We always spoil everything

As had recently been shown, the summit of Mount Everest is no longer the exclusive domain of climbers from other countries. Four hardy Filipinos have proven that they too can conquer the highest mountain in the world.

Sadly, what was to have been great cause for national glory has turned into an ugly spectacle of crab mentality. We are proving to the world that while we can overcome great physical odds, we are also showing a horrendous incapacity to surmount vainglorious pride.

The four Filipino adventurers who made it to the summit of Mount Everest in the middle of last month were Leo Oracion, Pastor Emata and Romeo Garduce by way of Nepal, and Dale Abenojar by way of Tibet. They are all now embroiled in controversy over who got there first.

Actually it was Oracion who first broke onto the scene as the first Filipino on the summit of Everest, followed by Emata and Garduce in that order. But then along came Abenojar who claimed he actually made it a day earlier than Oracion.

The fight is getting so ugly that the names of other people, including those from other countries such as the sherpas from Tibet who helped Abenojar, are being dragged into the picture with unflattering references.

That the four made it to the top of the world, there is no dispute, so why must there be one over who got there first. If it really matters to be first, then none of the four should be up and jumping because an old man and a physically handicapped person had been there before them.

If none had been to the top before them, then it would probably be understandable for the four to fight over the distinction of who got there first. But with dozens having already been to the summit, including less physically able ones, of what consequence is the order of the feat?

To place great emphasis on who got there first will only serve to invite comparisons. And that will needlessly bring into the picture the unflattering fact that it is only now that the noisy Filipinos finally made it, way, way behind many others.

Had we kept quiet about who got there first and instead focused on the fact that four Filipinos made it one after the other, regardless of who was where in what order, then we would have had a much stronger claim to bragging rights. But no, that is not in the character of the Filipino. He is never in a mood to queue. If you see a swarm of people jostling to board a plane in a foreign airport, in all probability that plane is Philippine-bound.

Filipinos want to be at the head of any line, thereby making any line impossible. This flaw in our character would have seemed amusing if it does not get so tragic at times, as what happened in that Wowowee stampede.

In that stampede, dozens were killed and hundreds more were maimed when the lines broke and a mad dash to the gates ensued to be first to gain access to a popular noontime television show that was giving away a number of enticing prizes.

Interestingly, that noontime television show, Wowowee, was on the giant ABS-CBN network, which sponsored the climb of Oracion and Emata. The rival GMA-7 was the sponsor of Garduce. The involvement of these networks may have helped transform the climb into a race.

Whatever it is, what we may have succeeded in showcasing to the world as a consequence of the successful ascent of these four Filipino climbers has now been reduced into an embarrassing spectacle of credit-grabbing. Like Edsa, we always spoil everything.