Where has that good feeling gone?

There is something missing in the pages of today’s newspapers and in radio and television programs: Stories that give a "feel-good" feeling.  More often than not, what we read and hear are stories that give a "feel bad" feeling.  The brutal murder of Nida Blanca, the feud between two top Sandiganbayan justices, the savagery of the typhoon in Camiguin and parts of Mindanao and Visayas, the endless squabbles among the politicians, the continuing slump in the stock market, the refusal of investors to come to the Philippines, the traffic anarchy in the streets of the metropolis, the uncollected garbage right in the sidewalks of Metro Manila, the kidnap for ransom cases.  All these stories and many more are the kind that we read and see, day by day, and they certainly lower the people’s morale and serve as disincentives to national unity and solidarity.

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How one wishes there were "feel good" stories in mass media, especially in the front pages of the dailies and in prime time television and radio programs.  About a taxi driver returning a handbag filled with cash to its rightful owner.  About doctors, dentists and nurses volunteering their services in Camiguin and other calamity areas.  About thieves and robbers getting caught by vigilant policemen.  About government offices serving way beyond office hours to attend to a long queue of applicants.   About politicians from different parties rubbing elbows and working together to help bail our country out of its present economic woes.

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Look at what this couple from Canada sent to me via my e-mail address.  It is a very simple letter, but it shows their genuine affection for the Philippines.  It reads: "HI. emailing you from VANCOUVER, CANADA. LOVE YOUR WRITING. similar to mine. Straight and to the point !!! i am married to a Filipina lady from BACOLOD. Love your country especially the HEAT !!"  The letter came from Ted and Evelyn Lockert.  Doesn’t this make you feel good that out there in Vancouver, thousands of miles away from the Philippines, there are Canadians who still remember our country with fondness?

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Let me give STAR readers a feedback on what has so far happened to Fr. Arnel Demegillo, the parish priest under the Diocese of Ipil where Bishop Antonio Ledesma presides.  Fr. Arnel has a kidney disorder and is scheduled for a kidney transplant as soon as an appropriate donor is found.  When I last wrote about him, we were raising funds for his transplant and post-transplant expenses at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

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There was a second batch of donors who personally dropped  by at the Christ the King  Church in Greenmeadows, Quezon City, to hand over their donations.  They included the following:

* Ladies of Charity of CTK ,  P30,700 plus a round trip air ticket Manila-Zamboanga-Manila

* Mrs. Rufina Luy Lim of Sta.Mesa, Manila, P20,000

* Tessie, P2,000

* Anonymous, P1,000

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Dr. Max Walsh, an Australian expat who has been working in various projects in the Philippines for several years, sent a note to inform me that his Aussie friends who dropped by the Philippines for a day or two, only to decide to cut off their 18-day vacation here when they were ripped off by some abusive taxi drivers, have changed their minds.  Someday, they will come back to the Philippines and spend their annual vacation here. 

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Dr. Walsh had sent them a copy of what I wrote about their plight here and they apparently appreciated our concern for the convenience and safety of visiting tourists.  Which proved that one small action on our part, as Dr. Walsh appropriately observed, can have a large effect.  His Aussie friends are now far better disposed towards the Philippines than before, and have promised to return next year to try out Filipino hospitality in tourist spots outside Manila.  "As an aside, I used 25 taxis last week; 24 of them used the meter without any hesitation.  Maybe they all read your column!  We are all happy again," Dr. Walsh said.

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But then, Dr. Walsh has his own complaint about the postal services in  Santiago City, Isabela province, where he presently lives.  Recently, he needed some documents to be sent urgently from Australia in connection with a business he intended to put up here.  Because of his bad experience where several letters from Australia  never reached Santiago City, he asked his accountant to register the documents and send them by priority post. 

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The parcel arrived after four days, and he was notified of its arrival.   But he was shocked to learn, when he went to Santiago City Post Office to get his parcel, that the lady who handled registered mail was absent.   Dr. Walsh could not believe that the Post Office could be run without at least one other designated official to handle such a sensitive issue as urgent and important registered mail.

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When the Aussie expat asked the person at the counter when the lady employee would be back, he answered he did not know.  Naturally angered by the reply, the counter guy merely laughed.  And when Dr. Walsh asked to see the "person in charge", he was told that  the OIC, too, was out of the office.  So, nobody was in charge.  "What are all of these paid officials doing during working hours?," Dr. Walsh asked. To Dr. Walsh, the documents were very important.  The receipt of the documents would have meant that he would have immediately invested, on that very same day, about  P1.6 million or 60,000 Aussie dollars in the local community in Isabela.  Instead, because of a missed deadline and the attitude of the postal clerks, Dr. Walsh  decided not to spend his money here, but to leave it in Australia.

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"Once again, it is the small actions that have the BIG effects.  Unfortunately, I fear that my experience is being replicated in Post Offices all over the country," the Aussie expat ruefully said.   "Feel free to use this story and  my name if you so wish.   I am writing to you to let off steam.  I am still so angry that such a pathetic lack of service could exist in a provincial town that prides itself on the friendliness of the locals."

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Thoughts For Today:

We must value each precious moment.
Morning brings hope,
afternoon brings faith,
evening brings love,
and night brings rest.
Wish you find them all today.

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When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss the fun of getting there.
Life is not a race, so take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.

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My e-mail addresses: <[email protected]>. and [email protected]