I just got home from a very blissful week in Palawan. Wherein everything is great - beautiful sights, wonderful sound of nature, delicious and healthy food and warm people. Some of the sights are nominated for the World's Wonder of Nature like the majestic Tubbattaha Reef and mysterious Underground River. I can't help but fell for it and made a promise of coming back to the places I've been....in short it's perfect...well, almost. I guess, it's really true the nothing or rather no one is perfect in this world.
On a group, composed of retired couples , students, 2 German guys and me, toured to see the Underground River, we spent 2 1/2 hours of land travel and 15 minutes boat ride. Which I find very "educative" because I get to see the day-to-day scenerio of a typical Palaweño with some info tidbits from our guide.
The tour went sour, since our group were waylaid by a battalion of snotty ****** barangay officials and city councilors , in getting our boat ride for the "Underground River". Our names were already registered, when one of the "Oldies" arrogantly argued with our tour guide that their group ( for me they're a battalion...imagine 200 people wearing the "uniform shirt" with their City logo in it) will have to go first, before us. I just can't believe the nerve of this old man...and his constituents. Though our guide, defended our group's rights....his reason went naught. He went to us and briefly explained the situation, which some of us understand. It means we'll have to wait for another a couple of hours before our turn. I bet those German guys aren't exactly clueless, but simply went with the "flow".
A local Palaweño squealed that these "Oldies" are "Honorary Guests" of a relative of the local politician. Hence, the "First come, First serve" policy was thrashed because of damn pollitics. It made me wonder who really paid their expenses for this "Official Business". The Host or the Guest. Whose fund I mean? It never failed to amaze and amuse me that, we, Filipinos, politicize everything....even the most trivial matters. We breathe, ate and drunk politics. And of course it sucks! Some would think you're such a smarty-pants or a certified hottie if you joined this Game. With this kind of thinking, no wonder we're still a Third World country, tragically.
Anyway, these "Oldies" officials, are of course, as old as our parents or senior bosses. What a shame, most of them (about 70% of them) act or behave as if they were rowdy teenagers. Bickering, littering and smoking are what they did most of the time. Some of them fed the monkeys which is prohibited. Shared green jokes in a loud voice, even when kids of 8 or 6 were around. There was even one woman in her early 40s has a built in mega-phone in her vocal chords. I know that all of us are went there to see the sights, to relax and to have fun. But the etiquette of these "Oldies", simply flew out the window. I just imagined how they are and the office set-up if the were in their territory. One local tourist, quipped " My God, I don't want to grow old like that". Another one said, " I'm not sure if they should be respected, to think they were elders and government officials....I wonder how would they act if they are in higher position"
I was just pondering, that we, Filipinos, are taught at a very young age to respect the elders...aren't we? Such virtue is learned at home from our family, and in school from our teachers and classmates.
For these "Oldies", I think I could be courteous to them...out of Filipino tradition...to be respectful of the elders. For me, courtesy and respect are two different matters. Courtesy is a polite behaviour towards a person because of his position, authority and age. Respect is honor and appreciation regardless of age, sex, race, status and position. These "Oldies" are still worthy of respect, granted that they respect first "other" people around them.
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