A time to reflect

Calamities and tragedies are crucibles in their own right. They have the ability to bring out the best, and the worst, in a people and a nation. In overwhelming terms, the best of the Filipino has been seen in the last few weeks. It has always been thus in our history: When the times are at their darkest, the strength and nobility of the Filipino is known. We saw it during the Japanese Occupation, when Filipinos fought valiantly against an occupying force and covertly worked to help one another. It happened during Martial Law, when the opposition would work in secret to organize rallies and events, such as the Noise Barrage, to express their true feelings about the Marcos Regime. It came to the fore during EDSA I, when through strength of will a dictator was bloodlessly toppled. Sadly, tragedies and calamities can also bring out our worst.

During the Japanese Occupation there was the issue of collaborators. Those people who worked with the Japanese force for their own benefit and against other Filipinos. We respect that in some cases Filipinos were coerced and forced to work on behalf of the Japanese. But, to take advantage of a calamity (in this case man-made) and work against your own people for personal — monetary — is a crime that we could never condone. Sadly, the issue has never been resolved. For those of us who lived (and in our case fought as a guerilla) during those times we have forgiven, but never forgotten what happened.

In a little more than two decades of Marcos rule, we became the poorest nation in Asia, next to Bangladesh. The country became poorer, the people more destitute, but certain individuals benefited immensely. They grew wealthy and powerful while the country slid into social, political and economic swamp that we are still working to recover from.

Now, we are seeing the specter of self-interest raising its head again. There are reports of thievery and looting taking place in some of the hardest hit locations. Profiteering during times of crisis is always a concern. There is also the possibility for more opportunity to drastically raise prices as goods become scarce. Taking advantage of people who have fallen upon hard times is as much a moral crime as it is a legal one. That being said, there is a balance between allowing businesses to operate and attempting to curtail profiteering. We should be careful about lumping a few greedy individuals in with the people who run their businesses and honestly and above board. The Department of Trade and Industry needs to work with business groups to tackle this problem.

Of greater concern for us is the possibility that some people will follow in the footsteps of the Japanese collaborators and Martial Law cronies. Let us be honest, with the massive amounts of relief funds flowing into the country and the general turmoil there will be opportunities for self-gratification and personal benefit. We are already seeing people using the tragedy to raise their national profile; by either inflating their Ondoy exploits, or in some cases, even manufacturing them. Again, taking advantage of the suffering of others, for your own personal benefit, is shameful. We hope people will not take advantage of the situation, but will continue to exemplify the best aspects of the Filipino.

These last weeks have been trying times for the nation. It is time to reflect on what has come to pass, and what may potentially occur. We have to decide, what type of nation will this be? Will it be the country of collaborators and Martial Law style cronyism? Or will it be a nation built on the bayanihan spirit (as we have long seen the Philippines)? Our focus should be not on what we are, but on what we could be. In that respect, there are no limits.