Fun in the Land of WoeITS MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES, a phrase wonderfully printed in a magazine that Ive seen. Different colors had been used which make it very lively. Several photos of peaceful sceneries are also shown, maybe to prove that it is really fun to be in here. It will somehow make you feel proud to be a part of this nation. But it makes me have a second thought. Is it really fun to be in this country? Are those photos enough to convey the miseries of its people? Does it mean fun as enjoying? Enjoying what? The struggles, troubles and pain? Its not fun if everyone would think that way, but what is the other way? How are we going to find it if theres a lot of things that force us not to have fun? Every Filipino deserves to have fun by means of being satisfied, happy, and at ease, but how? Our country is a home of calamities. Heartbreaking earthquakes and tragic typhoons seem to be normal, but what happened last year is a different case. 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Cebu had been recorded by PHIVOLCS. A ground shaking that destroyed numerous structures including some historical landmarks, which was suddenly followed by the most heart-rending catastrophe, the typhoon Yolanda. "(Yolanda is) the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history," stressed in the weather website wunderground.com's Dr. Jeff Masters. I remember after I watched several broadcasts on television about the typhoon, I thought of the lives of the survivors. Imagine youre in the midst of chaos, you are holding onto something believing that it might save your life behind the fact that youre currently watching your surroundings being destroyed. . .I dont know how it feels, I dont know what theyre thinking, but one thing is for sure, it wasnt easy. It is something more fearful than a nightmare. And for me, I would rather have a nightmare that seems so real at least I could wake up. But its the reality, and that is whats hard to accept. You cant wake up, you cant just run to escape, and you have to face it. It was a tragedy that took hours to washout everything but it will take forever to totally erase its remains. Until now, theyre still completing the puzzles of their lives. Natural calamities cease fun to be felt in the Philippines. It is only because of the positive outlooks of the Filipinos why this country is still in a better shape. Filipinos considered Philippines as a sanctuary, but they seem to be unfortunate. Amidst the recovery of survivors from calamities, a disturbing issue of corruption breaks out. It is an issue of money that had been taken away by officials, the pork barrel. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reported that according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson the pork barrel fund is a big, big mafia or syndicate involving the executive and legislative branches of the government. Most of our officials, theyre as hungry as crocodiles and as dangerous as well. Behind their trying-hard-to-be-angelic faces, glamorous outfits, shiny shoes, well-groomed hairs, hide a monstrous personality. And I think, if theres an award for the greatest pretenders, and the most powerful criminals, every single trophy would go to the government celebrities, I mean officials. No other nominees, just them. Our government is like a world of showbiz now. You dont know who to believe. Theres always a new story, theres a lot of disguise. In every newspaper theyre in the editorial, a good topic to start a joke. It may seem funny if you converse it with a sense of humor, but its not. This matter involves the lives of every Filipinos, being betrayed by their supposed to be called leaders. We are in a democratic country where voices of its people are seldom to be heard. We Filipinos, dont need best actors, we need a simple citizen who understands his fellows, leaders who want to lead and not an authority who wants to control. Philippines is indeed a country of imperfection, a land where poverty is always trending. Theres corruption in both local and national government. Theres a city of pollution where the flood is as dark as a charcoal. Theres a market of illegal trades where drugs is always on sale. This is a nation where flaws are publicly displayed. This country is like an exhibit of gloomy artworks. Picture of fun are rarely to be found. It is a masterpiece of woes. But theres something that I saw, a work of art that really stands out, a sketch of care. Its a portrait that has a lot of meanings, made with different strokes that have different stories, something that will lessen pain, and alter agony into harmony. Its like a sapling that leaked out from a tiny seed. A sprout that grows like it has trunks and stems, to the point that it can shelter up a whole community. A single thing planted by Filipinos, the seed of BAYANIHAN. A huge proof that Philippines is a homeland of families that care for each other, a kind of bond which is unbreakable, something more powerful than any catastrophe, a vaccine that will help you overcome, something that makes the term Filipino as an adjective that describes positivity. It is the reason why this land survives a lot of colonization, a union that keeps serenity in this nation, the only thing that makes me realize; it may not be fun in the Philippines, but its really fun to be a Filipino.

Erick Mark MirandaBS in Architecture, 2nd year