TWO strong earthquakes hit us in succession Monday and Tuesday. Will we be seeing our churches overflowing with people again soon? This is what usually happens. In times of distress, we call the name of God, the one somebody said is a “stupid” one. Of course, he was only joking. I mean the “somebody.” not God.
I was in Kuala Lumpur when I read about the first earthquake in, of all outlets, the social media. But the reports were surprisingly accurate. There was very little exaggeration and no fake news, just the bare details and expressions of “keep safe.”
There must have been many others who were hundreds of miles away and who had loved ones in Luzon at the time of the earthquake. And I’m sure they went through the same anxious moments that I experienced when I could not reach my daughter by phone. It was only through Messenger that I finally got through but by then my blood pressure must have already shot up.
Apparently, our telecommunications facilities are not equipped to service the flood of calls that happen within minutes after a disaster or a calamity. This is very unfortunate since we want to know immediately if our loved ones are safe. Thank you again, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber for filling the gap.
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Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said we should be a “little kind” to the illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines because we have 300,000 illegal workers in China. ”You know, we have to be a little kind to the Chinese because they are very kind to us,” Bello said. “How many illegal workers do we have in China? A little over 300,000.”
Curiously, Bello denies in the same breath that there are any illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines. “And then we vilify them even if they do nothing,” Bello complained. “It’s all false reports that they are in the thousands, but when we inspect, there’s nothing.”
So who are they that he wants us to tolerate if they’re not here? And how did Bello arrive at the conclusion that there are 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in China?
When something is illegal, it means that it is against the law, doesn’t it? And if it is against the law, isn’t it the job of government to stop it? So why should a top government official be telling us to allow a breach of the law to happen instead of trying to prevent it?
These aliens are stealing away the jobs of Filipinos and should be sent back to China. That is what our law says. Let China deport the 300,000 undocumented Filipino works who are stealing the jobs away from the Chinese in return. It may be harsh but that is the law. Unless, of course, “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” has become the hallmark of Philippine foreign policy on labor.
Bello is not the only high ranking public official who has recently asked us to give the Chinese TLC. Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told Chinese inventors last Tuesday “to feel welcome without restrictions.”
Welcome, yes but without restrictions? I have almost forgotten it but now I am reminded of the anomalous ZTE deal that was negotiated during GMA’s term. Terrible.