As with any perceived insult, my hackles rose when I heard that Hong Kong lawmakers had passed a legislative measure revoking visa-free access for Filipino tourists. While not yet final, it seems this amendment will pass, as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, whose signature is reportedly needed to ensure the effectivity of the law, has already expressed his sentiments on the issue.
The source of this unfriendly measure? The unfortunate mishap that several Hong Kong tourists encountered when ex-cop Rolando Mendoza took them hostage, a dramatic tension-filled fiasco which ended with several lives lost. Certain sectors in Hong Kong have blamed the Philippine government, pointing to this and that circumstance that supposedly evidence the government's negligence, stupidity or mistakes.
Hong Kong has decided that the Philippines, as a country, through its highest official, the president, should apologize for the incident, and pay huge amounts as compensation to the bereaved relatives of the slain. Of course, our president has refused, expressing his regret over the incident, but careful not to apologize.
For the past three years, the issue has dragged, and so we have come to this. In a show of contempt and muscle, Hong Kong has now decided to punish us, the ordinary citizens who may just want, for the most prosaic of reasons like shopping or eating, to pass through its territory, for this perceived slight.
Well, excuse me. If anything, all this does is it makes me want to root for President Aquino and urge him not to buckle under the economic sanctions. Why should the Philippines bend over backwards and apologize for something that it didn't do? Why should our highest official take responsibility for an act, heinous though it might be, that wasn't committed by the army, the police, or even a secret government assassin? It was a private individual that turned his gun on the unfortunate tourists, not an officer of the state. So what gives?
Sure, there may have been negligence involved. Our police could have handled it differently. They could have shot Mendoza dead if they had more sharpshooter training and/or guts and/or an on-the-ball commanding officer. They could have deployed more experienced negotiators or highly sophisticated SWAT marksmen, assuming they had any. But all this is clarity in hindsight, and no amount of faultfinding can ever demonstrate that events would have turned out better were all these theories ever put into play.
In much the same way, can I blame the Hong Kong government for the taxi driver that tried to rip me off when I took a cab from Lan Kwai Fong to my hotel? After all, it's the government that licensed him, and monitors his compliance with HK laws, and accredits his cab. So does that give me a right to demand that CY Leung apologize for the frazzled nerves that his cab driver gave me that night?
Or what about all the indignities that our maids suffer, when they aren't fed by their masters, or are insulted, or even paid their salaries? After all, HK's labor ministry is supposed to enforce labor laws. And if they're not being enforced, and Filipinas are not getting their wages, should we blame the Hong Kong President and ask him to apologize?
Many Filipinos have observed that Hong Kong is treating our country like some of its citizens treat their Filipina maids: cavalierly, boorishly, or maybe disrespectfully. Up to now, our maids cannot even get permanent residency status despite the Basic Law that grants equality to all. A startling majority of the citizenry oppose this equality, because Hong Kongers are opposed to sharing their status, their privileges and their benefits with their lowly maids.
That perspective colors, perhaps, the way Hong Kong views Manila. We are a servile class, and we are expected to bow to their views on what the proper course of action to take is. Because we refuse to be dictated upon, Hong Kong stamps its feet, pouts, and slaps a punishment. The action of an equal, seeking dialogue and a peaceful solution? I don't think so.
There are plenty of tourist destinations that let Filipinos in without the need for a visa. Israel, Brazil, Singapore, and Cambodia believe in welcoming us. And I always believed in not going where I'm not wanted. So Hong Kong? Perhaps that can wait until certain notions of civility, if not equality, set in.