Philippines 2010

When I was in the Philippines last February and went to my San Fernando high school reunion I talked with my sister in law at Los Banos. I commented that the same surnames are still running for offices as when I was last there in 1962. She said "to be fair they are doing a good job".

It is surely the pedigree the people are voting for, not the "leadership quality". But reading what is being written here, it seems that no matter who wins, the Philippines is still barreling down the road of corruption by the business elites and helplessness of the poor masses.

Last night, I watched part of a program about pneumonia in the Philippines. There were scenes that showed how poor the really poor are, the stuff I did not see when I was there. I was wondering all the time where all the government funds were going. I myself was feeling desperate. Those people sifting through the garbage dump near the sea were so damned poor. A man said he had to swallow his pride and beg for money from his friends and relatives to buy medicine for his son.

There is a midwife in Antique who serves as a public health employee and she has to walk several kilometers to the areas where she serves. This person is one of the real heroes of the Philippines, not the politicians in the cities.

All this discussion is making me depressed and I hope it affects everyone in the same way so some day something will be done for these poor people. I know I am not poor but it does not mean I don't have the welfare of the poor in my heart. There was a Filipino priest who just got ordained who officiated the mass last Sunday at the church that serves the deaf and Japanese in San Francisco. He will be serving the lepers in Palawan and I will help him a little bit. If anyone wants to contribute something let me know. I have the address of his family that lives in San Francisco.