Fat vs Ugly

Once upon a time… a Cory Cabinet member publicly insulted my father Louie Beltran and called him FAT in front of the Malacañang Press Corps! Rumor has it that when Sec. Teddy Boy Locsin heard about it, he warned the Cabinet member that he just made the worst mistake of his life. The next day, my dad came out with his retort to the FAT label by quoting a popular line from Garfield the Cat: “I may be Fat but you’re UGLY, and I can go on a diet.”

All these come to mind after I read about the recent barb thrown by President Rodrigo Duterte specifically at Senator Richard Gordon and a subsequent critique of Senator Ping Lacson’s hairstyle. The question is, will all the vertically challenged individuals in the Philippines rise up to condemn Duterte? Will they demand that the President stand on the scales and undergo a BMI or Body Mass Index assessment?

I’m curious how Senator Gordon will respond to the President’s figure-related insult but here’s a few lines I picked up from the internet: 1) The only reason I’m fat is because a thin body couldn’t store all this personality. 2) I’m not fat. It’s just my awesomeness swelling up inside me. 3) I’m not fat, I’m just easy to see. Or here’s something I came up with: Call me fat once more and I’ll have you for breakfast!

Setting all witty repartee aside, no one should fall for the distraction tactics of the President because it is beginning to be clear that CORRUPTION is undeniably present in his administration and he is not happy being on the defensive. Whether one calls them scams or “planned plunder,” it is evident that when Pacman Manny Pacquiao said “open sez-a-me” to the issue of corruption, heaven heard his prayers and sent out a multitude of clues and issues that it can no longer be dismissed or brushed aside by the public, as well as by President Duterte.

Aside from the embarrassing situation, it is clear that Duterte’s Fear Factor over people and critics has waned, while some of the President’s men have started to panic as they find themselves being grilled and bugbog in the Senate and in media. Don’t be surprised if people around the President feel beaten up or “warak” or ripped. It’s a common feeling for people who have operated with a sense of impunity and suddenly find themselves confronted and challenged publicly. The surge of public criticism and accusation can be so overwhelming for people who always thought they were in control, thus the feeling of being beaten up.

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While world leaders and royalty applaud and express their appreciation for Filipino health workers in Europe and America, here in the Philippines they have been brushed aside, ignored and robbed of the pittance in SRA or Special Risk Allowance they have earned for risking their lives in our battle against COVID-19. In the words of several leaders in the sector, “It is an insult that we have to fight and protest for what is rightfully ours.” Unless President Duterte intervenes or sends out crowd control forces of the PNP to different hospitals, we are promised “The Big One” in terms of protests, walk outs and noise barrage.

The tragedy in all of this is that the amount for each health worker is approximately P200 +/- for each day they worked and not monthly.

If that is not bad enough, the DOH decided that only those directly working in COVID wards will be entitled to the SRA. This, according to other health workers, is adding insult to injury because there is a heightened risk for any individual reporting to a hospital during the pandemic. It is no different from being in a war zone daily; whether you are a soldier, doctor or journalist, being in the red zone means a bullet, virus or a bomb can come your way with a note that says: “To Whom It May Concern.” So why make distinctions? If all frontline health workers are modern-day heroes, then treat them equally!

Perhaps we should all pressure the government to stop labeling hard working Filipinos as modern-day heroes since heroism in the current context entails physical, financial, emotional and mental sacrifice. Our modern-day heroes are the modern-day slaves traded and passed around or raped, even killed, in some Middle East countries, our modern-day heroes are the ones who have to plead on social media for the government to rescue them from a cruel employer or repatriate them when there are no more jobs or when they are caught in a war.

Being a heroic health worker means you work with one foot in the grave, at risk of contracting COVID, you work a shift and a half to double shifts, you find sleep or a break where you stand because most government hospitals have not been redesigned for battle conditions. Worst of all, you recycle, wash or extend the use of your personal protective equipment because supplies are low while government officials enter into onerous one-sided contracts for sub-standard equipment and materials.

Equally sad is the situation at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center where health workers need to go online and to media with a “begging bowl” to solicit donations for N95 medical grade face masks that cost around P150/pc or P3,000/20 pcs. Stocks are low and consumption high due to the rise in COVID cases. If you wish to help out, please contact: Ms Shalimar Abalos – PCMC donation coordinator 0947-618-8783 or trunkline 8-588-9900 loc. 344.

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