Monsod: If you leave the country to work abroad, you are betraying your people

[carpediem]

"If you are going to help this country, you've got to be in the country. If any of you have ambitions of going abroad so that you can earn more, please disabuse yourself, because by doing that, you are essentially betraying the people in the Philippines who trusted you and who invested their money in you."

The video is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3yPcqO6gE


What are your thoughts?

[judE_Law]

may point siya, pero hindi natin masisisi ang mga kababayan natin lalo na kung may mas magandang oportunidad na naghihintay para sa kanila sa ibang bansa... saka, hindi rin naman siguro total betrayal ang nangyayari dahil kahit papano yung perang pinapasok nila sa bansa natin ay nakakatulong din naman sa pag-angat ng ekonomiya.

[pinoybrusko]

I did not watch the video yet pero I'll comment kasi isa ako sa mga naging OFW 

I don't know if it is betrayal kasi parehas lang naman may sacrifices. We are away from our families in exchange working abroad for more money and comfort of life. Siguro yung masasabi natin na betrayal ay ung mga hinde na bumalik sa bansa at nag-migrate na sa ibang bansa at may dual citizenship. I'm just here for work 

[judE_Law]

I did not watch the video yet pero I'll comment kasi isa ako sa mga naging OFW 

I don't know if it is betrayal kasi parehas lang naman may sacrifices. We are away from our families in exchange working abroad for more money and comfort of life. Siguro yung masasabi natin na betrayal ay ung mga hinde na bumalik sa bansa at nag-migrate na sa ibang bansa at may dual citizenship. I'm just here for work 

korek Brusk!
Saludo ako sa inyong mga OFW's!! mabuhay kayo!!

[vortex]

I did not watch the video yet pero I'll comment kasi isa ako sa mga naging OFW 

I don't know if it is betrayal kasi parehas lang naman may sacrifices. We are away from our families in exchange working abroad for more money and comfort of life. Siguro yung masasabi natin na betrayal ay ung mga hinde na bumalik sa bansa at nag-migrate na sa ibang bansa at may dual citizenship. I'm just here for work 

very well said...May balak din kasi ako mag-work abroad eh. hehehe...

[ctan]

Monsod's lecture was specifically directed to students and graduates of the University of the Philippines. Or perhaps, this could be applicable to students and graduates of all state universities.

Here's another good read (as a response to Prof. monsod's lecture). This one is by a student of UP. Sorry I cannot post the link kasi naka-private. So I'll just post his composition here.

Here it is:

-------------------------------------------


affected lng ako...i had to write.



I remember in my interview for acceptance to the UP College of Medicine, I was asked, "Why do you want to be a doctor?" and I answered, with a surge of heartfelt sincerity, that I wanted to be a doctor to help our country. My interviewer replied along these lines "Nasabi mo lang ngayon 'yan. Let's see if you say the same thing in 5 years." Heaviness struck upon my spirits after receiving that response, all the while I was hoping for a smile, or an approving nod. After all, it was the only question I prepared for and it was the most honest answer I could muster. I left the room consigning to the reality that what they said was a reasonable assumption but felt sad for I know my exclamation to be true. In the years that came, that feeling has not waned, maybe even more so, grown stronger, and my pronouncement of being a doctor for the Filipinos, more credible.

I'm writing this as a form of response after seeing in Youtube the video of the great Prof. Monsod's last lecture, aptly entitled by jedoenriquez, Honor and Excellence.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3yPcqO6gE



She mentioned the exodus of UPCM graduates, where almost all doctors produced by UPCM go abroad. IT IS TRUE. I do not have the exact figures, and I am not saying all, but a vast majority do go abroad. But it was not for lack of caring from the start. I could probably say that most of us did want to have our medical practice here in the Philippines. Some have more definite permutations, like med school, then residency in PGH, specialization abroad, then go back for practice here in our country. There were some who were expressive of how they faked answers in their interview about staying here, but with full intentions of going abroad. And there were those few in whom I found kinship in sincerely wanting to help our country.



Through the years, my classmates grew more apathetic, losing faith in our health system, not anymore wanting to give back and actually having silent whispers of wanting a life abroad. There were several reasons for this. One, the constant barrage of patients of PGH, having the same profile of being uneducated, irresponsible, but with a very strong sense of self-entitlement for the services which the government should give them; who for some odd reason, have not consulted for a grave disease for 10 years, but blames the doctors if they die, only after seeing them 10 minutes prior. This could make any doctor quit with good reason. Imagine that, and multiply it by a 100, that's our normal score for these kinds of patients per year (probably even more). Two, there are those of us who feel we've been abused enough by a hospital that lacks in facilities, supplies and manpower. In every day in our clerkship and internship years, we had to worry about having to bring or pay for syringes, vials, etc. for patients who come without so much as a cent, and the hospital NEVER provides us with enough of these. Add that to having to work as a nurse, manong, and bantay to our patients, being spat/urinated/defecated upon, pushing stretchers, wheelchairs, submitting labs, and waiting in line throughout the 24 hour duties, still being expected by incoming patients to have smiles on our faces and to answer to their needs; then later on collecting enough mental alertness for endorsements once morning comes and for consults in the clinics after duties. Some of us consider this inhumane, and placing a price on this would be more than enough to pay us back. I mean, how much do you have to be paid to clean up someone else's anals even when they continue defecating in front of you, or be punched in the face by a drunk you are trying to admit, called with bad names by litigious patients you did not get to admit due to overflow? Add that to the monetary equivalents of doing hundreds of procedures, seeing hundreds of consults, and there's your 1 million dollars, excluding tip. And it is with this realization that some medical graduates ask for understanding when they give in to apathy, and express with righteous claim "AYOKO NA DITO!" "WALA NA AKONG PAKIALAM!"



Why then should we stay? If there is a promise of greener pastures and a chance to get away from the life most learned to despise. I say we must not be too short-sighted and realize the innumerable Filipinos who entrust their lives in our hands for us to have a chance at learning. We must also reevaluate with an outsider's point of view what our UP/PGH education and experiences have allowed us to do and have led us to become; which are doctors of intellect who have lain witness to the ills of our health system, and were brought up in the concept of a community-oriented 5-star physician who has the capacity to change things for the better and knows what needs to be done.  We are now the crème de la crème, de la crème. And for THAT, both for Honor and Excellence, we owe it to the College and the Filipinos to give back. And if it is not enough, we must go back to the reason why we even wanted to be doctors, or even further by going back to our fundamentals. I have articulated these in my mind and to people close to me several times and it is how I have remained yearning to serve our countrymen.



              I'm often asked, "why don't you want to go abroad?", "you'll earn more by being a doctor there?!" and I often answer that I do not see the need.  I studied medicine primarily for three reasons, (1) it appeals to my interests (2) I want to help my family in matters of health (3) I want to help relieve the plights of our country and I see being a doctor is a very good instrumentation. It is with this third reason that I often encounter predicaments pertaining to issues of disbelief and that of attaining financial stability. I receive forlorn wishes of luck and comments that it is too big to handle, and while it is true that it is pretty BIG to handle, it is still a reasonable endeavor. It only becomes unreasonable when people do not think enough of themselves to be able to face it, and I quote Ms. Monsod " I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do."  People also say "Hindi ka yayaman diyan." True enough, it was a good dream which I had for a long time, but when it dawned on me that being filthy rich might not be a possibility for me with my endeavors, I at least settled for being a little above average and managing my finances well. For it was of late that I learned that I no longer yearn as much for wealth, but for relevance.



                Then people would often follow up questions like "where do you get your energy? your nationalism?" And I answer that I got it from all those which I consider positive influences in my life. I grew up from a Filipino family, upholding Filipino values, with a father whose strong belief in the Filipino people rubbed off to my core, and a mother whose assiduous spirit has been a continual source of admiration. Likewise, it was from our family's humble beginnings, witnessing what was wrong with people who think little of themselves, and my parents inculcating in us the value of hardwork, self-belief, honesty, and humility. All values which us Filipinos hold essential. Additionally, my education and educators have proven themselves instrumental in throwing me to situations that illuminate the need for more Filipinos to care. And the multitudes we have served in PGH, where we see children die of easily preventable disease, patients asking you to buy their jewelry just so they could maintain meds, and I begin to ask myself, "Am I doing enough?" then I go on and seek ways to do so. So I guess a sense of nationalism is inevitable when it is the Filipino people whom you consider your greatest teacher.



                So I lay this challenge to my fellow doctors, and fellow Filipinos with what little influence I have, STAY for our country. Our country suffers from a lot of things but mostly from people who have learned not to care and with some having learned to actually hate their own country. This is not an imposition for social responsibility but rather a stronger appeal to self-actualization. A Filipino is no more a Filipino than when in his homeland, amongst his countrymen, using the instruments his nation has bestowed upon him, and succeeding with them, being regarded with respect by his own people, while upholding the same values with which they were raised. If you consider yourself Filipino, then STAY.  I appeal to my fellow UPCM graduates, LET'S ALL BE DOCTORS TO OUR AILING COUNTRY! If not for the reason that I have raised, then for being honorable and paying back what we actually owe. Else, I'd probably later on join Prof. Monsod in her hauntings. Not only during honeymoons, but the little perv in me thinks that during any sexual engagement would be nice. And I don't have to be dead. Dude, if you're guilty, it'd be wise to regularly check under your beds from now on!

[carpediem]

A reply by a doctor overseas

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/203620/no-winnie-filipinos-who-go-overseas-are-not-traitors

No, Winnie, Filipinos who go overseas are not traitors
By JOY ANTONELLE DE MARCAIDA M.D.

I am a Filipino. I live and work in the United States. I have established myself as a physician of some stature in my community. American physicians acknowledge me as an esteemed colleague, students look up to me as their mentor, patients respect me as their doctor. They do not question the color of my skin. They do not treat me any differently from any other respected member of their community. I have been integrated into their lifestyle and have adapted to their culture. I speak as they speak. But I am Filipino. And I am proud of it.

The Lost Generation of Americans from the 1920s includes some of the most easily recognizable names in American literature: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, E.E. Cummings, and T.S. Eliot. Why are they the lost generation? Because they chose to live the life of expatriates in Europe, Central America, and other places in the world at that time. They expressed the thoughts and feelings of young Americans from that period when there was a general exodus of the intellectual elite, recent graduates, artists, war veterans and the independently wealthy. They spoke American in those foreign lands, and yes, they became fluent in French or Spanish as well. But they remained American, and to this day, America loves them.

Gertrude Stein characterized the expatriates' sentiment in these words, "America is my country, and Paris is my home town." This is the essence of every expatriate's attitude towards their country of origin, whatever it may be; there is a place that we consider home, but this is not our homeland. And the country we have adopted acknowledges in no small measure that whatever beauty or knowledge or skill we have brought in to their soil remains rooted in the land from whence we first came.

Whenever I receive the occasional compliment for a medical paper I write or a patient I make better, and the person who speaks my praise describes me to another, invariably the narrative would include, "that Filipino doctor from Connecticut". I have never denied my ethnicity, but it does not define me in my career. I stand successful and respected for who I am and what I do, regardless of race, color or accent. Americans delight in the success of a well-established immigrant. They celebrate the courage and tenacity and sacrifice it took for someone to succeed in self-exile. They accept them as fellow Americans, yet appreciate too the ethnic background that makes them different.

But in my country of origin, in my homeland, they apparently speak of me and think of me as a traitor. Professor Solita Monsod of the University of the Philippines, in a video of a lecture to her students currently being circulated by unquestionably well-meaning Filipinos to expatriates they know and love, expressed her anger towards those who have chosen to leave their home and their people to find work, sustenance and success in another land. How is this different from a Manileño who chooses to re-establish himself and his family in Cagayan de Oro because the business opportunities there turned out to be more conducive to his success? How is it a betrayal of the Filipino people for a Filipino in another country to be recognized and applauded for the good that he does on a global scale?

How am I a traitor when the dollars I earn here translate into businesses and consumer confidence and local spending by the family and people I still support back home? How is it that I am a fool when I have wrought only respect and admiration and love in this country for a Filipino? Professor Monsod suggested that Filipinos abroad "pay back" what is owed to the country. In my lifetime, I hope I have done a lot of good, and have paid forward.

Filipinos overseas are self-exiles. We chose to leave our homeland when this became intellectually, politically, financially, artistically or philosophically limiting or oppressive. We are drawn to another country because of the vitality of its intellectual, scientific or artistic scene, its support and tolerance for innovation, progress and intellectual energy, and by its high regard for the immigrant who brings in new talent and skill, allowing him or her the freedom to achieve success, find his or her identity and express his or her ideas. Self-actualization in another land is not a crime. And Filipinos back home, who seek their own success, would be well-served to rejoice in ours. We are no different. We are just far from home.

[carpediem]

^ A followup from the doctor, also from the same article.


Dear Editor,

It's been a couple of days now since you very kindly posted the response I wrote to the farewell lecture of Professor Monsod to her students. I'd like to thank you most sincerely for considering it worthy.

Since then, I've seen a number of comments on your website, and there are now a few things that I regret having left unsaid. Foremost is that, yes, absolutely, I am a UP College of Medicine graduate, did undergrad at Diliman, and that most certainly, this is the reason that I responded as I did. But no, there was no wish for self-promotion in my response, nor was there self-righteous indignation.

The reason I put down my full name in the byline was because I do not abide by hiding behind anonymity when expressing dissenting thoughts or opinions. I would implore people to always look deeper and think higher when evaluating anything in their lives. Take the high ground in every situation, and this is what leads to living a life with honor and excellence.

I do not disagree with Professor Monsod in most of the things she said in that lecture. My only variance with her was when she opted to pass judgment and blanketed those of us who chose to go overseas into a mold that she believed to be the right one.

Of course there is much merit in a UP graduate's staying in the Philippines to try and make a difference in this way, but I am suggesting that there may be other ways of serving the country and bringing honor to its people.

A Filipino's decision to sacrifice all that is familiar and well-loved, and start a new life abroad is not only about financial gain. There is a desire to be the best that one can be, to do the most that one can do, and find that which has not been found. If I realize that my quest to do the most I can with this one life I have to live, can no longer be fulfilled in the country I now call home, then it will be time to move on once more. We all have this one life to do the most good and find the greatest happiness and fulfillment; don't let anyone limit you in any way.

And to nay-sayers who felt that personal attacks serve some higher purpose, yes, I do believe that I have always tried to abide by the university motto, and to live my life with honor and excellence. I choose not to validate these comments by responding in kind, but know that I am perpetually driven by a pervasive desire to do what is just and loving and true.

Over the years, however, I have learned that moral obligation is no longer ONLY to an individual country or people, but to the entire human race. To always try to pay it FORWARD is my mantra, and I believe that if everyone did the same, then our country, and indeed the whole world would then be a better place because we have lived.

When I sent my article for your consideration, I told my best friend that I hope it would serve a purpose. I have seen many comments by fellow Filipinos since that demonstrate the same overwhelming pride I have always had in being Filipino. There are also many who share global views and universal truths, an enlightened and non-judgmental faction of our people. My hope is that we may all find that such an attitude is the one that serves us best.

If we all seek to become our best selves in every way, wherever we are and in whatever we do, I do not doubt that we are then serving and honoring our country, our people and mankind.

Pay it forward, and do not ask to be paid back. Give everything to everyone in equal measure. The world is one and an outstanding Filipino can be an exemplary citizen of a new global community.

God bless Professor Monsod. God bless us all.

Sincerely,
Toni de Marcaida

[pinoybrusko]

Toni de Marcaida, a pinoy by blood but lives the life and attitude like an american citizen. baka may green card na siya at american citizen na? Pinoy pa din ba tawag dun? hehehe. Any pinoy who have foreign citizenship betrays being a filipino already. They chose to be a citizen of another country and nagmigrate pa with the whole family. Iba iyon sa mga OFWs.

Maluwag lang ang pinas pagdating sa citizenship. Sana hinde applied ang dual citizenship, sa mga umalis at naging citizens ng ibang bansa, dapat automatic tanggal ang pinoy citizenship. kaso hinde eh, maluwag ang govt natin sa ganito 

[carpediem]

^ didn't expect that from you

Any pinoy who have foreign citizenship betrays being a filipino already. They chose to be a citizen of another country and nagmigrate pa with the whole family.

That is too judgmental.

[Chris]

kahit dito pa lang sa forum na ito, especially in this section, you can hear rants and endless comments that many and maybe most of the PGG people here have lost their faith that the Philippines can still rise from all the political, social, and economical negativity that has engulfed us all.

the migration of 'isko's' and 'iska's' is just one of the probably million facets why our country seems to be going down, if not already down in the mud.

maraming factors na kailangan iconsider, pero ultimately, for me, if you have lost hopes na magiging maayos pa ang Pilipinas, then you killed your nationalism altogether.

sa CAT nung highschool sa amin pinamemorize yung mantra na yun. "I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and by the grace of God, I will do."

Crazy as it may seems, I still hope that more and more Filipinos, especially educated ones, will realize that even the brightest person in this world cannot save the Philippines, but millions of Filipinos altogether, who may or may not be bright, but completely dedicated, out of their pure love for the country, may probably do.

WELL-SAID, friend

agree with you both and with pinoybrusko. ganito lang yan, wag basta bibitiw.

try lang ng try subukan kung meron opportunities dito. kung wala, at saka mag abroad. ok lang yun, pero make sure na wag permanent migration sa ibang bansa at wag magpalit ng citizenship. in that way, you will not be betraying the country. make sure also to speak well of our country in the presence of foreigners.

naniniwala rin ako na malaki pa pag-asa ng Pilipinas. kailangan lang talaga ng mind-setting.

[angelo]

kahit dito pa lang sa forum na ito, especially in this section, you can hear rants and endless comments that many and maybe most of the PGG people here have lost their faith that the Philippines can still rise from all the political, social, and economical negativity that has engulfed us all.

the migration of 'isko's' and 'iska's' is just one of the probably million facets why our country seems to be going down, if not already down in the mud.

maraming factors na kailangan iconsider, pero ultimately, for me, if you have lost hopes na magiging maayos pa ang Pilipinas, then you killed your nationalism altogether.

sa CAT nung highschool sa amin pinamemorize yung mantra na yun. "I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and by the grace of God, I will do."

Crazy as it may seems, I still hope that more and more Filipinos, especially educated ones, will realize that even the brightest person in this world cannot save the Philippines, but millions of Filipinos altogether, who may or may not be bright, but completely dedicated, out of their pure love for the country, may probably do.

LIKE

[pinoybrusko]

^ didn't expect that from you

Any pinoy who have foreign citizenship betrays being a filipino already. They chose to be a citizen of another country and nagmigrate pa with the whole family.

That is too judgmental.

sorry carpediem if you feel that way but I really felt the betrayal of pinoys who migrated for good and applied for foreign citizenship along with their family. Hinde ko naman nilalahat kasi mas marami pa naman ang hinde gumagawa ng ganito. I don't blame others for doing it, they have their own concrete reasons for doing it but primarily it's for their own benefit and nilayo na nila ang sarili nila sa Pinas. I'm speaking of those pinoy family whose intentions are not to go back to Pinas again. Nagkapamilya sila and their children grew up to be the citizens of the host country. Nandun pa din ang pinoy blood at na-instill ang ilang pinoy values sa mga kids pero hinde pa din maitatanggi they somewhat betray our country.

[carpediem]

^ Using the same logic, those Chinese who migrated to other countries also betrayed the Chinese people. The Europeans who migrated to the US are all traitors of their own country. Etc. 

[pinoybrusko]

^ Using the same logic, those Chinese who migrated to other countries also betrayed the Chinese people. The Europeans who migrated to the US are all traitors of their own country. Etc. 

no, not traitors masyadong harsh yung term na ginamit mo  even betray is also harsh, I use the term somewhat betray  di ko kasi alam ang word to describe it

lets just put it this way, europeans, asians and africans who went to US, migrates and been given citizenship is already a US citizen. They can vote already. Barack Obama is a US citizen with Kenyan blood, Arnod Swarchenegger is a US citizen with Austrian blood. They were recognized by their true blood but indeed they are US citizens. The same goes with Filipinos, they chose to be US citizens rather than Filipino. They are recognized as Filipino because of their origin but their way of life, language, culture, etc adopted the foreign country and chose to belong to that country. Ang natitirang pinoy na lang sa kanila is their blood