$$$ racial bias

Just before the Holy Week, a company selling skin-whitening products foolishly embarked on a marketing campaign playing up a form of racial bias allegedly observed in public buses. The portrayal was that 2 out of 3 still displayed a bias against dark skinned ladies and this was characterized by a statement saying that just because a woman was fair skinned someone gave her a seat. That of course is pure horse manure and a clear attempt to capitalize on the colonial mentality of the past that fair skin people are more beautiful. Using bus riders as the source of the observation or bias added insult to injury, suggesting that bus riders are a bunch of biased people or as the millenials call it: “Colorists.”

As expected, the company reaped a whirlwind of middle fingers to say the least. But the question is: How much would such a mistake affect a company that provides chemicals for peoples’ egos or insecurity? How many people would stand on principled ground and forego chemically induced fair skin? In a country threatened by diabetes, coronary disease and kidney failures, Filipinos continue to consume health threatening beverages and life shortening cuisine. We know, we agree, but we simply won’t change until the doctor says it is now a life and death choice. To be honest, I’m really curious how many people who binged on booze and food landed in the ER during Holy Week?

More than our principled rage against bias, we need to campaign or promote “the beauty of our natural skin color.” Whether you are born fair skinned or dark skinned, it is what God has blessed us with for the place he has assigned us geographically or professionally. This begins by appreciating and promoting “how nice” “how beautiful” or “wonderful” our Filipino skin color is. Don’t just “React” on social media, “SHARE” and promote images and personalities who look great and feel great about it without having to rely on chemically induced results.

In any case, I am glad that Filipino Netizens stood up and spoke out against the company selling the skin whitener. At the very least, the Netizens made it clear that they are not so gullible, nor will they tolerate such falsehoods or racial/color-related discrimination. And I am hopeful that this type of controversy will make marketing and advertising people come to terms with the need for wisdom and intelligence in their creative and commercial work. Above all, to consult and be accountable to a group of experts before embarking on ideas and suggestions that are so ’60s.

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If there is one racial bias that I feel strongly about in the Philippines, it’s the one where people start seeing $$$ signs when they deal with a foreigner. Having been married to a foreigner for several decades, I have had ample experience with this kind of bias. The one that really gets me angry are hospitals and doctors who immediately order a ton of lab works X-rays etc., on foreigners even before thoroughly interviewing them about their “condition” as well as their capacity to pay. They simply assume that foreigners are insured or have lots of money. Not all of them do! The worst thing I have been hearing about lately are stories of Expats who rush their household helpers to the top two hospitals in Metro Manila and end up being charged anywhere from hundreds of thousands to the last one reaching 2 million (!) for cases that are not even life and death situations.

Even after learning that the patient was not kin or covered by HMO, doctors or hospital staff never mention or advise the employer that the hospitals has a “Charity section” or immediately refer them to government hospitals. Just because the patient is accompanied by a white woman or a foreigner automatically results in a torrent of lab works and tests pegged at Expat prices! I hope that my friend Senator JV Ejercito gets re-elected because I would like for him to pass a law making it mandatory for hospitals and physicians to properly evaluate and inform patients and employers regarding costs and options and the various levels of pricing in their establishments as well as alternative facilities before the “Foreigner Price” is slapped on Expats.

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Even before the Holy Week, many air travelers were already complaining about delayed takeoffs and landing at the NAIA. What few people know is that the air traffic congestion in and out of NAIA is not just about the regular volume of travelers and aircraft. The situation has been made worse by politicians on private planes who have doubled the air traffic congestion because they insist on landing at NAIA instead of Sangley airport in Cavite or at Clark International Airport. These politicians who are busy on the campaign trail have been using a lot of private aircrafts in order to maximize their air and travel time instead of flying commercial which eats up 3 to 5 hours in delays depending on your luck. This is seriously wrong because we now have a situation where commercial flights are the ones forced to land at Clark resulting to the inconvenience of the public.

In the mean time, Filipinos must once again suffer the abuse and self-entitlement of Senatorial candidates and Congressmen who have no qualms calling members of the Duterte cabinet to facilitate their take off and landings at NAIA. An old timer from NAIA recently shared the reaction of insiders when he asked why General Aviation planes were being allowed to mess up air traffic at NAIA? He was told that NAIA authorities can only do what “big Bosses” tell them to do.