My motherland is bleeding and it really hurts me.
Many years ago Philippines was very rich, not just in natural resources, but also economically. It has a very unique culture because of its numerous colonizers. Many foreigners would like to visit our country because of our hospitality, beautiful beaches, warm and friendly people. Some would even want to study in our biggest universities because of our high educational standards.
But where, what and how is Philippines doing today? It is a very sad thing that Filipinos themselves are ashamed of their own country. Isn't that the primary reason why we are continually falling apart as a people and as a nation? Yes, majority of the Filipinos don't love the Philippines and it really really hurts me. They see our country as very low and incomparable. "Ika nga, mas maganda kapag imported." - and this mentality has been brought through the years until the country's beauty has been totally forgotten. Many people became greedy and deeply entrenched the "crab mentality". This attitude has totally affected the self, and other people until it has totally spread across the nation. Our politicians before were dedicated and gave their 100% effort and service to the people. But today, they are totally corrupt and only think of themselves. Our educational standards declined drastically. Many students are using drugs and doing other vices like drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking. Garbage, pollution and chaos are increasing especially in big cities. Population is increasing as well as the number of squatter families. Poverty has risen and many people became criminals. The elegant, refined, cultivated and exquisite country has turned into a coarse and smutty land.
Last August 23, 2010 was a very sad day for the whole world when former police senior inspector Rolando Mendoza held hostage tourist bus passengers, mostly Chinese nationals. Many people reacted how the police handled the situation and I admit that they totally made blunders in handling the hostage drama. When I opened my facebook account, many of my friends posted how much they were ashamed to be a Filipino. Yes, our policemen are under trained, incompetent and don't have the right equipments. It is because most of the officials are corrupt and it seems like the courage of our heroes were not passed on to our men today. Majority of the Filipino men nowadays are weak. If they are not, then why was the handling of the hostage crisis a failure? Aside from that hostage drama, there are still lots of things that point out how weak a Filipino man is.
A Filipino man thinks that he is strong if he has a well-formed body, big muscles, abs, and if he fights with another man. If a Filipino man is brave, why can he endure seeing a Filipina woman go around looking for a foreigner man so that she can eat three times a day? Sometimes, it is the Filipino man who pushes his sister, cousin or even mother to find one so that they can escape from poverty. You can see many foreigners in our country walking in the streets with a Filipina woman holding their arms firmly as if she doesn't want to let go of it and you can see in her eyes that "DOLLARS" are everything to her. If a Filipino man is brave, why is it that the Filipina woman does much hard-work than him? Many Filipino fathers nowadays are drunkard and leave the duty of finding money to the mothers. Slowly, the "ilaw ng tahanan" becomes the "padre de pamilya". Some would even go to other countries to become slaves and send their money to their husbands who just waste it by gambling and drinking.
When will we become proud of our own country and race? I'm not writing this to disgrace and to damage the reputation of the my homeland. Sometimes, we have to acknowledge our faults and mistakes so that we can correct them. I hope that someday, my fellow men would love the Philippines and be proud of who they are. I am proud to be a Filipino. This is only a trial for us. We can still do a lot of things to help our country stand up and heal its wounds.
All that's written here is not all of what's in my heart. I just don't know how to write and express my feelings. I don't even know how to make a love letter. This proves how much I love my country because I tried to write this one even though it was very hard for me. I love the Philippines. I hope you'll learn how to love our country, too.
A Message for Filipinos
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