You nailed it with two slangs: “epal” (same as watching big brother) and “ambon” (a false sense of safety blanket).

It was indeed a milestone if you read Time’s 1968 edition. But as Non-Americans, we failed to stay true to ourselves and ask “what for?”

It would’ve been better to focus on Garci, the pending investigations and the many scams that we swept under the rug because it’s not newsworthy anymore.

I’m stopping here—the retrospection annoys me.

Some US companies are investing in outsourcing business in the Philippines and I’ve heard it from the news before that if Obama will win as the US president, then the call centers will be definitely pull out of the Philippines. This would mean a series of lay-off and unemployement to Pinoy agents. I was once a part of a call center company, and my friends are still there. If this would happen in order to provide job to Americans, then we would cry. But we have to accept the fact that many Americans would prefer talking to native Americans and not to those who’s trying to be an American.

In addition, since Obama is not pro-war, then our administration will more likely receive “ambon” or worst no support at all from the US government. The administration is actually begging for military support from US, being an influential and powerful country, to declare martial law, to fight against MNLF, to receive financial aids, etc. but based on the unpopularity of GMA, we cannot tell if she would reveive any. Obama is for Americans and not for non-Americans.

I am a non-american. I am a Filipino. And I think, if Obama is championing “change”, we should have done it first before him. We need “change” in our country, in our political system and in our way of thinking. Filipinos should vest interest to the Philippines and not to a country that had always been treating us as tail.