3 Drug Mules and the Future of the Ordinary Filipino

The execution of the three Filipino drug mules in China is a long testament to the ugly diaspora of our countrymen who are forced to leave abroad to better the lives of their families. Perhaps, our agony from the burden of seeing OFWs dying from lethal injection in China is far from over as we have yet more than 70 of them on death row.

Sally Ordinario, Ramon Credo, and Elizabeth Batain and their families may have categorically classified themselves as victims of drug trafficking but we cannot deny that the imposition of punishment by a foreign country to drug couriers should not be viewed with a local sentiment but seeing things on a broader perspective; that anyone who visits a foreign land should by all means respect and follow the law of that country. Nothing more, nothing less.

Philippine Laws in the Face of Drug Couriers’ Execution’

In light of the increasing number of OFWs on death row, our very own laws are under attack because of our lack of implementation and our inability to punish criminals who commit drug trafficking within our national premises. I don’t know but for ordinary people like me it’s difficult to understand the fact that we deport criminals, face the law of their own countries, rather than make them pay for the punishment set by our own laws for the crime they commit. I know it’s all about taking care of our foreign policy but don’t you think we are in the face of reducing our constitution into a piece of a mere cardboard game?

It Takes “Two” to Tango

Things like this happens because we allow them to happen. We dream of a good life for our family but to continuously allow people to proliferate to the point of having to force one member to leave abroad for work is never logical to me. This is one reason why I do not understand the sentiments of people who are against family planning and those who are against the RH Bill. Denying people of a life with only having the number of children they can afford to care for is far more immoral than having to wear that rubber and decide when it’s time to add more members to a tribe.

I’m not against the faithful who fervently follow the teachings of the few “wise men” in robes but what I do not understand is to follow someone without question and without the basis of personal reason. To follow blindly is a curse that has plagued mankind who are enslaved by “organizations” who have a long track record of civic persecution.

I am a witness to the ugliness of poverty and a testament to how the poor have spent their lives in noontime shows and the promise of politicians to make their lives better only to find themselves still drowned from the stench of poverty. I have always despised poverty but the more I do so the more it makes me realize that the poverty I hate is the same reflection of the people that are close to my heart – my family. The people who continuously oppose family planning and RH bill are no more than the likes of people who never understands the word “poverty” and never felt the experience of having to eat decently and sufficiently for the entire day. The hypocrites of our society are many and we can see them everyday. And what’s worse, they are increasing.

Poverty is a Choice.

Poverty is a vicious cycle that enslaves most of our countrymen and I am convinced that there are factors that continuous to fuel it. With a world full of resources, I always believe that poverty is something that we create more than something that happens to create on its own. Poverty exists because there are people who subscribe to it, poverty exists because there are corporate and religious organizations that continuously feed, fuel, and support it. Do you really think “noontime/entertainment” shows that cash in to the plight of the poor exist for charity reasons? Will they continue to exist if no one’s continue to watch them? Perhaps that something we all can contemplate before tonight’s sleep.

Of course I’m no KJ to the idea of watching entertainment shows and telenovelas. I grew up with them. But perhaps, we Filipinos have shaped our culture allowing ourselves be entertained the whole day rather than to pick ourselves up, go out and think of ways to make our lives better. These shows have served as prisons from where we connect ourselves and be shaped by it. The entire psychological process is difficult to explain thinking that I’m no professional in this field but perhaps someone else would be better at doing it for me.

All this brings us to a cultural revolution called for by intellectuals – that reconditioning would be another good start for us all. Maybe we can start teaching our children this: to do their best in school so that one day they can setup a business on their own or become the leader in their field instead of the usual drama that our children should learn their lessons well in school so that one day they could become another corporate employees? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t despise labor. Perhaps, it’s an analogy that, if interpreted well, could help catapult us all to greatness.

It Takes More than Two to Tango

So we can conclude that it takes two, three, four or all to tango. It takes more than the government to clean up the mess of the past for. It requires synchrony and real wanting of the masses to improve their lives as a family, as a people, as a nation.

If we genuinely care for the poor that means picking up the same record and playing it on the same turntable and kicking to the same beat to relinquish ourselves from the snare of poverty that continues to pillage each and everyone of us. We can’t dance with two records and turntable working at the same time.