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>Subject title : >" Desperately Searching for a Hero " > > >The Philippines is short of real heroes that beauty >queens and sports luminaries have been embraced as if >they were the real thing. I doubt if most Filipinos do >not recognize Gemma Cruz, Gloria Diaz, Aurora Pijuan, >Margie Moran and Melanie Marquez--all international >beauty queens. Despite having children born out of >wedlock, one movie writer insists that Melanie Marquez >is a "national treasure." > >Those who argue that beauty contests are frivolous >miss the point that beauty queens fulfill the need of >ordinary Filipinos for somebody to look up to and >serve as role models to emulate or inspire. > >We no longer have authentic heroes in the mold of Dr. >Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio who paid the ultimate >price so that Filipinos may be free. The nearest thing >we have for a hero was Ninoy Aquino but he was >assassinated as soon as his plane landed at the Manila >International Airport in 1983. The mastermind behind >this dastardly act has not been brought to justice up >to now. > >We even turned to movie stars--Rogelio de la Rosa, >Lito Lapid, Ramon and Bong Revilla, Rey Malonzo, Erap >and Fernando Poe, Jr., among others. It is perhaps our >naivete that we could not distinguish what is reel >from real. Erap, who played the defender of the poor >and "naaapi" in countless movies and elected to the >highest office of the land, had himself overthrown in >a people's power revolt. > >Erap's fall from grace have made Filipinos turn >desperately to sports heroes like the boxer, Manny >Pacquiao. Despite losing to Mexican boxer, Erik >Morales, in Las Vegas this year, he was accorded a >hero's welcome upon his arrival in Manila. Unlike >movie actor, Richard Gomez, who was charged in court >by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for tax >evasion, Pacquiao got away with a mere reassessment of >his income tax liabilities from the BIR. > >The millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have >been called "modern-day heroes" for regularly >remitting their earnings to their dependents in the >Philippines and thus help shore up the economy after >years of fiscal mismanagement. But there are some >people in the BIR who would begrudge this honor and >want to reimpose the income taxes to OFWs as if the >estimated yearly $8 billion remittances were something >to sneeze at. As if the OFWs were able to enjoy basic >services while working overseas. > >And so the national schizophrenia goes on and >we,Filipinos, remain unable to tell the difference >between fact and fiction, between reality and fantasy. >In fact, we don't need valium but a heavy dose of >thorazine to jolt us back to reality. > >--------- > > > >Music Inside Buzz Stories >http://insidebuzz.tripod.com

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