Land of beauty and brains

The recent proclamation of the new Miss International – Ms. Precious Lara Quigaman – puts the Philippines on the spotlight once again as far as beauty is concerned. All over the world, the Philippines has the distinct reputation of having some of the most beautiful women. Three other Filipinas have won the Miss International title – Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), and Melanie Marquez (1979). Gemma Cruz, whom I have known for many years, is the classic Filipina beauty and brains. The same is true with our friends Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran, and Au-au Pijuan. Filipinos love beauty pageants and it’s not unusual to have beauty contests even in the remotest barrio or barangay. The Americans introduced the Manila Carnival in the early 1900s to strengthen friendly relations with Filipinos and celebrations ended with the coronation of the Carnival Queen. Even in town fiestas, the celebrations would not be complete without the holding of a beauty pageant.

This is a country that has also been blessed with highly-intelligent people. Some of the most notable ones are no less than our National Hero Jose Rizal, a multi-lingual genius who was a doctor, ophthalmologist, novelist. Rafael Salas became the first executive director of the UN Population Fund. Juan Luna, Manny Baldemor, and Fernando Amorsolo have given the Philippines international recognition through their paintings. The prose and poetry of Jose Garcia Villa, F. Sionil Jose, Ninotchka Rosca, Jessica Hagedorn have captured the imagination of readers all over the world. In music, we have internationally known singers like Lea Salonga and Lani Misalucha.

Our musicians are all over the world providing entertainment in first class establishments. In the field of medicine, there is Dr. Jorge Garcia, a world-renowned heart surgeon and cardiac specialist. Even the OFWs are in demand for being the best, with cruise lines from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and the Alaskan cruise ships engaging the services of Filipino cooks and waiters. The executive chef in the White House is a Filipina. Some of the best fund managers in Wall Street are Filipinos. Unfortunately, contributing to the brain drain, most of the best and the brightest have left the country to seek greener pastures. Hopefully, they will return when there will be more opportunities available here.

Having been a colony of Spain and the United States for 400 years, a mixture of blood has definitely helped improve the Filipino race. Admittedly, a combination of European, American and Asian bloodlines have helped create that unusual beauty and brains of the Filipino people. As one of my friends Ricky Silverio jokingly said, "The Silverios have tried to keep their Filipino bloodline pure for 400 years. But for some reason, nalusutan kami when Fernando Zobel married one of my nieces."

The country is also blessed with beautiful landscapes, beaches, and natural resources. Anywhere you go, you can be sure that there’s always a spot that’s sure to bring pride to a Filipino. We have our fantastic beaches in Boracay and Palawan that could rival the best in the world; challenging dive sites in Bohol; the natural beauty of Camiguin with its springs and volcanoes; Davao with its Mt. Apo continues to attract mountain climbers, and the waling-waling can stand on its own among other orchids anywhere in the world. Many diplomats who have served here want to return and some even plan to retire here. As some people say, there’s always something to look forward to in this country, from Abra to Zamboanga.

Foreigners have always been astounded by the beauty of our people, our resources, and our hospitality. But the question always goes back – Why is the Philippines still a Third World country? We know what the problems are and we know what to do, and yet have remained stagnant. Maybe the old song, If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? applies to the Philippines.

For the past 60 years since our Independence from the United States, we have taken for granted many of the good things about the country – the classic beauty of the land, the people and all our God-given resources. We are a people with great talent and intelligence, yet we have not learned from history. As I have repeatedly said, the success of EDSA I was a catalyst that moved this country from an authoritarian rule to a democratic system. But perhaps this system has been greatly abused. And the sad part is, EDSA 2 has reversed all the gains. Now some quarters are beginning to describe us as a country of plotters.

We need more investments to come into this country. And yet with the reversal of contracts like the Amari deal, the Manila Hotel, the NAIA 3 terminal – all of these things have set this country back. We have had so many investigations "in aid of legislation" regarding all these contracts, but nothing was done. Now we’re back into investigating again with the North Rail Project. Many are saying this agreement is the best the Philippines would have had under the circumstances. Yet, these allegations of wrongdoing are turning off the Chinese government and scaring away others who are thinking of investing in the country.

If these hearings are really "in aid of legislation," then we should have had clear rules on international contracts a long time ago. If the North Rail project is illegal, then it should never have taken place. It is certainly not encouraging for investors to see contracts getting voided after all the costly efforts that have been put into them. Chances are, if we signed this contract and then later decide to reverse ourselves, then we might as well reverse ourselves for the rest of our lives. Why can’t brilliant lawyers like Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Frank Drilon craft laws that would prevent these kinds of things from happening over and over again? How many more investigations in aid of legislation do we have to go through before we realize that we are keeping this country from moving forward and making its people poorer?

It is said, God only helps those who help themselves. This country has not helped itself in spite of what God has given it – beautiful landscapes, abundant natural resources and its people. We may have all the brains and the beauty, but unless we put these to good use, we will remain a country with its beauty only skin-deep and its brains perpetually drained.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]