My Fellow Filipinos

*When I was small, the Philippine peso was P2 to the $dollar. The president
was Diosdado Macapagal. Life was simple. Life was easy. My father was a
farmer. My mother kept a small sari-sari store where our neighbors bought
sang-perang asin, sang-perang bagoong, sang-perang suka, sang-perang toyo
at pahingingi isang butil na bawang.. Our backyard had kamatis, kalabasa,
talong, ampalaya, upo, batao, and okra. Our silong had chicken. We had a
pig, dog & cat. And of course, we lived on the farm. *



*During rainy season, my father caught frogs at night which my mother made
into batute (stuffed frog), or just plain fried. During the day, he caught
hito and dalag from his rice paddies, which he would usually inihaw. During
dry season, we relied on the chickens, vegetables, bangus, tuyo, and tinapa.
Every now and then, there was pork and beef from the town market. Life was
so peaceful, so quiet, no electricity, no TV. Just the radio for Tia Dely,
Roman Rapido, Tawag ng Tanghalan and Tang-tarang- tang. And who can forget
Leila Benitez on Darigold Jamboree? On weekends, I played with my neighbours
(who were all my cousins).. Tumbang-preso, taguan, piko, luksong lubid,
patintero, at iba pa. I don't know about you, but I miss those days. *
**
*These days, we face the TV, Internet, e-mail, newspaper, magazine, grocery
catalog, or drive around. The peso is a staggering and incredible P40 to
the $dollar. Most people can't have fun anymore. Life has become a battle. *We
live to work. Work to live.* Life is not easy. I was in Saudi Arabia in
1983. It was lonely, difficult, & scary. It didn't matter if you were a man
or a woman. You were a target for rape. The salary was cheap & the vacation
far between. If the boss didn't want you to go on holiday, you didn't. They
had your passport. Oh, and the agency charged you almost 4 months of your
salary (which, if you had to borrow on a "20% per month arrangement" meant
your first year's pay was all gone before you even earned it). *
**
*The Philippines used to be one of the most important countries in Asia
. Before & during my college days, many students from neighboring Asian
countries like Malaysia , Indonesia , Japan and China went to the
Philippines to get their diplomas. Like Thailand , they went to study
agricultures in UP Los Banos and earned their bachelors in the Philippines
and now we import rice from them. *
**
*It's opposite now. Philippines used to be the exporter of any agriculture
products but now it's different. We import because not much land (farms)
they can cultivate due to private sectors that focused on developing houses,
buildings, supermarkets, mall and others. What happened now? What's the
government doing? Checking their own pocket, their own personal interest and
pork barrels. Wow! *

*Until 1972, like President Macapagal, President Marcos was one of the most
admired presidents of the world. The Peso had kept its value of P7 to the
$dollar until I finished college. Today, the Philippines is famous as the
"housemaid" capital of the world... It ranks very high as the "cheapest
labor" capital of the world, too.. We have maids in Hong Kong, laborers in
Saudi Arabia , dancers in Japan , migrants and TNTs in Australia and the US
, and all sorts of other "tricky" jobs in other parts of the globe. *
**
*Quo Vadis, Pinoy? Is that a wonder or a worry? Are you proud to be a
Filipino, or does it even matter anymore? When you see the Filipino flag and
hear the Pambansang Awit, do you feel a sense of pride or a sense of defeat
& uncertainty? If only things could change for the better...... Hang on for
this is a job for Superman. Or whom do you call? Ghostbusters . Joke. Right?
*

This is one of our problems.* *

*We say "I love the Philippines ... I am proud to be a Filipino." *

*When I send you a joke, you send it to everyone in your address book even
if it kills the Internet. But when I send you a note on how to save
our country & ask you to forward it, what do you do? *

*You chuck it in the bin. *

*I want to help the maids in Hong Kong ... I want to help the laborers
in Saudi
Arabia ... I want to help the dancers in Japan ... I want to help the TNTs
in America and Australia ... *

*I want to save the people of the Philippines ... But I cannot do it alone.
I need your help and everyone else's. *

*So please forward this e-mail to your friends. If you say you love the
Philippines , prove it. And if you don't agree with me, say something
anyway. Indifference is a crime on its own. *