Mary Jane Veloso and Manny Pacquiao provide Filipinos with emotional highs


Filipinos like emotional highs. They need them as a distraction from their wretched existences. Pinoy Pride, which a victory by Manny Pacquiao, or Gilas Pilipinas, or any other sports team or celebrity with Filipino blood competing overseas provides, is an example of such a source of them.

They also got such a high from Mary Jane Veloso.

Mary Jane was scheduled to be executed for smuggling drugs into Indonesia, but the execution has been postponed, seemingly due to the intercession of her supporters and other interest groups. However, it’s only been postponed, not cancelled, pending an investigation on Maria Kristina Sergio, the one who allegedly recruited her illegally and duped her into carrying prohibited drugs into Indonesia.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the investigation and trial of Veloso’s case must not be screwed up. Of course, the Philippines is notorious for its slow justice system. And right now, it seems that the Philippine government is more preoccupied with taking credit for the delay in Veloso’s execution.

As always, there are deeper, underlying questions that need to be answered. Just like Veloso’s case, they’ve always been there, yet Filipinos don’t do anything about them until the 11th hour. Why do we continue to send Filipinos abroad as overseas contract workers? Why are there still Filipinos who insist on drug trafficking into other countries? Why have successive governments not been successful in weaning us away from reliance on OCW remittances? How many other cases like Veloso’s are out there that are not being given sufficient attention?

I shudder to think about how government treats one of the biggest sources of money flowing into the country: “Go and keep sending us your remittances, but if you run into trouble in your host country, bahala kayo sa buhay ninyo!” The Philippine government seems to be so…helpless in protecting its OCW’s yet here they are generally exploitative of and indifferent, bordering on rude, to them.

Enough about that for now. Because Veloso’s execution has been delayed, Filipinos are now going into the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight fired up. They’ve been waiting for a long time to see this fight happen (actually, this fight should’ve happened years ago), and they’re all too eager to see Mayweather get beaten by Pacquiao.

I’m generally apathetic about the fight itself; I couldn’t really care less who will win.

Several days earlier, however, Pacquiao announced that he would eventually be running for president.

I can see a scenario wherein whether Manny Pacquiao wins or loses, Filipinos will have a reason to vote him into office anyway. He wins, they will vote him because Pacquiao will stoke Pinoy Pride once again against a very high-profile opponent. He loses, they will vote him in out of pity.

What else do Mary Jane Veloso’s case and Manny Pacquiao’s have in common? The underlying attitudes and problems concerning Filipinos will not change for a long time. Filipinos will still leave everything to their government, who will in turn neglect and abuse OCW’s unless they can use it for pogi points. They will also continue voting unqualified people and the same old politicians because they continue to lack imagination and capacity for change. Worse, they will still continue to hold on to Pinoy pride, because it’s the only thing they have that can make them feel good about themselves. They latch the entire Filipino people onto an individual’s success and claim it as one of their own.

Emotional highs, such a temporary reprieve. Pretty soon, Filipinos will be back to their indifferent and wretched realities again. And they will still lack collective resolve to change their society for the better.


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13 Comments on “Mary Jane Veloso and Manny Pacquiao provide Filipinos with emotional highs”

  1. To the government and its media, the Filipino is just cattle to them. You can see it in their various TV shows that dumb down their intelligence and how it goes to impose and “ideal” culture upon its viewers. Thus having gullible masses for them to control. Another example is how in Quezon city, they keep the poor people there to farm for votes. Which in turn causes standards to be lowered because the politician must appeal to their lower standards because of the way they live.

    The Philippines is a unique case of a dystopia. In real life, creating one is difficult because it needs collaborative effort between the government and the people (intentionally or unintentionally) to make it happen. However, this dystopia began with good intentions but it became the wreck that it is today because of the culture and personal greed.

  2. Filipinos will always be like this – unable to solve problems on their own and with really pathetic decision making. Everything has to be spoonfed to them – even their psychological/emotional needs. They brag about their entitlement to freedom and rights, but when things go wrong, they would just escalate their problems to their ‘supervisor’. Everything has to be done for them by some god, boxer, singer, actor or someone with equally no contribution to mankind as a whole, and yet somehow laud them as a sort of ‘hero’. I mean, what benefits does boxing or singing have long-term for our country and its people? Heck, even giving away thousands and millions as cash prize every day on noon time shows never slowed down poverty or any of our problems as a nation.

  3. OK, right here is the prediction for the fight that should have been fought 4 years ago and it may have been interesting.But now? UH, who cares,really ? Enough to spend $5,000 for a seat? Not me, you go ahead.

    Floyd Mayweather wins by Unanimous decision. No knockdowns will be recorded in this fight either.Paquiao might catch Floyd with a couple of good shots but basically:Floyd gives Paquiao a boxing lesson.Won’t even be close and it will be a boring fight.

    1. YES, it is OFFICIAL, Paquiao got a boxing lesson and looked like an amateur fighter against the Master Boxer. I scored the fight 118-110, Paquiao winning the 4th & 6th rounds and just barely. Almost a complete shutout and now Manny can pay the IRS & BIR and maybe even have a million or two left over to live comfortably the rest of his life,BUT I still say:Manny is not too (says ‘UUUHHH’ way too much !) bright and will get his pockets picked clean by sleazy Filipino’s he does business with and one day will go back to Gen San as broke as the day he left.

  4. Killing citizens of another country is an act of War, isn’t it ? This Filipina was lucky to not get executed but, IF I were her? I wouldn’t be counting on anyone to be coming to my rescue, especially the government of my country.HA, that shit is laughable.

  5. Filipinos need an “emotional shabu”, to divert their attentions from their wretched lives. OFWs have no choice, than to leave the country; there are no good paying jobs in the country.

    The OFW money remittances are big business , for Aquino’s cahoots, the oligarchs. They make a lot of money on the fees. It’s like modern day slave trading and slavery.

    Again, if someone (even your recruiter), ask you to carry some luggages. You must REFUSE. You don’t know what is in the luggage. It can be: drugs, guns, ammunitions, bombs, etc…don’t trust people easily…

  6. ..If I were the president, I will see to it that the following are implemented:

    1) Remove Tagalog and Spanish from the curriculum. These are emotionally driven languages for they are romantic. It can only be used when courting someone, or if one wants to quarrel with someone with passion. I will make English and Chinese mandatory. These languages encourage critical thinking, prudence and accuracy.

    2) Basketball, boxing, cockfighting, lotto, and jueteng will definitely have to be out. These are for emotional people. Soccer, baseball, archery, martial arts and chess will only be national sports. Reduce the emotion, and encourage strategizing and team play.

    3.) Game shows, showbiz tsismis shows, and drama series will be banned from TV. Networks that do not follow will have to send their executives to jail reclusion perpetua for corruption of the mind. Audience will have to be treated with honest to goodness stand-up comedy, not the slapstick kind, 24/7 until they vomit or have cross-eyes. No showbiz news during news telecasts. We don’t care about the lives of these freaking celebrities.

    4.) Internet connections will immediately be cut if trending topics start moving towards non essential or stupid issues.

    5.) I will remove the jeepneys and have bus stops far in between to encourage walking and discipline. All traffic violators will be sent for civil service in ARMM Mindanao, or be fed to Lolong, or any substitute crocodile in Palawan.

    6.) Forget about execution by firing squad, as in Indonesia, for corrupt government officials. Just pour sweet honey all over the bastard, tie him to a tree, and let the ants have him until he signs so all the stolen assets can be returned to the National Treasury.

    Call that sharia, or shawarma, law, but that is exactly what PHL needs.

      1. Hi @Minus. Are you my devil’s advocate? #kidding

        ….maybe. Well, we have to somehow think of the culture. We are a basket case, and at rate things are moving, we might end up in a non-disposable cheap plastic bag. Think about it, so could also add, not minus. Hehehe.

  7. It IS interesting to see what figures of identification a people have, because these figures say a lot about the national psyche.

    Why do so few people identify with Dado Banatao for example, the great enterpreneur, or with Dr. Mahar Lagmay of DOST project NOAH?

    But I do say Manny is progress compared to Erap, at least he is a man who has overcome his vices and does what he does REAL well.

    Veloso is a willing victim and in some ways a co-perpetrator, in fact I think she is a pro, but well if she sings and helps catch the people behind the whole stuff she deserves reprieve for turning state witness, fine.

    I will write an article about Manny Pacquiao this evening in my blog. You are all cordially invited to comment on it. Abangan.


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