about the philippines ...

i was swamped with questions about what's going on in the philippines today. as i am one who do not watch TV early in the mornings nor was i one who would browse any newspaper (i have stopped reading them altogether), i was the last to know of the recent attempt of another coup de état in manila (gezz, they never stop!) - sad eh?

i was not in the least surprised when i learned of this. i simply downplayed the whole thing as normal - "they do that in the philippines every 2nd or 3rd year - nothing new", i said. and that is how i close the subject about the philippines. i am tired of explaining how things "work" in the philippines to most europeans. they are smart enough to know the root of all this evil in the governing bodies of the philippines - that is from the top level down to the bottom level of leadership. need i elaborate? mention the name of the philippines anywhere abroad and the impressions you'd get are nothing but negativity - unless you pinpoint the very few areas where we excel: in some areas of arts (theater, music, film) and sports (boxing) - and yes, the OFWs ... these so-called modern day heroes of the philippines working hard abroad - not only to support their own families left in the philippines but is also the very ones who generates income for the philippine government to run the already hardhit economy of the philippines. and if i may add, very few filipinos know this!

i may be a filipina, but it's sometimes difficult for me to find words to describe the philippines. it is not the same philippines i knew then - things have certainly changed. some say they are better, but i hardly see them with my own eyes during my visits. having lived abroad gave me a whole new perspective about the philippines: its government, its people, its progress and its economic state - simply put, things are done very differently out there than what's the norm in most countries in Asia and Europe.

the philippines will always be my philippines - but i'm so sick and tired of the way things are being run out there ... i feel so helpless ... i feel frustrated. what should one do watching from a distance?