My heart breaks every time I hear
fellow Filipinos callously bash the government with the seeming lack of action
with what is happening in Visayas. I begin to wonder, what have these people
done for them to feel they know better than the President, at the very least?
Yes, we paid taxes, but sad as it is, we have to accept the obvious but evading
truth that our money is not in the coffers anymore. The money was misspent and/or
stolen by those selfish politicians we trusted and elected to post at some time.
Of course, we should hold them responsible, but we have to park that for a
while (and not forget).
I would like to console myself thinking
that these bashers just feel too helpless and frustrated that if only our
leaders did not betray us, we could have done something about the pitiful
plight of our fellowmen. But then again, I go back to reality that perhaps,
nature is already helping us see the truth that we have been forever running
away from.
Just this morning, I heard a few
educated people who were ranting about how the President could have ordered his
men to anticipate the extent of Yolanda’s possible damage, the moment he knew
it was coming. Someone even narrated the story of a nonchalant woman based in
Tacloban whose son being a seaman told her to evacuate because he knew how
dangerous a storm surge could be. The woman heeded her son's warning and was saved. They all agreed that the
President should have known this because a “commoner” knew about it. Talk about
expectations. As I was quietly listening to them, I thought: If only this man
spoke up, or at the very least some other people who knew the extent of a storm
surge (which was unknown to many of us, until it happened), perhaps, we could
have saved a city.
I am not defending the government.
Partly, I agree that the government could have been more prepared for this
eventuality. I am only wishing for a little more courage from Filipinos to care
enough, stand up and do something.
As bleak as it is, I would like
to believe that typhoon Yolanda came to send us very important lessons to learn. She
came to unravel the truth we have always been trying to suppress. Gat Jose
Rizal spoke of a social cancer during his time. Sadly, we haven’t really been
courageous enough to take on the pain of social surgery to remove this illness and
heal ourselves as a nation. I will dare to put a name on this evil and I will
call it indifference—that apathy of
staying in our own bubble of convenience and superficial concern to our
fellowmen and our children, who will inherit the consequences of our choices. For
the longest time, we contended in shutting our mouths and turning a cold
shoulder in the injustice that has been looming around us. We deceived
ourselves that we are powerless against our own government. We also misled
ourselves in thinking that the problems will solve themselves. On the extreme
end of it, there is righteousness, as some would rather endlessly talk emptily without lifting a finger. I
would imagine them typing things away in social media in an air-conditioned room
with a soda and popcorn beside them. Bottom line, we just did not care enough.
The aftermath of typhoon Yolanda
did not only leave debris to clean up but it revealed a government that needs serious
reflection and effective reforms. It also unveiled Filipinos whose love for the country
seems questionable. If we continue with our cold-blooded indifference, there
will come a point that we do not even need a super-typhoon to wipe out our
existence. We will just kill each other.
Philippines, we are at a turning
point—an edge of glory that if we could only embrace the lessons we are
supposed to learn from this tragedy, we will emerge to be a better and stronger
nation. Perhaps, with these lessons at heart, we can move forward valuing each
other, our future and ultimately, ourselves.
Walang
duda, babangon tayo. Ngunit sana’y bumangon tayong magkakasama ng may
pagmamahal, pagdadamayan at pananampalataya. Baka sakaling pag natutunan natin
ito, darating na ang tunay na pagbabago. (There is no doubt that we will rise up. But let us move forward
in unity with love, cooperation and faith. Maybe by then, more lasting changes
will take place.)
