A COUNTRY OF SERVANTS … BUT WHO'S TO BLAME?

Sometime in the end of March, 2009, the Philippine government protested against an article written by a certain China man  by the name of Chip Tsao, a Hong Kong-based journalist. He wrote that the Philippines do not have any right to fight against their ‘masters’, the Chinese, especially in the claim for the Spratly Islands or the Freedom Islands.

            The ire resulted to the protest by Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.  The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also supported their protest.  As a result, the article in the internet was erased.  The author, the editor and the publisher were asked

to apologize.

            But, at first,   they did not apologize.  He even wrote a rejoinder stating that the Philippines did not understand what he wrote. He tried to make us appear that we can not understand his simple article. He did not know that English is the second language of the Filipinos.  It was like adding salt to the injury.  He was declared ‘persona non grata’ or undesirable person.  He was also banned entry in the Philippines.

            But, Chip Tsao went to the Philippine Consulate and publicly apologized.  There were Filipino migrant workers there.  It was a formal gathering with Chip Tsao  and the Consul General on the stage.  The Filipinos were civil.  His request for apology was granted. He even bowed in front of the Filipinos as a sign of his remorse.  Malacanyang also accepted his request for apology.

            It is, however, my opinion that before accepting his request for apology, they should have asked him to explain why he wrote the article calling the Philippines as a ‘country of servants’.

            IF THE PHILIPPINES IS REALLY A COUNTRY OF SERVANTS, WHOSE FAULT IS IT?

            My opinion is that both the Chinese journalist in Hong Kong and the Filipinos were at fault. Chip Tsa was right and the Filipinos were only hurt. Consider this...

            1).During the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, a certain President                 of a maritime school (whose name I forgot) discovered a group of islands                   north of Palawan.  He called it Freedom Islands. The islands would disappear during high tide and surfaced during low tide.  He recommended sovereignty over the islands by the Philippines. But, many did not consider him seriously.  Some even regarded him as ‘mentally imbalanced’.  He was even called ‘the Commodore’ as a matter of joke.

                The islands are now claimed in part or in whole by Vietnam; China and the          Philippines. It was thought that the islands are rich with oil deposit.

           2). Again, during the regime of former President Marcis, he discouraged our             countrymen to work abroad. But, we did not listen. What was in our mind were             the abuses, especially the Armed Forces, during his term.

He even coined the term, ‘brain drain’. He wanted the talent of the Filipinos             to be used in the Philippines.  There were highly educated Filipinos like doctors,              Engineers; teachers; nurses and many others, all wanted to work abroad.

Today, only parts of the Spratly Islands are occupied by the Philippine              Government, with its local unit (the barangay) with its tanod of barangay police.               The governments of China and Vietnam showed their might by sending war                Ships to the area. They even built barracks on certain islands. If only we listened to the ‘commodore’.

3). But, former President Marcos was banished to Hawaii until his death. It’s a bloodless revolution.  Many claimed heroism. He was replaced by a series of                  presidents (men and women). His successors included former President Corazon Aquino (now deceased); former President Fidel V. Ramos; former President Joseph Estrada and nor President Gloria M. Arroyo.

But, even after the regime of Marcos, Aguino, Ramos, Estrada and now                  Arroyo, the culture of corruption among Filipinos remained.

Many Filipinos graduated in colleges and universities in ‘preparation to                   Work abroad’.  Many studied courses leading to white collar jobs.  But, the                     Jobs available are blue collar jobs.

4). A house helper is per se helper (in Tagalog, katulong; in Spanish,                    muchacha; and in Bicol, katabangaa0.  In order, perhaps, to appease these                   house helpers, the government changed their status or names to ‘house                   Managers. ‘  This, of course , is a cause of laughter.. In other countries,                     nobody called them , Managers.  To make their positions, sweeter, they                     coined again with the names of ‘kasambahay’.  All employers called them                    ‘domestic helpers.  I had one time a friend. , a parent at that, he did not want                    to use the term ‘domestic helper’.  They call their children, ‘DH’.

Let us remember what William Shakespeare said in his Romeo and                     Juliet.  He said, “What’s in a name? That  which we call a rose, By any other                     name would smell as sweet.”

The worst insult is to call them  ‘living heroes’ and when they return to the Philippines, temporarily or permanently, some air port personnel would extort them Are they really heroes?

5). Politics seemed to be more important than value formation.  Politics is                   practiced every day, even if elections is too far away. One can get more                   money from the government and remain scott free provided he or she belong                    to the party in power.

Senator Merriam D. Santiago, in disgust said in Congress that it was China which invented’ graft and corruption.  And the Filipinos, given bribe, learned very fast.

But, she apologized since it would affect the warm diplomatic relationship of both countries.  BUT, THE MESSAGE WAS ALREADY SPOKEN.

6). Some doctors even went back to school not to further their studied in                 medicine but to study nursing.  Their purpose is to work abroad. (The pay for a                   year in the Philippines could be earned abroad in only be earned abroad in only a month.).

A story goes that a Filipina Midwife could not find a decent job in the                  Philippines with a living salary to augment her husband’s meager salary.. . . and to provide proper education to their children. She went abroad, leaving her youngest daughter still in Grade IV.  Now, the same daughter is already a mother of one. The mother (now already a grandmother) is still working abroad.

Chip Tsao, instead of calling the Philippines a country of servants,                    Instead, should call the Philippines ‘a country of martyrs’.

7). What will Chip Tsao feel if:

a). We announce to the world that we learned graft and corrupt                                          practices from the Chinese;

b). That the Philippine tri-media said that so many illegal items                                          entering the Philippines came from China;

                       

                        c). That the highly anomalous NBN-ZTE deal involved Chinese business men and corporations;

d). That we have not seen or heard of any young Chinese (boy or                                          girl) died and buried.  Filipinos jokingly said that they are                                           mixed with siopao or they are not reported but their names and                                            identities are assumed by illegal entrants.