Filipinos React: Should the Philippines Become the 51st State?

Pea takes to the streets of the Philippines to ask random citizens a purely hypothetical question: if America invited the Philippines to become the 51st state, would you vote yes or no? The responses reveal a sharp generational divide, with older adults favoring the idea for economic and practical reasons while younger Filipinos push back hard on cultural grounds. Pea emphasizes upfront that this is entirely hypothetical with no real political movement behind it.

Pea sets up the premise clearly as a hypothetical street interview — there is no actual talk of the Philippines joining the US, but she wants to see how everyday Filipinos react to the idea ​

• She's standing in what appears to be a public area interviewing a mix of ages and backgrounds

First respondent (Mr. Joey) votes YES enthusiastically ​

• His main argument: the Philippines would share in America's wealth and power
• He acknowledges Filipinos would be unique as a non-English-speaking state but frames that as a strength — "very hardworking people, very intelligent people, we can make a difference"
• He coins the merged name "Philippines USA" or "USA Philippines USA"
• Pea jokes about his use of "pusa" (Filipino word for kitty cat), quipping she doesn't think Americans want to be known as "a nation of pusas"

Several respondents vote NO, with detailed reasoning: ​

• One woman argues the Philippines is a free country and it's important to honor the sacrifices made for independence — she emphasizes cultural incompatibility, saying American beliefs and rituals don't apply in the Philippines and becoming a state would change the cultural landscape dramatically
• One respondent simply says the Philippines is "full of drugs" and would only join "by divine intervention"
• A younger man gives the most detailed NO argument: he cites abuses from existing US military bases in the Philippines as evidence of what would happen at scale; argues the US withdrawal from the WHO would be detrimental to the Philippines economically; warns that adopting the US dollar would cause goods prices to spike and overall quality of life to decline; says stock markets and currencies would be negatively affected
• Another respondent argues Americans and Filipinos have fundamentally different cultural values — Filipinos are family-oriented in a way that doesn't align with American values; politically, the Philippines would lose independence and be subject to American laws and governance on Filipino territory; warns of wholesale adoption of "American thinking" and norms
• A woman frames it through Filipino nationalism — Filipinos are taught to embrace their own traditions and values, and the country fought for independence from American colonization for a reason; says "we value the unique and distinct characteristic as a Filipino" and the cultures simply can't merge as one
• She does concede the US as a superpower could alleviate economic problems and bring globalization benefits, but still sees cultural deviation as too high a cost

Several respondents vote YES, also with specific reasoning: ​

• One young man argues the Philippines is deeply in debt, so joining the US would bring financial support and funding; believes the Philippines would become "revolutionized" and upgraded in technology and research
• One respondent says it would make the Philippines "more improved and more united" but cautions people need to "think critically before making decision"
• A self-described "pro-US" voter says yes because: the economy would improve, Filipinos could travel to the US without a visa, imported goods would be more accessible, and infrastructure projects like flood control would improve

Pea's observations on the pattern she noticed: ​

• Older adults tended to favor becoming the 51st state for practical reasons — security, economic growth, infrastructure
• Younger respondents mostly opposed it, primarily to protect Filipino culture and identity
• She acknowledges the tiny sample size makes this "statistically meaningless" but finds the generational divide interesting

Pea warns viewers about inevitable troll bots in the comments, referencing a previous video where she asked Filipinos which country the Philippines should ally with that attracted similar bot activity ​

• Asks people to keep comments polite and warns rage bait will be deleted

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