May contain traces of... NUTS.

I am astounded by the overwhelming coverage and the unending footnotes the British press is giving Philippines these days. BBC is TV Patrol in another time zone, all of a sudden.

Once again, the Philippines is in the eye of a storm, in the epicentre of controversy and pity as storm calamity toll goes over 1000. But this is more than just a humanitarian disaster… our country is under intense scrutiny from the world as we all try to seek answers on why a relatively small scale storm caused such large scale destruction.

The newspapers, internet news-feeds, my lovely friends and even James--- everybody seems to have an opinion on how our country should be run, what our government should do, how we should spend our funds, what we should’ve learned from hindsight, what we should have done and how we failed as a country. Truthful criticism really hurt when it’s coming from outsiders. How am I supposed to respond? Can’t really holler “Right back at ya!” knowing their own government’s record for good governance speaks for itself and that a finely tweaked political correct conscience is something of a national aspiration among their people.

Here’s a case in point: David Blunkett, UK’s Home Secretary, in the same week that the Philippines was being ravaged by the typhoon, was also facing torrents of scandals and scorn of his own. Being a Filipino used to everyday indignities by our politicians, I never thought there’d be anything in Whitehall that will shock me. But it did, but for quite the opposite reasons:

Fact 1 = David Blunkett is arguably the 5th most influential politician in UK…and he is blind!
Fact 2 = He is not married, but is a lover of a certain wife of a famous publicist and has possibly fathered the child the woman is currently carrying.
Fact 3 = (the most shocking) He might be sacked. Why? Not because of morality issues, but because he is alleged to have breached the ministerial code. He has passed on 1 unused first class train ticket to his lover, took her to Spain accompanied by bodyguards, ordered his official chauffeur to drive her between London and his Derbyshire home, stationed a police officer outside her home during a demonstration once…and the most damning of all, he apparently ‘fast-tracked’ the visa application of his lover’s Filipina nanny. *squirms*

If Filipinos all have this sort of witch-hunt mentality, then all politicians would probably be jobless by now. Ha Ha Ha Free train ticket? I’ve heard of whole extended families getting plane tickets for holidays at the expense of Pinoy taxpayers! I used to have friends who would go to school driving their dad’s cars because the plate-number makes it invisible to the eagle eyed policeman---thus, a free pass to reckless driving. This is just so ‘everyday’ for us! But for the English, aha, it’s a whole different ball game. Very strong views, I’ve learned quite awfully. This brings us to one morning at the Jennings No. 11 when Mr Jennings lashed at Mrs Jennings for sniggering at the British taste for the hyperbole, especially regarding these so-called ‘abuse of power’ raps against Blunkett. “Well Sam, this is just unacceptable behaviour HERE!” he bellowed at me.

Whoa. Hard-hitting and ballsy. I got so taken aback with HIS short-temper and MY short-sightedness that I almost choked. (all I wanted was toast for breakfast, not bullets!)

I guess that’s the thing with us Pinoys. Most of us fail to realise that corruption and favouritism is not exogenous. It is in fact hereditary, intrinsic… its in our veins--- something that can’t be shaken off easily with a twitch. How can I forget? I was once a third world princess, my window view was a vast contrast of dilapidated roofs of destitution and gated taj mahals of privilege and glut at the expense of others. We thrive in that environment. Rich or poor, we are all cocooned by layers of traditions and social pressures that feed on nepotism, cronyism, and strata of corruption. Paradoxically, we are so comfortably shrouded by it that breaking away is just plain suffocating.

So when we are told that tragedies happen not because of nature’s caprice, but also as a disastrous result of a chain of ‘anomalies’ and our own negligence, we Filipinos grow numb, blind…on purpose. CHANGE and PROGRESS is just TOO harrowing. For our nation has simply been battered by too many calamities, too weary to fight…that weathering the storm only to barely survive is just enough.

After a lifetime of being in the harm’s way, we all learn that the only benefit of these misfortunes is hindsight…but as calls for 'cooperation to make a difference' are quelled by our own people’s scepticism, idleness or ignorance, this gift becomes useless. And turning a blind eye, apathy, resignation to the fickle workings of fate provides more relief, at least until the next dole cheque arrives.