Why all the chatter and private school “outrage” over Boracay all of a sudden? What is happening to the land of the annual chi-chi “#LABoracay” and all other hipster happenings that greet Imperial Manila denizens fleeing their parents’ Holy Week obligations have always been happening in the Philippines. It’s all part of Filipinos’ world-renowned Reverse Midas Touch — their ability to turn nuggets of gold into piles of turd.
Indeed, the country’s capital in Imperial Manila has long served as the rest of the country’s role model as far as Filipinos’ renowned tradition of trashing their own backyards. In Manila, sewage pipes empty right into storm drains and floodwater channels, trash is routinely dumped into empty lots, latrines in Manila’s slums are mere platforms for people to squat on and take a dump right into rivers, lakes, and esteros, and mounds of garbage are incinerated on many street corners.
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Filipinos are renowned for pissing against walls right on public streets and sidewalks. Jeepneys belch lead-rich black smoke into Manila’s already-corrosive atmosphere. Squatters that line Manila’s railways toss household refuse onto passing trains. In a typical Jollibee or McDonald’s, Filipino clans who come by the jeepney load gobble up their burgers and Cokes then leave all their disposables right on the dining surfaces they occupied. People spitting on sidewalks are a common sight.
Manila is not just a visual assault, it is also an auditory affront. Vehicle horns don’t honk, they blare and are preferred as a singalling protocol amongst motorists on Manila’s roads than turning indicators. City life in Manila does not hum, it pounds into its people’s heads thanks to jeepneys that ply their routes mufflerless together with fleets of two-stroke-engined tricycles that serve the city’s steaming eskinitas. Every night there is a karaoke night going on somewhere in the metropolis that go on ’til the wee hours. And just as you are drifting into some shuteye at four in the morning when they finally stop, the concerto of crowing coming from backyard-raised fighting cocks fill the scant remainder of the night.
Boracay has been called a “cesspool” and Filipinos are suddenly up in arms. But Manila has long been a literal cesspool and Filipinos had responded with a mere collective shrug for decades.
I’m reminded of the 1981 film Escape from New York. Back then, New York City was so bad that a movie premised on a future where Manhattan is simply walled up and turned into a penal island was actually a bankable plot. Perhaps, then, shutting down Boracay may not be such a bad idea. Its original inhabitants, after all, lived off its natural bounty. The rest of those who live there cannot survive without a modern goods and services supply line from the Philippines’ mainlands. Thus it is quite ironic that tourists go there to experience the “island lifestyle”. In that sense, they do not really know what they are talking about.
Indeed, tourists visiting Boracay to party don’t really expect to experience Boracay. They go there to infest it with Manila’s imperial rot. And that is what happened to Boracay. People who trashed their own backyards have lost any ascendancy to launch outrage fads about an island paradise fallen from grace.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Over all, many of society’s values are a cesspool.
I have been saying the same thing for years—even on this blog. The Philippine culture is corrupt: it keeps breeding arrogant and self-serving people with an “Every Man for Himself” attitude and behavior, that result in the degradation of their entire society and quality of life.
But wait until the foreign press starts saying that swimming and diving at Boracay could be dangerous to your health, and see what the reaction is.
And I wonder if the foreign press could also report on how dangerous to use shabu on their body but I doubt they won’t do that.
How do you go from discussing the dangers of swimming in the algae-infested Boracay water (brought on by irreponsible tourism for profit), to talking about the dangers of using Shabu? Is your objective here to distract from the real issue on hand, to undermine its seriousness, or, just pulling random topics out of your pocket just to say something?
My 1st and last trip to Boracay was in the early 90s. I was 12. I loved the beach. I hated the cottages. I told Mom we should go to Thailand. Sure we did. I enjoyed it there.
The government of Thailand probably has a better sewage system, and one of the reasons why more–and wider variety–of tourists flock there.
No matter where the ordinary Filipino goes; they bring with them their bad habits, like : spitting anywhere; pissing anywhere; throwing their trash, everywhere; etc…Metro Manila is a garbage dump.
However, when they are in foreign countries; they follow the law in that country. Otherwise, they are fined, jailed or deported. The trouble with us, is the Police do not arrest those lawbreakers. So, the law is not followed. Since, nobody is jailed or fined.
That’s just what they refuse to accept: Filipinos are the ones ruining their own environments. Instead, they want to blame someone else, like foreigners, when in fact it’s THEIR OWN businesses that foreigners patronize, and then they dispose of the trash in the worst way. That’s why when a Canada shipment of trash reached our shores, it made me wonder, that was more like feedback than an insult.
You’re probably the only writer on this blog that sees the “reality” of what’s going on in the Philippines, instead of hedging on which politician, or political parties, to blame for the country’s woes. I have been saying it along, since I started contributing my comments on this blog a couple of years ago, and just stopped because I was getting fed up with the “Disneyland” (delusional) approach of the writers to fault one political platform after another, without arriving at any concrete conclusion on why the Philippine society is screwed up. And the reason why is it would make for a very short life for this blog, and all the writers discredited, because the theme would be “cut and dry”: the Philippine culture is corrupt and it breeds corrupt people that only care about furthering their personal interests, regardless of what happens to their country and people. Because of their arrogance and selfishness, Filipinos allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the Chinese businesseses, and their well-bribed political dynasties, to exploit the entire archipelago under the guise of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” propaganda, and emotional high they can all be “Proud to Be a Filipino” about. The Philippines (and its people) really is a “sellout ” society.
All these “Shocked” talk on the environmental impact that irresponsible tourism has brought to Boracay should not come as a surprise. Overcommercialization has been taking place throughout the Philippines for the past 31 years since the end of Martial Law, with the rampant exploitation of Chinese businesses, and their well-bribed political dynasties, to rape the entire archipelago of its wealth. Palawan, the last bastion of virgin forest and beaches in the country, is next. Just ask Sy Holdings and Ayala Land. These major developers are leading the race to build the largest hotel resorts in Puerto Princesa and God only knows where else. And many “sellout” Filipinos still believe these developments are signs of economic prosperity for their country.
Filipino’s are PIGS, I have seen them just leave the garbage they create during an afternoon at beach. They just leave the garbage on the tables as if they think their Mother is coming after they are gone, to pick up after them. Then the garbage flies all over the beach, IT IS DISGUSTING and it HAPPENS EVERY WEEKEND ALL OVER THE FRIKKIN COUNTRY. FLIPS ARE FRIKKIN PIGS and would get a beating if they ever did that shit on a beach in the West.
What’s surprising is Filipinos are not pigs when it comes to their homes and cars; they are very proud of maintaining their personal domains. Filipinos are only pigs outside of their own personal interests. This goes to show that Filipinos don’t really care about the well-being of their nation and countrymen, unless both help advance their needs; and are very arrogant and self-serving when it comes to pursuing and preserving their own personal interest at someone else’s expense. This is the reason why the Philippines, as a nation, is screwed up. It’s every man for himself in this society.