[Feature Article] Mental Maps of the Philippines

by David Jonathan Cruz Garcia

Each of us has different visions of the same place. All of the images above depict the Philippine archipelago but each doodle shows our islands in a quite different way. This is what students of the University of the Philippines Geography 1 classes came up with - an amalgam of map showing what the Philippine Islands are - in different minds.

Islands were drawn in rather unique ways - fatter, thinner, bigger, smaller - different from what are seen in maps bought from our local bookstores. Some islands were missing while there were additional big islands in some. Such comparison is possible because each of the maps was drawn onto an A4-size paper. The doodled maps were then put together in one file using an image-processing software, thus creating the possibility of comparing the oddities in the maps above. The highlighted maps are the more interesting ones.

Let’s look at some of these maps…

The student who drew this map probably 

got the highest grade in class.

Mindanao is now a group of islands.

Political turmoil has caused a break up 

of the Philippine territory.

There were added islands as well as missing ones.  In a number of the doodles, the lucky islands that were remembered were displaced - or merged with others.

We have successfully annexed Sabah?

The national disaster office regrettably 
announces  that the Bicol region 
was washed away by a 
supertyphoon.

We lost 7,103 islands.

It is now 13,477,021 A.D. 

There is only one plausible reason for the merging of Mindanao and Bicol - plate tectonics. 

Ice age has caused the sea level to decline 
and exposed 

the Philippine archipelagic seafloor. 
















The Philippine version of Pangaea.

Such mental maps are products of our perceptions. While the world may be "out there," our approximations of it are never complete and therefore our conclusions about it are never final and comprehensive. The maps inside our minds are living pictures of the places we have known. These living pictures change as we age and unravel as we travel. But since only a few can go and see every corner of the archipelago, it is highly possible that our mental maps of our country, no matter how much expertise we gain from cradle to the grave, will never be complete.

What salient reminders could we learn from the fact we know less of our geographic realities? Maybe we need to brush up and investigate our geography in our schools. Or maybe we should always think that as individuals we actually know less of this group of islands we live in. We fervently talk about the state of our territory and its people in forums and social networking sites. We speak in class, chat in workplaces, and persuade in coffee shops about the solutions that need to be done to make our everyday living equitable for all. But how much do we really know about our group of islands; more so about how to improve it?

What salient reminders could we learn from the fact that we know less of our geographic realities? Maybe we need to brush up and investigate our Geography in our schools. Or maybe we should always think that as individuals we actually know less of this group of islands we live in. We fervently talk about the state of our territory and its people in forums and social networking sites. We speak in class, chat in workplaces, and persuade in coffee shops about the solutions that need to be done to make our everyday living fair for all. But how much do we really know about our group of islands to actually help in advancing our social conditions?

                             

"Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious…" - Michael Stipe

Mr. David Jonathan C. Garcia is a faculty member of the Department of Geography. He graduated BS Geography and is currently working towards a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning (MAURP).  He is dedicating this article to his students in Geog 1 classes, 1^st Semester, 2011-2012, who were the actual ones that drew the "doodles." 


To all faculty and students: if you think you have an article/essay that is an interesting read and that talks about anything and everything about Geography, we invite you to submit them to up.geography@yahoo.com.  Write one now and be read!