Two countries in contrast

The country will observe National Flag Day on May 28, as declared under Republic Act No. 8491. Earlier, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus had also issued DepEd Order No. 83 to all offices and schools under his department to remind their employees, teachers and students about the proper use of the Flag. The reminder should also be made to all other government offices because, sometimes, we see them with tattered flags, or discolored ones. The National Flag Code prescribes heavy penalties for those who show disrespect for the symbol of our country.

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For that matter, I hope Lapus will also issue an order to all schools, especially to their officials, to teach their students how to sing the Philippine National Anthem correctly. Until now, many schools, even universities, continue to tolerate the desecration of the Anthem by singers or music teachers who “stylize” the national song and sing it as if it were a pop composition. Or as a lament or dirge for the dead. That is not the way its composer Julian Felipe had intended it, because when he was commissioned to do so, he was asked to give it a martial air, that is, it should be to music that soldiers can march to.

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The world had not yet gone halfway in trying to help the cyclone-devastated Myanmar when another deadly calamity hit another eastern country, this time a distant province of China. An earthquake, with intensity at 7.9, struck at mid-afternoon, wiping out houses and buildings, and, as of late yesterday, killing about 12,000 people. The most appalling fact is that those killed or still buried under the ruins caused by the temblor, were thousands of schoolchildren, who were still in their classes when the unexpected tremors began.

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The quake was said to be so powerful that tremors were felt even as far away as 2,000 miles. The main concern of rescuers, as of press time, was to dig out as many survivors as possible from the thousands trapped under the collapsed buildings. About 18,000 are believed missing or waiting to be rescued. But the merciful thing about the Chinese disaster is that government assistance came instantly, and efficiently. Within hours, Premier Wen Jiabao was already at the disaster relief headquarters supervising operations. About 50,000 troopers had already been fielded to do rescue work.

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There were other side stories on the disaster, like that about 17 foreign tourists whose coach was buried by landslides caused by the earthquake in Sichuan province. The strong movements of the earth also caused a freight train carrying 13 tankers full of gasoline to be derailed and catch fire. The whole train and its cars turned into a blazing inferno that had not yet been controlled up to press time. But firefighters and experienced rescue teams are now hard at work, and the government has swiftly allocated $200 million for relief, rescue and support operations.

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What a contrast to what is going on in Myanmar where the hard-headed and heartless ruling party continues to put obstacles in the way of those coming to the aid of their stricken people. Tons and tons of food and other materials that, thoughtfully, even included such necessities as blankets and mosquito nets, are still awaiting passes from the country’s military. The president of the United Nations already sounds exasperated while appealing to the Junta to let the aid and the skilled helpers in, especially after seeing how delayed and now inefficient local relief has been. And what does the spokesman of the Junta, a certain Vice Admiral Soe Thein tell the do-gooders? “The nation does not need skilled relief workers yet.”

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Is it possible that what these people mean is that the disaster has not decimated their population to the level they want yet? The UN itself has already estimated the fatalities at about 100,000 already. Hunger and disease which are sure to follow if food and medicines do not reach them soon enough, will surely multiply that number soon. And now we have a fourth tragedy (after Myanmar, the US tornadoes, and China) in the sinking of a ferry in Bangladesh, where 41 have already been confirmed drowned, with more missing. The overloaded ferry was having a rough time during bad weather, and the frightened passengers rushed to its roof, causing it to capsize. As for China, it still has the Olympics on its mind. Even as it rushes rescue work, it continues to announce that preparations for the games are still on, business as usual.*

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