DISSECTING THE MINDSET

by Wilhelmina S.Orozco

Today the fifth of August is the birthday of my brother. He has stayed in Bacolod City, Negros for more than three decades already. He likes the place as it is surrounded by the sea and he can have a drink any time he wants to while breathing fresh sea air. However, business there has a way of turning topsy-turvy unless one is a hacendero. Hence, he can hardly make both ends meet except when he gets a construction project going.Right now he has one and this I wish him: Have a good booze on your birthday! You deserve it.

People ask what is the Filipino mindset? It wants to earn just enough to be able to buy a house and lot, and have a business going to support the necessities. It wants a bit of recreation, even just a little drinking now and then, and an understanding spouse who will not nag or berate should the drinking turn heavy. It is not having to sell one's votes come election time. It is having a good set of government officials who will insure that every one lives well from womb to tomb.

Cory posited that idea of a cornucopia, a mother who could be shock absorber and beacon of hope that things can still change despite all the mistakes happening in the institutions we have. But she is no longer around to help us and we must stand on our own two feet now. Should we start blaming each other, pointing at the negative qualities of each other?

I used to have a women's organization helping women in the poor slums of Tondo. Our funds were cut off frojm NY when I started getting "political." What is that? I tried running for a post and the funders would only release funds for non-political matters.

But what is not political? When I teach women about how to take care of their bodies, that they should not be giving birth every year, the community health center cuts off the supply of condoms.

When I made a film about a poor woman who gave birth every year and has had four pregnancies already and going on her fifth, I wanted to shoot inside the health center.However, a caveat was placed in the agreement by the health authorities: the film will not pertain to any criticism of natural family planning. Who was the mayor at the time? Now secretary of the environment, a staunch advocate of NFP and devout Catholic.

A friend of mine used to be a lectora, reciting or reading Biblical passages during mass in her subdivision. When they learned that she was pro-artificial family planning, she was replaced readily by the secretary of the Church.

Aling Beatriz makes bags using recycled paper. She makes them beautifully that someone buys them all for export. But for whom is her income, for her apo, her grandchildren left behind by her child who has to work abroad so her family can eat.

Mavis (not her real name) is a battered common-law wife with two girl children. She tried leaving her husband several times and even charged him in court. But whenever her husband pleads for her return, she accedes. Why she also feels the heat and she must relieve herself. She knows no other way except to do it with her own husband, although an older guy, moneyed, is around to help her anytime.

In other words, her saviors, good or bad are men, and she cannot stand on her own. Her own father nearly disowned her for having the same problems again and again. It is only her mother who cannot resist her grandchildren that truly gives her the support she needs -- food, and advice which she does not follow as it would mean separating totally from her husband.

Elma (not her real name) used to work for a millionairess who bamboozled her with work from morn till night -- taking care of her businesses, and then of her grandchild after work. How much was she supposed to earn? P5,000, not enough to pay for her needs including the education of her child.So she resigned and is jobless now. Her child goes to school with 20 pesos at times, and eats snacks given by a rich classmate. But Elma knows that education will free his child from hunger when he grows up; thus she invests in it, giving him that moral support to carry on.

Why did Elma become poor? Her family used to be very rich -- they used to own a thriving grocery in the province. What happened? The New People's Army taxed them. Her father gave in. Then they were taxed again and again until the amount being asked was equal to the investment in the business. Her father said no. The following day, their grocery was burnt to the ground. Her father now refuses to start another business. Useless, he thinks. He just relies on gifts from their children who are working in Manila and abroad.

The problem in the Philippines is JUSTICE. No matter the mindset if justice is low or nil outside the home, outside the community, outside the town, outside the province, then the so-called Filipino mindset will forever be a question mark. What should we believe in? Pray, pray hard. It is the only way we can keep our reason and our body together.

to be continued....