The Right Word

THE PHILLIPINES

Last week, on the eve of the Philippine Republic's 10th Independence Day (July 4), Defense Under Secretary Jose Cristol, a former schoolteacher, offered a good-natured code of behavior for Americans toward his country.

To U.S. military advisers: Don't "inspect" our operations, "observe" them.

To economic advisers: Don't "approve'' a project, "concur" in it.

To tourists: Don't call us "Asiatics," because we are "Asians"; don't call us "natives," because we are "Filipinos."

To historians: Don't say Magellan "discovered" us, say he "visited" us. Don't call the Philippine-American war an "insurrection," and don't call the patriots who fought it "bandits."

To Congressmen: Don't "give" aid, "offer" it.

To Americans in general: Don't talk to us about the "strength" of the U.S., talk to us about "heart."

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