Beautiful Philippines

   

(The following article was earlier published in the News Record in Jan 2011)

Many summers ago, when I was a young captain in the Philippine Army, the Philippine Government sent me to the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina for a five month military training. It was my first time to travel abroad. While taking the Civil Affairs Officers’ Advance Course there, I happen to meet an American who was himself a captain in the United States Army. Being both “second class” students (he being of American Indian ancestry and me being a Filipino and Bisaya pa jud) we hanged out together and developed a close friendship. In the many occasions that we exchanged ideas and experiences, mostly over a few bottles of beer, he told me of his fascination of the Philippines. He happened to visit our country for about ten days in the course of his rest and recreation (R and R) when he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan as part of a US Special Forces contingent there. He saw the primitive engineering wonder of the Banaue Rice Terraces, the imposing beauty of Mayon Volcano, the historic Corregidor Island and Fort Santiago. He observed the rich cultural heritage of the Filipino which he noted during his visits to the Ayala and the National Museums, among others. He also told me of his appreciation of the Filipino style of hospitality and friendship, the warm smiles of our kababayans, not to mention the few beautiful Filipinas he had the opportunity of getting acquainted with during his short stay. It was probably this reason why among the American students, he was the first one who befriended me.

The exchanges that I had with this American were eye openers to me of some sort. There I was, a Filipino who lived in the Philippines all his life, being told by a non-Filipino who was only in the Philippines for a few days, the beauty of this country. I was ashamed of myself and more ashamed still to admit to him that, except for Mayon Volcano which I see from a distance when I travel by land from Manila to Samar via the Bicol Region, I haven’t seen most of the places he has visited. There I was - a Filipino admiring the beauty in far-away lands not realizing the beauty that abounds in his native land.

There are so many who were like me. Many Filipinos have climbed the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower but most of them do not even know where the “Bantayog ng Kagitingan” or the Mac Arthur Park are, or even know that such monuments exist. We strolled the beaches of Bondi in Sydney but have never been to Boracay or Panglao Beach. We toured the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt ad the Great Wall of China but saw only our own Banaue Rice Terraces in the post cards at the National Bookstore. We know that Baltimore is the capital of Maryland but will say that Cagayan de Oro City is in the Visayas when asked in a quiz in a local television noon time show.

We criticize most of our kababayans who see other places first before seeing their own country. However, we will observe that this phenomenon of seeing other places ahead of one’s own country - is not only true to us Filipinos. I climbed the Statue of Liberty for the first time together with this American friend of mine who was telling me about the places he visited in the Philippines. It was also his first time to see this marvelous landmark of the United States. Out of curiosity I asked my American classmates and to my surprise four out of five admitted that they have not climbed the Statue of Liberty much more even been to New York themselves.

I tried to rationalize why this is so, at least in the Filipino context. Travel is a luxury that many Filipinos could not afford. These Filipinos who had the opportunity of seeing other places were there to work and were just enjoying the fruits of their labor. While working in a foreign country they earn enough money to travel and hence they can go to other places to entertain themselves and to escape from the loneliness of being away from friends and family. In short, most of them were accidental tourists. Later, they invite their families to visit them and they bring them to the same places they discovered earlier as worthwhile destinations.

There is another group of Filipinos, rather small, who also become accidental tourists. These are the government scholars; or representatives of private corporations or government agencies that are sent to another country in furtherance of their company’s or agency’s objectives. In addition to the seminars/conferences, business transactions, and training are tour packages organized and scheduled by their hosts. These are done as part of their company’s or agency’s strategy to facilitate their company business interests, increase cooperation in their joint undertakings and optimize the learning experience of their students. Over and above that, most governments encourage these programs as part of their tourism strategy.

There is still another group that travels to other countries, this time primarily as tourists. These are the people who can afford and can therefore choose where they would like to go. Instead of seeing their own country, they chose foreign destinations instead. I have a friend who belongs to this group. He earned his millions in the Philippines and when he was comfortable enough to travel, he went to Australia first then to China, among the other foreign places he went to later on. I know for a fact that he has not been to Boracay or Baguio or Davao before his foreign travels because I invited him in a number of instances to these places. However, for whatever reasons I didn’t bother ask, he traveled to Boracay, Tagaytay and Davao after having been abroad. He also went to Baguio with other friends, accordingly to play golf.

One can only realize the beauty of his country when he gets a chance to look at it from a distance or when he makes a comparison after visiting another country. He learns to patronize his own after a supposedly enriching experience in a foreign land. I talked to a lot of Filipinos who made it good in another country. In planning their vacation to the Philippines, they normally include visits to places they have not been to before they went abroad.

The best things that I got from my travels abroad were not the first class military training that I had; nor the chance to meet people of another culture; nor the extra dollars that I save from my travel allowance. What I value the most was the opportunity to visit different places that gave me a basis for comparison. It allowed me to see my country in another perspective and made me realize that I have a beautiful country, more beautiful than any place in the whole world and a country that I can be proud of – my native Philippines.

The Other Friendly Observer

 

My friend, Arthur Keefe, who writes a critical column in the News Record using “The Friendly Observer” as his byline, is on a leave of absence for a few months in order to visit his family in his native Bristol, England. This nice guy introduced me to the News Record when he first brought copies of it and distributed them to the early morning coffee drinkers in a cozy but small coffee shop in Chico Street at San Julio Subdivision some three months ago. Since then, he gave us free copies each time the paper comes out with its weekly issue.

The FRIENDLY OBSERVER, like the other gentlemen in his favorite table, is a regular visitor to this coffee shop. After bringing his daughter to school in the morning, he passes by the coffee shop to exchange ideas on issues of local and national significance that comes to his attention. Probably, he feels that this is the best place where one can get freewheeling and critical exchange of opinions of mutual interest to him and the other guys. Admittedly, I feel the same, too. I also go to this coffee shop not as a matter of convenience after my morning walk or jog at the nearby Center Mall but more especially for the opportunity to socialize with friends. To my expectation, the other guys’ reasons for coming are the same. They go there for the intellectual intercourse or the “kutso-kutso” as we call it in our native lingo. After all, most of us can take coffee at home or in other native coffee shops. However, the same kind of “kutso-kutso” may not be present.

I must admit that as a former soldier, I hated the morning reveille and road runs. It was always heaven for me when another call of duty allows me to be absent from this twice a week regimen. To my surprise as a retired soldier now living in San Carlos City, I find delight and look forward to my almost daily jog/walk and the coffee that followed it. I am not much of a coffee drinker myself, so I realized that the exchange of ideas that happens while drinking coffee was the most pleasurable part of the activity. Two or more bright ideas and opinions often result to a better one or a hybrid. Perhaps it would be nice to share these ideas and opinions with our kababayans. This gave me the idea to try my hand in writing at the News Record.

Enough for the introductions or the foreplay as some naughty coffee drinkers might prefer it to be called. As mentioned earlier, the FRIENDLY OBSERVER is away for a while and naturally, the News Record will come out with issues sans his well read column. I will attempt to fill-in this gap; hence, I will call my column as THE OTHER FRIENDLY OBSERVER while I still don’t have a column to call my own.

In one of his previous articles, the FRIENDLY OBSERVER made a simple analysis for the failure of our country to improve the living standards of its people when it used to be way ahead of its neighbors some 50 years ago. Now, almost everyone has overtaken the Philippines in good governance, scientific advancements, urban planning and even in food production. Some say it was the result of history – its proud Malay origins, the 300 years of oppression by the Spaniards and the democratic way of life imposed by the Americans, among others, – which resulted to the unique psychology of the Filipino, his relaxed attitude towards life, and his high tolerance to the unusual, including graft and corruption in government.

One would ask, why Filipinos stay poor when the Philippines is sitting on rich mineral, marine and forest resources? Most of the time we blame our deplorable conditions to our politicians whom we claim to be corrupt, inept and insincere. Why blame just them? We have to blame ourselves, too. In the first place, we were the ones who placed them in office and therefore we deserve the kind of poor services and bad governance they deliver. Just a few months after elections, we normally complain about the broken promises, the lack of basic services and the abundant graft and corruption. Yet, during election time, we again vote for the same people in exchange for material gains or temporary personal favors without scrutinizing their credentials and their capacity to deliver. Hence we all deserve what we get!

In the last presidential elections, one smart guy tried to analyze the several “presidentiables” by looking into their positive attributes that would make him an ideal president. Accordingly, a president should be one with the unquestionable integrity and sincerity of Senator (now President) Aquino; the charisma of Ex President Erap Estrada; the brilliance of Secretary Teodoro; the political will of Senator Gordon and Administrator Fernando; the divine inspiration of Eddie Villanueva; and the vast resources of Senator Manny Villar. Naturally, not one of them posses all the attributes cited at the desired strategic level, and one would retort that in such a case, none of them can become an ideal president. True indeed!

Choosing a president that can govern a country with so many problems such as ours is a task that needs to be deeply thought of by all concerned and well meaning Filipinos. During the last national elections, the Filipino was then confronted with a difficult choice. Would the Filipino people choose somebody who is undisputedly honest but whose capacity to influence the whole government to be graft ridden is still to be proven? Or can he use his simple honesty to put bread on the table of Juan de la Cruz? Or would the Filipino people opt for somebody who has an excellent academic achievement and an outstanding public service record but whose loyalty to the Filipino people may be subject to the whims of the former administration? 0r would the people select somebody who is identified with the masses and loved by them but whose previous governance was marred by a number of scandals? Or somebody whose actions are based on religious morality and backed by a minority religious sect whose members may exert a strong influence on future public policy? Or somebody who had the strong resolve and the capacity to “operationalize” government programs but may not understand if these programs are acceptable to the people much less intended for the benefit of the majority? Or somebody so obsessed with becoming president that he is willing to spend a fortune and even make a pact with the devil just to win the elections but may sell the country to the highest bidder in order to make more millions?

As history had it, the Filipino people voted for the candidate whose strong attribute was honesty and integrity. Suffice it to say, Juan de la Cruz wants an honest president – something that is rare nowadays! Now did we make the right choice? Hopefully we did! President Noy may be other things but nobody would doubt his integrity. An honest man at the top of government is a good start for a country that is ridden by graft and corruption at all levels and sectors of government. Can President Noy transform the government into an honest and well performing bureaucracy that would be relevant to the ordinary Filipino? Or will honesty just remain in the heart and the spirit of our President?

We may recall that the late former President Cory Aquino, the President’s mother, was an epitome of honesty. She was president at a revolutionary time when our people were ready to embrace a reformed civil society and government, courtesy of the world famous EDSA revolution. She was our president at the time when people wanted an overhaul in government and we had high hopes on her. President Cory didn’t waiver in her commitment for an honest government. She was an ideal public servant in so far as honesty in public office is concerned. That was where it ended. Did we eradicate graft and corruption? Did the lives of the Filipinos improve? You be the better judge!!!

President Noy is in the mold of his mother Cory – full of honesty and idealism. We hope though that his integrity will matter this time.

(The above article was published in the News Record in Dec 2010)