Putting on a mask

As All Hallow’s Eve approaches tomorrow, I always remember how Halloween is so special to our family. My daughter, in particular, used to always look forward to Halloween, and actually still does to this day. She would plan her costumes out carefully as the holiday approached and enjoyed herself immensely while looking for all the right props and costume parts to complete the look.

At home, on the other hand, we would prepare by pulling out the spooky decorations and loading up on the sweets for the onslaught of children trick-or-treating. It’s been a tradition since our daughter was a little girl and is one we carry up to this day, now that our daughter has a little girl of her own, named Isabella.

It’s amazed me, actually, how Halloween has grown in the Philippines. Most of our Halloween traditions began in the United States where many of our family live. They were the ones who were big on carving pumpkins, giving out candy, decorating their homes, and celebrating until the wee hours of the morning. I remember around ten years ago, only a handful of people celebrated here and even then it wasn’t by carving pumpkins or giving out candy, it was just by donning a simple costume and going to a party.

That has certainly changed now though. In our village alone, I have seen more and more houses prepare the scary decorations, pull out the candy bins, and open their doors to the trick-or-treaters on Halloween day. We’ve even seen more people decorating and carving pumpkins to place in front of their homes, something that is not normally done here. Granted, most of the people who are doing it have spent time abroad or are foreigners, but still, the idea is catching on some much that local supermarkets have started importing pumpkins just for Halloween.

It’s an interesting tradition, carving pumpkins, and dates way back to British origins. The main purpose they say was to guide wayward travelers on their way. People usually began by carving out a turnip in the likeness of a face and placing a lantern inside. In America, the turnip was eventually replaced with a pumpkin. And now the pumpkins have made a place for themselves in the Philippines.

Much like the costumes have found their place in the country as well. Whereas years ago only a few brave souls would don costumes and be far outnumbered by those who did not, now, everyone is seen in costume. In fact, it has become quite exciting to see the varied complex and difficult costumes the younger generation is putting together these days. Masks of every kind can be seen and those who celebrate the holiday put on a plethora of scary likenesses to hide their true selves.

Indeed, wearing masks though is nothing new to Filipinos, especially in these past few months. In fact, masks have played a pivotal role in the scandal our people have been protesting most vigilantly. Who has not seen the big and small pig masks that have sprouted all over the city and have been worn by many a frustrated citizen protesting the pork barrel scandal and the alleged misuse of billions of government money funneled into bogus foundations, organizations, and businesses? Yes, the pig mask may yet prove to be the most frightening mask this Halloween season because we are still not sure if those who are to blame will ever truly be made to pay for their crime.

To be sure, we in the country are not in need of goblins and ghouls as we have many of those right in our own government. If we needed another reminder that things are still “business as usual” we need not look any further than the recently concluded barangay elections where, despite the relatively peaceful turnout, bribery and false promises still continued despite calls for a cleaner and fairer election. Many of the voters in the provinces were still gifted with “cash” donations for voting for certain officials and, I’m sure much more.

Corruption just runs so deep in the government infrastructure it seems almost impossible that things will ever really change. The small changes we have seen in the past just seem like a change in name or title as opposed to a deeper change that really churned out results. This current Napoles and pork barrel scam is a perfect place to start. If handled properly and honestly it can be the true start to real change in the government. However, if it is handled with the same urgency as the government seems to handle other scandalous and important issues, then they will stretch it out as long as possible without any real conclusion.

And as is the case with others who have been called to pay for their actions, Napoles seems to be going through the motions. This includes special treatment, a special jail cell, and eventually needing to be rushed to the hospital as the date when she is supposed to appear before the Senate approaches. Now they say, they may have to postpone this appearance because of her medical condition. A “condition” that was treated immediately within the course of a few hours.

How many times have we seen defendants and those accused have to go the hospital instead of to court or to the senate? Haven’t we gotten tired of this routine? Unfortunately the hospital can’t do anything but give them all the tests because it is their duty to be as thorough as possible when a patient says they are not feeling well. I don’t think a lie detector test is among those scheduled with the CBC and CAT Scans. Isn’t it amazing how a person can be in amazing health and be seen at all the parties and social events before being accused but the moment they are in danger of being caught or being prosecuted they are suddenly incredibly ill, nauseous, suffering from headaches, and everything else under the sun. One can only assume the guilt of robbing people of their hard-earned money while enjoying ostentatious luxuries has finally caught up.

As I mentioned earlier, there is really no need for us to scare ourselves this Halloween season, as things in the real world are pretty scary enough. Let’s hope those in power in the government stop hiding behind their own masks and truly make an effort to make a real and lasting change once and for all.

In the meantime I guess there is nothing the rest of us can do except hold them to their promise of justice, and enjoy the holidays with our loved ones and some trick-or-treat candy to keep as happy while we wait.