"Suppose the critics of the DOH Secretary also asked him to think of the country first and resign, so that someone else can take over and perhaps do a better job. Would he make that sacrifice?"
"Suppose the critics of the DOH Secretary also asked him to think of the country first and resign, so that someone else can take over and perhaps do a better job. Would he make that sacrifice?"The Secretary of Health, together with the Presidential Spokesman, appealed to the patriotism of Filipino nurses to stay home to help care for their fellow countrymen amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic instead of going overseas to earn a living.
I do not know why the two gentlemen took this avenue because they are assuming that our nurses are not patriotic. For one, they do not know anything about who these people are. This kind of approach is also in poor taste because it can open up questions about their own patriotism.
Besides, is it not true that all overseas workers are our modern-day heroes, laboring overseas to be able to send much-needed foreign currency to help the government lessen its enormous deficit? Why question their patriotism? If the President as he says has every right to travel as guaranteed by the Constitution, these nurses surely have as much rights and should be allowed to leave if they want to. As one of the nurses said in an interview, they already worked in the country for some years. It is about time to think of family.
Suppose the critics of the DOH Secretary also asked him to think of the country first and resign so that someone else can take over the DOH and perhaps do a better job. Would he make the sacrifice? I doubt it.
Patriotism, as people say, is the love of one’s country, the willingness to sacrifice one’s personal interests for the sake of the country and if need be, to die for one’s country. I wonder: How many senior-level officials are up there, really sacrificing for the sake of the country and not for themselves?
With the health secretary and the spokesman way up in the totem pole, they do not have to experience what the rank in file endure while working in government. It is altogether a different ballgame. Under normal circumstances, one has to literally pass through the eye of the needle to get into the government service. One needs a political sponsor or must know someone well connected to get in. Once in, one must contend with the politics, intrigues and a lot of the hassles of working in government. It is only on account of the pandemic that the government is relaxing some requirements and fast tracking a lot of things like recruitment. But once the health crisis is over, it will be back to the old grind.
The government should just try to appeal to the nurses to stay temporarily in exchange for much better compensation instead of questioning their patriotism and banning their deployment.
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Ever since President Duterte referred to the Philippines becoming a province of China in a speech not too long ago, the issue has been popping up every now and then. The latest is about a beauty product being sold in Binondo labeled as made in Manila, Province of China. This thing is no longer just a joke because of its national security implications.
Consider that there are tens of thousands of Chinese nationals now embedded in our society as a result of the government allowing them to enter the country visa free.
In addition, Senator Ping Lacson said a few months ago that there were about 3,000 Chinese People’s Liberation Army personnel in the country, and that they were on an immersion mission familiarizing themselves about the country, very much like what the Japanese did before the outbreak of the Second World War.
If this is not enough, let us not forget that the Chinese military are already in Panatag Shoal, less than 200 miles from our shores. We all know of the ongoing bromance between our President and Chinese President Xi Jing Ping. This is probably one reason why no one in the administration is brave enough to take any strong action for fear of displeasing President Duterte.
Among all foreign nationals living in the country, Chinese nationals now seem to occupy a privileged position. They commit many crimes including illegal drug dealing, kidnapping and white-collar crimes. Yet, they appear to be treated with kid gloves.
It is left to local government leaders to take the cudgels for the rest of us. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, to his credit, immediately padlocked the offending establishment and issued a strongly worded statement. He also wrote the Bureau of Immigration to start deportation proceedings against the two Chinese nationals who own the beauty product.
Representative Jericho Nograles also took notice. However, aside from making his statement, he should also sponsor a bill penalizing anyone promoting the notion that the Philippines is a province of China either in word or in deed.
A lie repeated dozens of times has a way of becoming a fact—if it has not, already.
