Nation of Servants?

The War At Home
March 27th, 2009

The Russians sank a Hong Kong freighter last month, killing the seven Chinese seamen on board. We can live with that—Lenin and Stalin were once the ideological mentors of all Chinese people. The Japanese planted a flag on Diàoyú Island. That’s no big problem—we Hong Kong Chinese love Japanese cartoons, Hello Kitty, and shopping in Shinjuku, let alone our round-the-clock obsession with karaoke.

But hold on—even the Filipinos? Manila has just claimed sovereignty over the scattered rocks in the South China Sea called the Spratly Islands, complete with a blatant threat from its congress to send gunboats to the South China Sea to defend the islands from China if necessary. This is beyond reproach. The reason: there are more than 130,000 Filipina maids working as $3,580-a-month cheap labor in Hong Kong. As a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.

As a patriotic Chinese man, the news has made my blood boil. I summoned Louisa, my domestic assistant who holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, hung a map on the wall, and gave her a harsh lecture. I sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year, she had better tell every one of her compatriots in Statue Square on Sunday that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China.

Grimly, I told her that if war breaks out between the Philippines and China, I would have to end her employment and send her straight home, because I would not risk the crime of treason for sponsoring an enemy of the state by paying her to wash my toilet and clean my windows 16 hours a day. With that money, she would pay taxes to her government, and they would fund a navy to invade our motherland and deeply hurt my feelings.

Oh yes. The government of the Philippines would certainly be wrong if they think we Chinese are prepared to swallow their insult and sit back and lose a Falkland Islands War in the Far East. They may have Barack Obama and the hawkish American military behind them, but we have a hostage in each of our homes in the Mid-Levels or higher. Some of my friends told me they have already declared a state of emergency at home. Their maids have been made to shout “China, Madam/Sir” loudly whenever they hear the word “Spratly.” They say the indoctrination is working as wonderfully as when we used to shout, “Long live Chairman Mao!” at the sight of a portrait of our Great Leader during the Cultural Revolution. I’m not sure if that’s going a bit too far, at least for the time being.

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So what was this Chip Tsao thinking? Is it just plain satirical or a big blow on our nation's sovereignity and power?

I do think we should take this thing seriously. This Chip Tsao is speaking of OUR Filipino workers, OUR countrymen, and perhaps OUR relatives. He correlates this "Filipino Diasporra" to our never-ending claim of the oil-rich Spratly's Island.

To put simply, he said WE are INCAPABLE of governing our own country and any additional land area such as the Spratly's would be a burden so we might as well abandon our claims. And that is an insult to us as a nation!

True, our government cannot provide enough works for us. True, we have to go to a foreign country to look for greener pastures. True, we are wiping some other people's ass to earn some breads.

BUT we are not parasiting on those foreigners! We are working our butts off to feed our families three times a day. We are doing things sometimes, nasty and dirty, but hey, we earn our money honestly.

WE are NOT superior to the chinese people. That's true! BUT WE are NOT inferior though!

We are not heavily dependent on China and HongKong. They are not our MASTERS (and will never be our masters!) and WE are not SLAVES. They are simply just THE employers!

Summoning your helper? Giveing her a harsh lecture? WTF! Is this guy a GOD from heaven? This bitch don't deserve our help! HE doesn't deserved to be treated nicely! To be patriotic is one thing, but to be INSULTING is another.

Let's go back to our history, the PHILIPPINE history. During the Spanish era, Chinese immigrants and the Indios are no different. They received the same harsh treatment from the Mestizos, the same beating from the Guardia Civil and the same status symbol form the Principalia. The Indios are sometimes more respected than their Chinese counterparts because the Indios are sometimes baptized while the Chinese are not. To be a Chinese before was a bigger insult than to be an Indio..

Fast Forward.. We are indeed imposing a cheap-labor policy so that we can be hired and the investor's will thrive our nation. BUT who are we up to? who are the investors pitting us against? CHINA!

I am not saying that the FILIPINOs are greater and nobler than the Chinese people. But I am proud that we have humbler roots than those proud chinese who look at themselves as gods and goddesses.

WE are NOT and will never be perfect as a race. We are not the richest of the rich, the highly industrialized people, the influential power to the world. BUT we are not a nation of servants!

WE are ASKING for RESPECT because we respect other countries, too. We are not waging war because we have some serious problems too. We just need RESPECT, no more no less.

Iskul Politiks

"Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change."

At ito talaga yung unang entry ng blog ko. Siyempre, last week lang kasi , nagkaroon ng AguElections.

Ayun, nag ambisyon ang lolo niyo na tumakbo sa pagka Externals Vice-President pero natalo ang cheeks ko. Sayang! Sayang hindi dahil sa hindi ako nanalo pero nanghihinayang ako sa opportunity to bring change sa system ng Externals Committee. I have this wondeful vision na mababago ko kahit papano yung takbo ng pamamalakad sa ExteComm pero apparently, I was not good enough sa mga AguPips.

Pero really, was I surprised na natalo ako? YES! Oui! Oo! Wa naman!

I really expected to win this time. Masyado akong nag expect kaya yun feeler ako. Feeling ko I deserve the position naman and I'm proud to say na I feel like I fit the job really well. Feeling I deserve it is one thing but proving to others I deserve it is another. And I think I failed to impress them. Ok lang naman. After all, losing the school(this time org) elections is nothing new to me.

Noong high school ako, thrice (read: THRICE as is THREE TIMES) akong tumakbo sa Student Council namin. And sa tatlong beses na yun, di ako nanalo. Sad! I was really a sore loser noon. I think I was never the popular guy kasi noon e. People knew me as the chubby guy na nerd na magaling sa math. Yun na. So they question the leader in me.. But I proved them wrong! Naku, ang lolo niyo, naging officer na ata sa lahat ng Club sa SSC noon. Kung ano ano na nga e, kaya di ko na maalala yung iba.

Come college, first year ako sa UP Aguman noon, tumakbo ako bilang Educational Committee Chairperson. I was up against Buduy, the ultimate Pautakan baby. Di ko alam kung bakit ganun yung results pero sabi ng electoral board, I won anyways. Feeling ko noon, naawa na sila sa akin dahil never akong nanalo sa SC. Haha!

I was part of the 07-08 ExeComm, ang ExeComm na nag introduce ng Mutya ning Aguman, Mibalik Tambayan at pinalakas ang Alumni Relations. Though relatively, I can say na maganda naman yung rapport namin, marami pa rin naging problema. Much more problems pala sa attitude ko, yun yung nashock ako. I was forced to be matured. I was very tamad na pala and I thought na I'm always right. I never really cared for the people who helped me win my position. I thought I was doing great, but actually, feeling ko lang pala ulit yun. I delivered some but not all of my promises. I disappointed others who looked up to me as their head. Kinain ako ng position ko. I was really really overwhelmed!

Pero I took the blame and all the criticisms. Though masakit, kinaya ko. Though feeling ko unfair na, inabsorbed ko lahat. And that experience really helped me a lot. Naging critical ako sa mga sinasabi ko. Naging maingat ako sa actions ko. Though talagang minsan masama ugali ko, tinry kong magpakabait. And the following year showed me the realities of being a member.

Though I was nominated for quite a few positions, di ako humabol. Feeling ko, kailangan kong maranasan maging member muna para maintindihan ko lahat. And yun nga, naging member ako.

Marami akong gustong gawin as an officer na hindi mo magagawa kung member ka. Of this, past officers would agree with me. Namiss ko yung position in general, yung meetings with the Alumni, yung ExeComm meeting and even yung mga GenMeets. Hindi ako nagpakita sa mga GenMeets. I am quite known for my excessive talking and being too opinionated e. So feeling ko, now that I'm not an officer na, maybe chance na nila na gawin yung gusto nila without me interferring or commenting. And maybe, jsut maybe, I need a break na rin.

This decision, however, is very very crucial for my bid in this year's AguElections. Though naging active ako sa mga events, feeling ko, kulang pa rin. Pero I have no regrets sa decision kong ito. It served its purpose naman sa akin e.

And so, I lost. I took it well naman e, with a little sourgraping and bitter bitteran which is natural naman. Ok naman na sana e. Pero ang naging masaklap lang, marami akong politikahang narinig against me. I dont wanna enumerate those stuffs dahil ayokong patulan yung mudslinging. Ayoko na rin na humaba pa ito.

But what really went wrong?

Noong naisip ko na tumakbo, ang isip ko nasa "service" for the org and not for the resume. I never really said anything bad naman against any other candidate. Naging extra careful naman ako sa mga words ko and pinaproofread ko pa nga yung SPOA ko para lang di siya magmukhang mayabang at feeler. Pero still, talo pa rin. Haha!

Iniisip ko na nga lang na I played my cards too safe and I never took some risks. Kumbaga sa pusoy dos, nasa akin lahat ng dos pero di ko nilaro! "Memakbung la!", as the AguPips would describe it.

Maybe it's not my year yet, tutal mag stay pa naman ako sa UP for a couple of years. Siguro I just have to be more active and prove them all na I can do it.

Sa lahat ng bumoto, thanks! Alam niyo na yun. Sorry, pero next time na lang ulit. Thanks for knowing what's had to be known.

Sa lahat ng hindi bumoto sakin, mukha niyo! Joke! Ok lang. Hintayin niyo ko next year cause I'll win your votes na talaga.

So what's next for me?

Plano kong maging mas active na member, and if may chance, run for VP for Educ sa Sanlahi. Tutal naging EducChair naman na ko. I just want them to show how a quizshow really works! Haha!

Ayun, sa mga nanalo, goodluck! i'm looking forward for a good year ahead. Walang magreresign ha. Support lang kami dito. Yun, be as rational as you can, work and decide beyond the friendship and the batch. Galingan niyo. Maraming mga matang titingin at kikilatis sa inyo! No Pressure! Haha! Bonne Courage!

Goodluck! Bwahahahahahaha!

Para naman sa mga di pa alam ang kapalaran (president and secretary) , galingan niyo! Walang pikunan ha? Tsaka dont be demoralized sa mga results! Kaya yan!

Final thoughts: I promise you that, as a member, the CHEEKS will still SPEAK, not for his own good but for this organization's welfare!

- Gerard De Padua -

Lakatan 06-A

I remain not for myself alone