The Filipino crab

Recently, an extensive marine biodiversity research discovered 1,200 new species of crabs and shrimps in Bohol. Philippine crab varieties are unquestionably one of the most sought-after seafood by both Filipinos and foreigners. You only have to look at the stocks of crustaceans in the wet markets. The choices vary from the land crab, the mud king crab, lobsters, the deep-sea crab, among others. The most succulent are found in Zamboanga such as the fabled curacha, the Chavacano name for the crayfish that can only be found in the waters around the Sulu Sea.

The irony of it all, the kind of Philippine crustacean that is the most well-known worldwide is the two-legged variety that lives on land – Filipinos with a crab mentality. And believe me there are so many of them crawling around. A Filipino once related to me how he was victimized by a Filipino crab. To protect his identity, let’s just call him Arnold Isla. Arnold and his family moved to Los Angeles in the early ’70s with just the clothes on their backs. Armed with a college degree, he started off as a waiter while doing odd jobs on the side because of his immigration status then. He was a hardworking man who was always helping other Filipinos because of his pusong mamon or soft spot for Filipinos. After some time, his hard work paid off and he was able to put up a restaurant which ironically served delicious crabs that eventually became popular and patronized by many Filipinos.

With his success, Arnold hired Filipinos and helped new Filipino immigrants get their first break. He even helped a new Filipino immigrant with five children set up a laundry business. But for the life of him, Arnold could never understand why this Filipino started badmouthing him and spreading lies about the food quality of his restaurant. All this "crab talk" devastated him. Out of extreme disappointment, he sold his restaurant and left the Los Angeles area. He moved to a mid-western state where very few Filipinos lived. He became a very successful restaurateur after setting up a profitable chain of restaurants. Ever since he stayed away from Filipinos, life has never been better for him. He left the Philippines in 1971 and returned for the first time last year. Much to his disappointment, he saw the same crab mentality still prevalent among Filipinos. Some things never change and he believes this is the reason why the country just can’t seem to move forward.

What is good for the country should be good for everyone. But today, most people persist in the kind of thinking that what is good for me is what is good for the country. Arnold related how Filipinos in the US continue to be divided instead of bonding together to become a major political and economic force to contend with. Locally, our politicians are acting much the same. They remind you of dozens of talangkas all pulling each other down to prevent the one with the best solutions for our country’s problems from reaching the top of the pail. In the 21st Century, pulling each other down is still the Filipino game of choice. For this reason, most Filipinos have never gotten far in life because their minds are still trapped within the walls of the Republic of Talangkas.

How do we trace the origins of the crab mentality? Perhaps, it could be traced during the Spanish times when the peninsulares would sit down after dinner, criticize and badmouth other people while never looking at their own faults. Worse, they believed they were God’s gift to the country because they were legends in their own minds. Earlier, the conquistadores used the divide-and-conquer strategy to set off regions against regions and provinces against provinces in order to prevent a united revolt. As a result, Filipinos became generally resentful and distrustful of one another. This could be the most probable cause of our crustacean sensibilities. The crab mentality infected Filipino rebel leaders early in the Revolution when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s Magdalo faction unjustly executed Andres Bonifacio and his brother. In turn, the Macabebe Scouts from Pampanga helped the Americans by deceiving President Aguinaldo’s boys into letting them into his hideout by pretending that the American Col. Frederick Funston was their prisoner.

The crab mentality returned with a vengeance during the Japanese Occupation because it cost many Filipino and American lives. Of course, the bayong-masked Makapilis were feared and loathed by the people during those dark days. Even my father who was a doctor had his own experience with the two-legged crabs. He related to me a story about an American GI who was hacked in the neck by a Japanese soldier with a lethal katana sword used by the samurais. Fortunately, the American soldier’s neck was only one-fourth severed. My father was able to perform emergency surgery and saved his life. That same day, Japanese soldiers looked for my father who narrowly escaped with his life because of another emergency call. He later found out that a Filipino traitor had informed the Japanese of what he did. Wars brought out the worst kind of crab mentality from Filipinos because they degenerated into traitors. World War II adversely affected the Filipino psyche and character and perhaps never recovered since. Today, we see the same things with politicians still trying to outdo each other and pulling themselves down and worse together with them – the country. The question is – when are we ever going to shed off the shell of the counterproductive crab mentality? Your guess is as good as mine.

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Everybody’s friend Amb. Enrique Syquia of the Order of Malta was laid to rest at the Santuario de San Antonio yesterday. Ambassador Syquia was a gentleman of the highest order and I have never met anyone who had anything negative to say about him. Members of the diplomatic corps including former Canadian Ambassador Robert Colette who visited recently and Argentinian Ambassador Mario Schuff had nothing but praises for the late Ambassador Syquia. According to Justice Sec. Raul Gonzales, the lowest point in Enrique Syquia’s life was when he was nominated to be a member of the prestigious International Court of Justice when the former Foreign Affairs Sec. Roberto R. Romulo (a cousin of the present Foreign Affairs Sec. Alberto Romulo) reportedly supported and endorsed a candidate from another country instead. His membership to the International Court would have given great honor to the Philippines. Up to his dying day, Ike Syquia could never figure out what motivated Roberto R. Romulo to do this.

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