
Objective:
As of May 7, 2023, the Philippines has a new president and is carrying out military operations with the United States.
Find out who the president is and set up a timeline for how relations were restored since 2018.
Prior Game:
Re-establish
ally status with the Philippines on a firmer basis than prior agreements to
contain nuclear weapons transit to the Western Pacific by China (PRC).
Historical Background:
According
to the New York Times (October 16, 2018
– Malcolm Cook), the government of China has nuclear-armed submarines in
operation in the South China Sea.
If
these nuclear-armed submarines travel through the Luzon Strait between the
Philippines and Taiwan to the West Pacific, missiles on these submarines could
be within striking distance of the continental United States.
(For
Mr. Cook’s article, click the following:
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/10/18/can-the-us-philippine-alliance-survive-duterte/the-us-needs-the-philippines-for-its-strategic-location)
A
U.S. Department of State Bilateral Fact Sheet on the Philippines dated January
31, 2020 lists many long-standing trade, diplomatic, and military agreements
between our two countries yet tensions remain.
(For
the U.S. Department of State Fact Sheet, click the following:
To
think of ways to improve relations between our two countries, go through the
levels below until you reach the conflict resolution games.
Divide your group into two groups
Group 1 will do Tasks 1 - 4
Group 2 will do Tasks 5 - 8
Groups 1 and Group 2 will meet separately to do Task 9.
Groups will meet together to do Task 10.
Task 1: Country
Profile
-Locate
the Philippines on a map and note surrounding countries and seas.
-What
is the name of the capital city?
-What
is the name of the president of the Philippines?
-How
many islands make up the Philippines?
-What
is the dominant religion of the Philippines?
-What
is the major religion of Mindanao Island?
How did Mindanao come to practice this religion?
Task 2: National Language: Tagalog
-What
are the characteristics of Tagalog?
-Does
Tagalog have dialects on the different islands of the Philippines?
Task 3: Ethnic Groups
-What
are the major ethnic groups that make up the Philippines? Resources for answers might include
encyclopedias and the online CIA Factbook.
Task 4: Colonial
Status
-What
ruler was the Philippines named for?
-What
countries have been colonizers of the Philippines?
-When
did the Philippines gain its independence?
Task 5: Filipino Food
-Learn
about Filipino food to identify foreign and indigenous influences as well as to
learn about the country’s food system:
Suggested
cookbooks:
-7000 Islands: A Food Portrait of the Philippines by Yasmin Newman
-The Philippines Cookbook by Alejandro
Reynaldo
-Is
the Philippines self-sufficient in food?
-What
efforts have been made towards self-sufficiency in food by the Philippines?
Task 6: Glimpses into Filipino Culture
-Watch
the film The Debut by Gene Cajayon
about Filipino-American youth culture.
-Watch
Parts Unknown: Philippines by
Anthony Bourdain
Task 7: Possible
Improvements for Filipino Quality of Life
-What
material resources do Filipinos need to improve their quality of life? Ask Filipinos, if possible.
-Could
the U.S. provide these resources to the Philippines?
Task 8: Possible
Improvements to American Quality of Life
-Are there resources in
the Philippines that Americans could buy to improve our quality of life?
Task 9: Try Some Filipino Food
-Go
to a Filipino restaurant in your neighborhood and try chicken or pork adobo
(stew made with vinegar) and halo-halo (a Filipino sundae)
-Try
making these items at home if you do not have Filipino restaurants in your
neighborhood
-Discuss what you have learned in tasks 1 - 8. Make notes and a formal record if you would like.
-Discuss what you have learned in tasks 1 - 8. Make notes and a formal record if you would like.
Task 10: Do a Mock
Conflict Resolution Game
-Round 1
Group 1 will represent the Philippines and Group 2 will represent the United States.
Even if you do not want to represent the country your group is in, try to learn another point of view in Round 1 to help you in Round 2.
Design a conflict resolution sheet that covers:
-U.S. view of the conflict (use State Department resources and media sources that other participants can look up via hyperlinks)
-Filipino view of the conflict (use Filipino governmental resources and media sources that other participants can look up via hyperlinks)
-U.S. needs for products and services
-Filipino needs for products and services
Relations between the United States and the Philippines are at an impasse as of March 3, 2020. Trade between our two countries may create an atmosphere for friendly diplomatic relations to resume.
Both of our countries have rural areas that need the following services that could be used to re-establish friendly diplomatic relations:
-medical services
-dental services
-pharmacies
-bookstores and libraries
-bookmobiles
-delivery services
-recycling centers
-public health workers
-cultural event workers
-teachers
List areas where the two countries have products and services the other might need and come up with two areas where exchanges could happen to help promote the well-being of citizens in both countries.
-Round 2
Have the groups represent the country the country they did not represent in round 1 and redo this exercise to try and find two different areas of cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines.
(Note: The Philippines trains many nurses that work
for international clients.)
Homework: Do the tasks that were not assigned to your group.
Tagalog
Game Created by Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
