THE “FILIPINA” PROMISE

Everyone has heard the sad story about the “American Promise”. How an American would come here to the Philippines and meet some sweet beautiful young Filipina. He will promise to marry her, then take advantage of her trusting nature and rob her of her innocence. Often these sweet girls would be left with fatherless children and shattered lives. Sadly there is some truth to these stories. It did / does happen; maybe not as often as some people think, but just once is too often. There is another side to this “ugly” human tragedy. There is the Filipina who robs the trusting foreigner of his money and crushes his dreams.
Over the last two years I have watched numerous foreigners get robbed and emotionally destroyed by ruthless Filipinas. There is Patrick who married a Filipina and started a local business. After a year of cheating on him with half of Dumaguete City, she finally took all his money and left him penniless on the streets. There is the Australian who built a 1.2 million peso home on another island only to have it stolen by his Filipina girlfriend. Heartbroken he come here and fell in love again. He built another beautiful home and his new girlfriend kicked him out and brought in her lover. Then there is the simple lad who sold his home in Ireland and married a Filipina. They started a nightclub in Manila. Next thing he knew, she had his 12 million pesos, the business and a new lover. He became another penniless human wreck on the streets of Dumaguete City. He has been befriended by some local Filipinos. I am watching to see if this trusting boy is being ripped off yet again.
I do not excuse or condone either of these life shattering crimes but I find it interesting that some Filipinos only condemn the “American Promise”. Filipinos make movies about the “American Promise”, but no one talks about the “Filipina Promise”. They talk about the “American Promise” in the classrooms at Silliman University and say vicious nasty things about people they do not even know. The consensus seems to be that old foolish foreigners deserve to be robbed and have their lives and dreams destroyed. That teacher who spewed those ugly attacks against foreigners in his classroom ought to borrow a text book on logic from the Philosophy Department. If it is wrong for foreigners to destroy Filipina lives; it is also wrong for Filipinas to destroy foolish old foreigners lives.

Be an Everyday Hero and cleanse your heart of prejudice and racism. We are all God’s children and deserve respect until we earn something less.