“It raised fundamental questions in people’s minds
about how in touch he was while there was chaos in people’s lives, and how much
he cared about it. And it raised questions about the basic competence of his administration.”
“It was a perception-altering event. People had
questioned his ideology. People had even questioned his intelligence.”
“That’s a searing and very unfortunate image that
doesn’t reflect the president’s compassion.”
Whose image popped up in your mind after you read the
above comments? If it’s PBBM, then, give yourself a pat on the back. You have your
finger on the pulse of our nation, and your moral values are intact, all in one piece.
Oops! You may scratch your head though to know who the above comments referred to -- former US President George W. Bush.
On one August weekend in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit
the US Gulf Coast with sustained winds of up to 280 kilometers per hour spread
across 400 miles. Rolling across levees and drainage canals, a surge as high as
9 meters led to widespread flooding and displacement of hundreds of thousands
of people from their homes that caused large-scale damage and a high death
toll.
WHERE WAS BUSH?
He's peering out the window of the presidential plane Air
Force One then at the devastation of Hurricane Katrina thousands of feet below as
shown in the photo released to the public. He had cut short his vacation and
flew back to his oval office to preside over the government response.
At first glance, that infamous photo appeared to be
normal -- the president needed rest from time to time. But the backlash, one
notable pundit said, was so damaging as to imprint “a real black mark on his
administration that would stay with him for a long time,” let alone such blot would
be read in every American textbook in school rooms throughout the land. In his memoir, “Decision Points,” Bush, to
his credit, wrote, “That photo of me hovering over the damage suggested I was
detached from the suffering on the ground.”
The parallel is striking.
Super Typhoon Karding last month hit our country with a peak intensity right before its first landfall with maximum sustained winds of up to 175 kilometers per hour. It ruined the bulk of the year’s remaining harvest in affected towns costing the nation’s agriculture sector at least P1.29 billion and affecting at least 82,158 farmers and fisher folks. The volume of production loss at 72,231 metric tons and 141,312 hectares of agricultural areas would likely drive inflation up according to the reports.
WHERE WAS MARCOS JR.?
“Singapore – Singapore’s eagerly awaited Formula One
(F1) weekend this year saw a record turnout of 302,000 fans, including
well-known personalities, ministers, and foreign dignitaries, as well as the
partners of several F1 drivers. One face, in particular, stood out among the
crowd – recently elected Philippine President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.
“News of Marcos’ weekend getaway to attend the event
has been met with much criticism as thousands of families in the Philippines
remain displaced and many more are still recovering from the devastating
Typhoon [Karding], which hit the archipelago on Sept 25.”
(Excerpted from Today Online)
Today reported that senior lecturer Gideon Lasco of
the University of the Philippines twitted: “Just days after a devastating
typhoon, and amid an ever-worsening economic crisis, Bongbong Marcos jets off
to Singapore to watch an event reserved for the elites: Unacceptable,
inappropriate, and utterly disgusting.”
The news item added further that “despite numerous
reports circulating online about Mr. Marcos’ trip over the weekend, his press
secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed the trip only early Monday (Oct 3)
morning after Singapore’s Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng posted on Facebook
a photo of the Philippine president at the F1 night race.”
“Ms. Angeles wrote in Tagalog in her Facebook post:
President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr’s visit to Singapore was productive,”
the news item rounded out.
Surprisingly, the following day (Oct 4), Ms. Angeles
quit her press secretary job due to health reasons. She did not provide further
details.
The inescapable backlash was staring PBBM right in his
face. Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas’ words in her local dialect were
gut-wrenching.
“Hindi pa man din bumababa ang tubig sa maraming
palayan na tinamaan ng bagyong Karding, nauna nang lumipad pa-Singapore ang
presidente para manood ng F1 Grand Prix. Mabuti pa si Marcos Jr., may budget
para sa VIP access kasama pa ang pamilya. Samantala, ang mga Pilipino, halos
wala nang makain sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo nang bilihin.”
The statement of Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general
of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), (who blasted the Palace’s belated
confirmation of PBBM’s trip as “trying to hide the actual details of the trip”)
was as sharp as the two-edged sword.
“[W]e assert that the [trip] was insensitive, unnecessary, and irresponsible, given the crisis that the nation is in. Only the utterly callous and shamelessly entitled would not get this point.”
OUR BIG BROTHER GOT THE POINT
Putting, in a nutshell, the perceptions of many Americans
about Bush’s performance after Katrina, entertainer Kanye West said, “George
Bush doesn’t care about black people” – the lopsided victims of Katrina. The sweeping
value judgment tore Bush to pieces so gravely as to call such judgment “one of
the most disgusting moments of my presidency.” He conceded such a photo a “huge
mistake” which made him look “detached and uncaring” -- a glint of light that somehow
got through a crack at the rock bottom of his presidency.
Do we Pinoys get the point too? Watching our countrymen
crossing the road amid the traffic and turning a blind eye to the “No
Jaywalking” sign, or, throwing thrashes anywhere shrugging off a garbage can
provided in one corner, may catch our attention for a while. But, for all time,
we just shake our heads, brush it off our minds, and just say to ourselves, “Pinoy
Kasi.”
PINOY KASI
Most of us had been there, got a load of marked traits
of our fellow Pinoys who dined with families and/or friends and charged the
expenses as “marketing” initiatives to the taxpayers. Or, how about this
attribute of our fellow Pinoys with an excess budget? Rather than turning them
over to the public treasury as savings, spent them instead in needless “seminars” in
five-star hotels with “lots of fun.” At times, our discerning minds might have opened
our eyes to such unethical routines, yet we could have just said to ourselves,
“Pinoy Kasi.”
Now, we have our new president and his Singapore F1
Grand Prix getaway. Like our American Big Brother, do we get the point? Or would we just
say to ourselves, “Pinoy Kasi”? And move on?
When our home is in disarray, sometimes we need a neighbor to tell us what’s right and what's wrong with our family.
“Everywhere they settled, Filipinos outworked their
Asian counterparts, with women migrants heavily concentrated in nursing and
related medical fields.” (Excerpted from the book “The Other Americans” by Joel
Millman)
WANTED: ROLE MODELS
On the flip side, specializing in Asian-American
politics at the University of California, Professor Pei-te Lien and her
colleagues have continuously wondered why the Filipino-American (a microcosm of
liberated “damaged culture”) political power hasn’t followed the
growth of its population.
Giving the game away, Lien put all the cards on the table: “You need some role models.”
Head still photos courtesy of pixabaydotcom
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