It’s insulting because it turns neglect into a virtue. If we’re resilient, then the government doesn’t need to fix the drainage, or jail the corrupt, or defend the West Philippine Sea. We will just smile and endure anyway.
The most abused, misused, and overused description for a Pinoy is “resilient”—as he faces flash floods, super typhoons, earthquakes, poverty, inequality, the great divide between the elite and the less fortunate, and the government’s alleged preference for graft and corruption.
He’s “resilient” because he always manages to remain afloat amidst flash floods, smiling for the cameras from the roof of his house as it drifts fast toward the Philippine Sea and the open Pacific. Look at the bright side: at least it’s not heading toward the heavily contested West Philippine Sea.
It’s typhoon season again in Pinas. It’s time to check the weather app to see the best time to go to downtown Cagayan de Oro. The last thing the Cagayanon needs is to be trapped in one of the downtown malls surrounded by floodwaters.
The only time a Pinoy will want to stay overnight at the mall is when he wants to be first in line for the latest iPhone, or for a horror movie showing at midnight. Otherwise, he’d rather morning-the-night at bars, happily dancing with a shot of tequila always in his grasp.
As this rainy season ends in November, it will be El Niño’s turn to shine. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has begun issuing warning signals for the Pinoy to prepare for the dry spell that will have a huge impact on agriculture. The carnivore may just shrug his shoulders at this: I don’t eat carbs, I’ll be fine. He has the same reaction every time the price of rice spikes, comforted by the thought that his fasting blood sugar doesn’t spike anymore.
Somehow he forgets that cows eat grass. If there’s no grass, there’s no cow. If there’s no cow, there’s no beef. If there’s no beef, there’s no ribeye. That’s called the circle of life—ah hehe.
How apt for PAGASA to have that acronym. With super typhoons causing floods that the flood control scams were never meant to control at all, there are times when resilience is not enough to keep the Pinoy afloat, thus the need to be reminded that there’s always hope—pag-asa. Just keep the faith, and everything will be okay in the end.
Once upon a time, John Lennon supposedly said, “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” I don’t know if “the end” there will make the Pinoy feel assured. What if “the end” means full stop, nothing follows—whew, scary.
Resilience enables the Pinoy to sail forward for as long as it’s not toward the West Philippine Sea. There was indeed that Pinoy president whose campaign promise included riding a jet ski to the West Philippine Sea. But he ended up in The Hague instead.
The jet ski was not the only campaign promise he failed to fulfill. But he did make good on his promise to start a war on drugs, and that’s the reason he’s now in The Hague. Sounds so simple but so complicated in reality, as his daughter now faces an impeachment trial. If ever she is impeached, will one of her brothers run for president in 2028? Hmm. Abangan.
