I bet that many of us on a daily basis do not notice anything as long as we get the
things we bought, we get examined in a hospital, we get to stay in a cozy hotel or
eat in a posh restaurant. Is it because we know money can buy people and service? Is
it because we are so used to how things are done that's why we don't know? Or is it
simply that we do not care?
In the past few years since I came back home there's not just a number but so many of
the changes that I noticed in the Philippines. I wish I could tell you it's for the
good, but it's not. Yes we have improved working conditions because in truth there are more jobs now, more businesses, more opportunities for work, we can't deny the fact that this is true. Unfortunately, the right person is not in the right bus. The talent is not in the right concert. The people work but their minds and heart are not present where they stand. This is not a political ad, but a social awareness campaign. A reminder that we are not Transients of this country but Citizens of the Philippines.
It was a very frustrating and scary scene for my sister when she suddenly saw me lying on my hospital bed in the ICU (yr2005) with my face slowly puffing up. It started as a small swell, that was 10am a few days after my operation, by 11am one doctor on duty came and he said that it's normal. They keep on telling us that the doctors are in the operating room. But by 3pm despite all the rantings and follow up, my sister was already crying my face swelled and swelled, without exaggeration to huge proportions, the nurses didn't do anything, until a lady doctor came in she said that this is not normal. She did all she can to call the other doctors. They all came and realized my tubes where all misplaced, the swelling subsided after 3 days. But this is not the end, I was feeling the most intense pain. The nurses are already talking about me, how difficult I am as a patient but they did not know or tried to find out what was ailing me. As drugged as I was and as painful the operation was I do not know what to look for. Until one nurse realized that
my bed at my back was soaked, it needs to be changed less I catch cold. The tube where the anesthesia was connected was leaking. The doctor who attached the apparatus told me that he made sure that he attached it well. Finally, it was removed while I received the intravenous pain reliever, in a few minutes I was able to sleep and felt the pain no more. No wonder many people can only sympathize because to empathize is to feel and be in the similar situation, only then do we realize what they are really feeling.
The following year (yr2006) I ventured into bazaars and entered into a partnership with our community church. I did not suspect anything because I asked about the procedures, the rules and regulations, I even told them of my condition and that I need to have an outlets for extra appliances to use on the small slot. The coordinator told me all I need to know and I asked for my contract, and was advised will receive when I made my payment. When I paid, I gave the full amount so as not to create any inconveniences, I received my acknowledgment in a piece of paper from my sales log book. The coordinator said she did not bring her receipt and consider it a temporary receipt. I started with the bazaar and found out that the place she gave me was smaller than the other stalls. To top it all the other vendors gossiped about then unfair slot allotment, the lack of traffic, unorganized information and inconsistent fees for each stall. I do not know who to believe so I asked the organizer about the other fees, and other things I heard. All the organizer said was
that it was all stated in the contract, so I told her that until now I do not have the contract and official receipt. Later that day I received the receipt, and no contract to show for it. In the middle of all that there was one concessionaire who took matters into her own hands and reported the incident straight to the parish priest. It was found out that only a few paid in full, the other pending payments never reached the church and in the end because of this negligence the church bazaars are no longer part of the church's fund raising activities.
In between yr2007 till yr2009, my family and I experienced several unpleasant incidents. There were calls and letters from different companies for a cousin of ours who never stayed here at our house. I remember this cousin of mine asked our mother if she can use our telephone number and home address as work reference. But not to have her debtors call on us day in and day out to ask her to pay her debt after she has already left the country. At first we were ever so nice to the callers letting them know that they should remove the telephone number and address since it was only used as a temporary forwarding address. But it went on and on until it came to a point that every time a call for my cousin came all of us always end up raising our voices just to make our point, because the same company calls up only the caller's name changed.
Because of the delivery trend it's now convenient to order for food without the long lines. Only thing is nowadays, the team who accepts orders are outsourced call centers. If you have a special request forget all about it, if you are craving for a dessert you will be informed only when the delivery guy is there and he gets the brunt of your rage because of your hunger.
Gone are the days in the department stores where when you ask a salesperson about an item you are attended to and endorsed properly before they leave you, even if they are not in charge of the goods. Most sales attendants are pushy because they insist that the dress looks good on you when they know fully well the color and size will not fit you.
Have you gone to a famous bakeshop and bought your favorite cake and some other pastries and realized that it all smelled of gasoline instead of butter? ? ?
One more to add to the loot, it happened again today after I made a formal complaint yesterday. My father,67 years old, who was asked to fast from 12 midnight had to wait for the third time because of the so many excuse that a clinic located in a prestigious area gave us to cover for the incompetence of their staffs. Can you imagine having to fast 3 times this week? As old as he is he needed to have his ultrasound because his tummy was so bloated and he can't stand the discomfort of the sudden pain it causes. He had to go back to the clinic three (3X) times. The first time he was told that the technician will be late for 20 minutes, only to come back home because the technician had sore eyes. The second time it was because there was an accident on the highway.
Reading all this and going through what we have experienced, do you find one similar that's happened to you? If you are among those who saw how other Filipinos worked abroad, you will all tell me and that's a definite that they will not treat you this way. When we worked abroad we will treat all the same way we treat all our patients, clients like friends and family. When I came back home, I made sure I felt what it would be to be home. And not in my life did I expect that there are so many Filipinos who do not have service, care and responsibility in their bones. They have all gone abroad. Those outside the country or who had been outside of the country care more and give more of themselves than those who are in the Philippines.
Before leaving the country in 1999 I told myself that I will be a better person with all the experiences that I will learn. But I never thought that I will be discriminated, laughed at, and humiliated in another country. In spite of that I developed a better character. I was able to show them what I am made of. I may sound conceited to many, but this is one thing I know many people who know me can attest to. I stood up my ground, I became a leader, I made a name for myself and I have lived with wonderful people who made me realize that everyone deserves to be treated well. And when i go back home I will bring it all back with me, because my family and
the people here deserve the best. I do not want them to experience what I have gone through abroad.
You see despite the hardships I encountered I realized that in any place that you go, work, play, live or visit, you have the choice, the power, the right to be a Citizen. We are all Transients. Everything in our lives are temporary, all borrowed from God. We do not own anything, even if we fill up our houses with all the material things, with all the most expensive gadgets, they are nothing. All nothing compared to the kind of person that we are to become. It's not a matter of where you are born, what your status is, the color of your skin, we all make up what our minds
want us to think. When you think that all of the above is just work, then it will all just be work, you Transient! Think about is a service as something valuable, it's necessary to think of others, of how my job will make a difference, what I will do today will affect people, then you Citizen will gain more than you ever know.
It's this if you are a Transient, you have the I don't care attitude, the I will be gone from here soon syndrome, my work will be done in 8 hours logic, I don't care if people hear me gossip about that other person they don't know him anyway, so what if I do not pass the information there's still tomorrow line, this is just a temp job I will find a better one sour grape reasoning, let me not make any needless effort retort. It's a small thing why is this lady making a big fuss about it defense mechanism. That's where we are all wrong! I was reminded by this story about a professor in one of his lectures. "When a big jar was brought into a classroom by a professor filled with big rocks, he asked his students: "Is the jar full?"
There are still some spaces, some said yes, others said no right away. So he proceeded by adding pebbles, and asked the same question, now the students said yes, but then he continued to fill it with sand, of course this time it's full. But when all the students said yes, he added water and spaces began to form. he asked them again: "What have you learned?" One said that: "There is still room for
improvement!" The professor finally said, no matter what we do there will be small things to fill in the spaces, but remember, we have to put in the big rocks first, the foundation to fill your jar, your lives, before all the other small things were brought in, small things like your house, your car, your work, your title, anything that is not about Love, God, People is categorized small things like sand under your feet they are unending and countless. . .There is no one to blame for your situation.
When you reach a certain age, whatever you do is a choice, a path that you decide to take. Even if there are outside forces, you still take your life the way you want it to be. Only thing missing is if we are doing it for God's glory, for our good as a person. When HE is missing from what we do, everything is a drudgery, empty and directionless. No wonder people do as they please, they forget about other people, because they have become I-centered. No wonder you are still in the position you are now because you do not offer you life to God and think about anyone else. No wonder evil thoughts and deeds come to our minds first, because we have cluttered our lives with doubts, unclean words, unsavory thoughts, pre-conceived notions about people and all the bad things we can think about in this world. All in the name of protecting "me, mine & myself". What would you do as an "I" without the "We" and without GOD? ? ? No wonder you are confused about yourself and your life.
So now after the litany of a novel has been written what would you like to be a Transient or a Citizen? If you would like to be treated well, would you care for anything less than the best? Would you be anyone less that the best? Are you willing to give the best of yourself, so others will do unto you what you are willing to
do unto them? ? ? ?
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