Betrayal

We’re being bled of the best and the brightest. We have become the nurses, the maids, and the lounge singers of the world. It’s a hemorrhage of talent, a manifestation of the Philippines’ downward spiral. We are a traitorous race, ready to chuck national pride and national dignity in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Or so they say.

Look at the Filipino doctor – intelligent and talented, he graduates at the top of his class and aces the medical board exam. He impresses everyone by conquering almost impossible odds in the pursuit of his diploma. Neither moneyed nor well connected, he pushes through by dint of parental sacrifice and sheer hard work. He is the bright, shining hope of a nation in desperate need of heroes.

Then he betrays this hope by announcing his resolve to work as a nurse in New York City instead.

His name is Dr. Elmer Reyes Jacinto. Twenty-eight years old, single, and the son of teachers, he has become the face of the 25,000 nurses who emigrate, the 2,000 doctors who become nurses and the 4,000 doctors who are currently taking up nursing.

He has been condemned by many as a reflection of the Philippine failure. The ultimate sellout.

A sellout, by definition, is one who "betrays his own principles." People like Dr. Jacinto have sold their souls for reasons as selfish as is the pursuit of money.

Or so they say.

It sickens me that I used to think this way. It sickens me more that others who are supposed to be older and more experienced than myself still think the same way.

Many say that the nurses have abandoned us in time of need. The picture is not as terrible as people think, however. They can do nothing if they stay home where there are no job openings in hospitals. Even for those who stay, the average monthly salary is a pittance compared to what they can make overseas. Government estimates that their salaries aren’t even twice what they need to make ends meet. That’s why they cater to a global and not a local market.

Flor Contemplacion’s death in Singapore triggered a national furor over Filipino domestic helpers working in countries as near as Hong Kong and as far as Italy. We honor them as Bagong Bayani, the new heroes. And who’s to say they’re not? Many of them have sacrificed more "dignified" careers for the sake of family. They gave up so much.

Do people like Dr. Elmer Jacinto give up any less? There is a double standard when it comes to doctors-turned-nurses. I find it disturbing to call one a hero, and the other a sellout, when both suffer the exact same way.

Nurses-turned-doctors are painted as selfish professionals with no social consciences. It’s funny how simply because their professions involve caring for people, they are expected to do so at the expense of caring for themselves.

I don’t think Dr. Jacinto and those like him should ask for forgiveness. I don’t think they should even ask for understanding. They have the right to choose the direction of their own lives.

Maybe when they were children, they dreamt of becoming doctors. Don’t people say that medicine is the noblest profession there is? Who knows what sustained them during those grueling years in medical school? It could be the dream of saving lives, it could be the promise of serving the nation, it could be a lot of things.

I wonder when they found out that in the Philippines, the dream is different from the reality. I wonder when they found out that in being a doctor, they may save the lives of others, but not the lives of their own family. I wonder when they realized serving the nation as well as themselves is impossible. I wonder how it felt to give up that dream.

Someday, I hope that they come home. That if they do, they get the welcome that heroes deserve.

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