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ost Filipinos believe they belong to a peaceful, fun loving, and gentle culture. The reality however is a bit more nuanced. Sure, you get plenty of smiles and much acquiescence from those whose job it is to serve you. But beyond that, the Philippines of 2012 is a dog-eat-dog world. There is none of the gentility that one almost takes for granted in Europe and North America. In Manila people cut in line at cues, cut you off on roadways, barge into elevators before you can exit, avoid eye contact, and exhibit overall boorish behavior. And nowhere are these acts more prevalent than among the “privileged” class. Case in point is the assault on journalist Ramon Tulfo by movie celebrities Claudine Barretto and her husband Raymart Santiago. If one accepts their version of events, Tulfo who arrived from a Davao flight witnessed Barretto berating with an airline employee, pulled out his cell phone to photograph the commotion and then walked over to start attacking her. Such irrational behavior only happens in badly written Filipino movie scripts—something the couple may be more familiar with as actors than a journalist like Tulfo. The more likely scenario is that the couple attacked Tulfo after they saw him photograph Barretto as she was giving an airline staff member a severe dressing-down.

Sadly, such behavior is par for the course in the Philippines. The “upper” class always has its way with the lower classes. Even kids from families of modest wealth learn early on that maids and other household help can be yelled at and bullied with little or no consequence. Filipinos eventually grow up showing little respect for those beneath them in society.

In Europe and America, even superstars put up with paparazzi that are way more dogged and intrusive but are not assaulted the way Tulfo was. In fact there ought to be a Philippine law that says that anyone has the right to take photos or videos in public places in the interest of transparency in society and government. Filipinos after all are far too secretive and way too authoritarian. Filipinos would rather sweep things under the rug and pretend a problem doesn’t exist instead of facing it head-on and dealing with it. It’s time Pinoys used their cell phone cameras to “tell it like it is.”

What we’d also like to see is actual jail time for people like Barretto and Santiago to teach them, and all those like them a lesson that they won’t easily forget. Published 5/12/2012

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