A nation in denial / Joey, be a man

We are a nation in denial. The Republic is now virtually smothered in the darkest of shadows and yet Filipinos hardly see this at all. They argue almost to a man this is only temporary and the light will eventually prevail. In a nation that should be in tears because the blight is almost everywhere, I see smiles, uplifted faces and the patience of Job. I thought by this time I would see shades of Argentina, Nicaragua and Brazil where massive looting by the poor and hungry breaks out now and then. There is none. I look at other countries in East and Southeast Asia – China most of all – and I shake my head in utter disbelief.

They have all banished mass poverty and are well on the road to prosperity and the good life. We are stuck in the mud.

I had thought that by this time, many Filipinos, rich, middle class, poor would have waken up as our neighbor countries in Asia had long waken up. Lee Kuan Yew woke up more than 30 years ago. As did Mao and Deng Xiaoping in China, Park Chung Hee in South Korea, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia, Chiang Ching-Kou in Taipei, and long before them the Meijis in Japan in the second half of the 19th century. Those that did not wake up – rather whose leadership waffled or snored – became the "failed states" of Asia. In this regard, I mention Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal.

The blade particularly goes deep into the Filipino psyche.

In the late 50s and early 60s, the Philippines was held in high regard in Asia. Second only to Japan, our economy bristled with purpose and élan. We supposedly had the second highest per capita income. Our presidential form of government was the envy of many whose parliamentary systems didn’t seem to be working. As I have repeatedly said in this space, students from various Asian countries came over to study in our top schools and colleges. Come to think of it, the English language was also our come-on. Speeka da English, we did that very well in those days.

Where did we go wrong? I have labored this subject time and again in this column. And if nobody cared to listen or take note or take me seriously – so very sorry. Time stands still in this country. Even at present we just limit ourselves to the illusions and delusions still prevailing in our society. Any talk about violence, an exploding social volcano, civil war or revolution is airily brushed off. "This will never happen" is the chorus. This is what I call our "In Denial" syndrome that we must pound to smithereens. We are very sick, probably terminally ill and we must at least admit that.

Illusion No. 1: There is really nothing very much wrong. All we lack are good leaders. Once we find them and elect them, everything will be hunky-dory again, Surely in a nation of over 80 million Filipinos, we shall find these potential good leaders soon. They are around. Only we don’t see them now.

The truth: There aren’t any. Everybody you see on the political landscape is either corrupt or corruptible. The good men have gone.

Illusion No. 2: Let’s wage a war or crusade against corruption. Let’s expose the truly and atrociously corrupt with a battery of exemplary lawyers and support groups and organizations who are not afraid to fight. For sure, we’ll get them, or some of them. Didn’t we get Erap Estrada?

The truth: Our judicial system is so venal, so helplessly inefficient. Not one of a clutch of Ateneo Aquila Legis fraternity felons convicted of killing Lenny Villa in brutal initiation rites ever landed in jail. None of the Marcoses, certainly not Imelda, have been kicked into the calaboose. And their crime was horribly capital – stealing the nation blind.

Illusion No. 3: Replace the present presidential system of government with the parliamentary. That will remove the gap between the Executive and Legislative, throw out a lot of corruption, place legislation on a speedy roller-coaster, ensure the best and the brightest will rule. Look around. The most advanced countries are parliamentary.

The truth: The same crooks and scalawags, urging speedy convocation of the Constituent Assembly, will rule the nation. Parliamentary superiority? Kuwait has the parliamentary system, as well as some of Middle East and Central Asia nations like Kirghiztan and Tadjikistan. They are as backward as backward can be.

Illusion No. 4: Get the Church, involve the Church. Values and morality, embedded in religion, will have to be improved, refined or transformed. There are priests, nuns and bishops who can help improve the collective conscience.

The truth: The record of the Church demonstratively shows it has done virtually nothing, or precious little, to alleviate poverty and oppression, control population increase, carry out its decades-long slogan of Preferential Option for the Poor. Instead, we have sex scandals.

Illusion No. 5: We are Asia’s only Christian country. God will never leave us or abandon us. In His own time, he will shower the Philippines with his blessings. Was not EDSA a miracle? And also EDSA II? We overthrew corrupt, brazenly inefficient presidents without bloodshed. So let’s not lose our faith in God.

The truth: We have been invoking God for decades, for generations. And as a society, we have gone from bad to worse to worst. As the saying goes: God helps those who help themselves. I do not consider EDSA I and EDSA II miracles wrought by the Almighty.

Illusion No. 6: Kaya natin iyan. The Filipino can. Our time will come, then watch us. There is nothing our Asian neighbors can do that we cannot do. Look at the Filipino. Abroad, he works well and he shines. In a number of countries, the Filipino worker is in demand.

The truth: The Filipino works well abroad because he is compelled. The work culture compels him. If he is a laggard, he becomes a bum. But regard! High quality jobs abroad are occupied by highly educated Asians, Japanese, Koreans, Indians. Filipinos are largely care-givers, nurse, med-techs, domestic workers. We should strive for better jobs.

Illusion No. 7: We are still a working democracy. We have the freedoms many other countries do not have. We can say anything we want, criticize anybody we want. Our media are free. Nobody can stop us. We have freedom. And that’s a lot.

The truth: We are the third poorest country in Asia. We are classified as the eleventh most corrupt country in the world. Our crime rate is one of the highest in Asia. We are the kidnap capital of the continent. About 250,000 of our children are in rags, homeless, roaming the streets of Metro Manila. That the democracy we boast of?

* * *

If Joey Marquez thinks he can buy time, and twist the occasion to act the role of the battered lover, the aggrieved underdog, and that’s why he refuses to apologize, then the mayor of Parañaque is balmier than we thought. After Kris Aquino’s dramatic appearance on TV, Joey should have immediately apologized in public. Failing to do so, he now stands out in the eyes of the majority as a skunk and a weasel, a political Godiva, and worst, a betrayer of his species – homo bravissimo.

Apologize, Joey, that’s the least you can do to redeem yourself.

If all you’re doing now is listing down the sins of Kris Aquino, what humiliation you suffered at her hands, rummaging her closets to look for bodies she must have ravaged in her time, packing all these into bombs you will explode if the scandal should get to court, then you must be out of your mind.

You are in a no-win situation. You can say you never brandished a gun and cocked it in her face. Nobody will believe you. You can say you were never sick of venereal disease and so you couldn’t have transmitted STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) to the daughter of Ninoy and Cory Aquino. Nobody will believe you. Besides, Kris claims there are records at St. Luke’s hospital confirming that both of you were there at one time for a check-up on STD. You can say you never battered her physically and her bruises were self-inflicted because she had "suicidal tendencies". Again, you can tell that to the Marines.

Joey, magpakalalake ka.

On the count alone of STD, you’re dead meat. Everybody knows you are a womanizer (incurable as Kris says) and in one foray alone, you must have incurred the disease and later transmitted it to Kris. And the gun! If Kris’s allegations are true, and I believe her, what kind of Neanderthal are you? You are worried about your career if you apologize? What career?

* This was written hours ahead of the apo-logy by Mr. Marquez telecast last evening. – Op Ed