I just arrived yesterday from Taiwan, where I am posted as Labor Attache based in Taichung. The hot topic in the airport is no longer the blunders in handling the hostage crisis. The OFWs, especially those who hail from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and most of Mindanao, are furious at Gloria Diaz for her slur against the Visayan-speaking people.
The trouble with Ms Diaz is her manifestation of seeming arrogance in supposedly declaring nonchalantly that she was not going to apologize to anyone. The OFWs have a lot of negative adjectives hurled at the former Ms. Universe. This reaction by the OFWS in Taiwan is not specific to this nation alone. I have strong links with the Filipino communities in Kuwait, where I was posted for two years, and those in Malaysia where I was the Labor Attache from 2005 to 2208. There is a strong convergence of negative backlash against Ms Diaz.
The general impression of Tagalogs, albeit too much generalized, on Visayans and Ilocanos is that we have a strong accent and a very heavy twang when we speak English. It is also assumed that we are allegedly poor in grammar, and that we are supposedly unable to make our subject agree with our predicate. They also accuse us, Visayans, of having convoluted syntax and a notoriously incompetent use of tenses.
To all of these, the Visayans would be willing to debate with Gloria Diaz in national television. We have very good examples of very articulate Cebuanos - former Congressman Tony Cuenco and incumbent Congressman Eddie Gullas. I would ask Ms. Diaz to select her debaters and public speakers and I am sure Tony Cuenco and Eddiegul will give her a run for her money.
The reason why OFWs from the Visayan-speaking provinces seem to be very sensitive on this issue is because they have always been subjected to this kind of slur from foreign employers, from co-workers from Luzon and from Filipinos who grew up in English-speaking countries.
They are sick and tired of these insults and are not going to take them sitting down. In the hearts and minds of Filipino migrant workers, Gloria Diaz is a persona non grata. She is not welcomed in the South nowadays, and many social networking avenues are being used to manifest the anger, disappointment and spite that the Visayans are bearing against Ms. Diaz.
It would not be advisable for her to come to the Visayan regions nowadays. If there is going to be a vote among migrant workers, Ms. Diaz may win the most hated category. If you ask the OFWs, she rightly deserves the accolade.