Why Filipinos Should Learn How to Complain

After the recent turn of events brought about by Typhoon Yolanda, Filipinos around the world turned to their social media sites to gather news, share information and express their sorrow. 5 days after the disaster though, it wasn't only grief that they felt, but anger and dissatisfaction with the government as well.

2 days short of a week, the Philippine government still didn't seem to have any clear plans regarding the awful situation. CNN Journalist reported this dilemma--that the situation was "very very bad" and "miserable" since no actions were being taken. A local female news anchor, Korina Sanchez, apparently reacted to this and said that Cooper "didn't know" what he was saying.

It also doesn't help watching President  Aquino's interview with CNN's news anchor, Christiane Amanpour. I could do nothing but *facepalm*. I was waiting for him to respond with concrete amd immediate actions as to how he plans to solve the situation but disappointingly enough all he did was bluff his way through the interview and insist that the people in other places are reassured and that only the badly hit areas were difficult to reach because of the failure of the Local Government Units at that area. Why hello, he himself acknowledged that they themselves were victims, how were they supposed to "respond"?

Everyone understands that the situation was overwhelming. Even the rest of the planet extended their help because they saw how outrageously difficult it was. What angered me is that help is already there, amd yet no one was moving to facilitate and organize the rescue missions!

I've said before that this is not the time to blame, it's not. Blaming would be me saying, "Hey, Mr. President, this is all your fault. You're the reason why these people are suffering." NO. It's done, there's nothing we can do about what has passed , but a lot that could be done in the present, the current situation.

What annoys me is that some people shrugs of those  who criticize with "Why don't you be the president if you're so good at talking?", and that the President, together with the rest of the government officials, are only human. He has emotions, he has feelings and he gets hurt too. Please don't be mean to him and give him his break. I'm sorry to say that these are not viable excuses. The president is seated in his position because he was voted there, because the people need a leader who will guide them through the storm, who will stand strong amidst the rubble and destruction, someone who will inspire them, give them hope, that despite the tragedies, they know that someone will guide them back to the right direction--not someone who will criticize with them, despair with them, nor walk out at the sign of pressure.

It's true that there are several factors why mobilization was difficult, we are geographically challenged, and we are a third world country and don't have enough technology for all these. What irked most people is that  the government didn't seem to have any plan of action, things were getting desperate, and there have been reports that immigration was even giving foreign aid a hard time, asking for permits and letting them wait for hours.

Filipinos can't take criticism. We just can't. It ruffles our feathers. Say something bad as a foreigner about the Philippines amd expect to be banned. Must be a natural reaction, I guess. But criticisms help us to grow, to move and to take action. If no one complained, no one reacted, would the government move faster? I think not. As an example,-- and this is quite a sensitive topic but I would just like to mention it--Singaporeans are known to complain a lot. But I've seen where these complaints lead to: the government responds and takes immediate actions to silence the people's unhappiness. Some say it's a bad trait, but at least they get results and you can see that from how organized their country is. We are not them, but we can learn from them.

It doesn't stop with complaining only, though. We ourselves, must take action as well. We shouldn't just sit in front of the computer screens and type away our emotions. Donate, volunteer, raise awareness, and if possible, come up with ways on how to prevent tragedies like this from happening. Love our environment, learn to respect nature, and perhaps prevent climate change. Learn to be disciplined.

For all that's happened, this is a lesson not only to our president, nor government officials, not even only to the Philippines, but to the rest of the world as well.

But in spite of all these, a BIG thank you to all the nations who helped, and thank you to all our heroes who sacrificed a lot to help our countrymen in this dark time.