I was with my two girl comm arts classmate/friends when we dinned together outside one night. It was past 11pm when we were walking along the empty highway mid-night going back to my friends apartment. Then there was this old man, in his mid forties, who doesn't seem drunk and who just spoke up to us while we were passing by in front of him. I heard him speak, "sarap makipag-$#X.", looking at us. I was like, "what the heck.." And then I _______________.
A) Grabbed the shotgun, put it inside the man's mouth and pulled the trigger.
B) Break the man's neck instantly because I'm a karate black belter.
C) Commanded my dog, a loyal big bad pit bull, to rip-off the man's flesh.
That's right! I did do nothing, as usual. Of course, because I don't have a shot gun, I'm not a black belter and I don't own a loyal big bad pit bull. Also, I don't want to see myself the next day wearing on orange shirt with a capital P, in bold black, at the back behind bars.
But if.. If that man tried to do something, his next move.. like as if his hand touches any one of us? I'll probably run away with my two friends or TO RUN AWAY. But if my two friends choose TO FIGHT BACK then.. I'm in. Even though we might find ourselves the next morning with a policeman in the front door knocking and saying, "sa presinto na kayo magpaliwanag!" I'd be like, "Ok lang, tatlo naman kami e!"
But really, when I say safety or security these days its either one of the a,b,c's that I mentioned.
Have you ever received the joke text message about a guy who texted the police hotline for an emergency help and then the police immediately responded: hu u?
Yes it was just a dumb joke. But you know what they say, 'jokes are half meant. And if that joke isn't true or not even close to reality then how and where would that "joker" person get the idea of pranks from nothing to something?
It happened nine years ago, when I was still living with my Inana and Amama's (grandma and grandpa's) house in Katipunan Subdivision. There was one night. There was a stranger man who just broke in inside my neighbors sari-sari store and started to freaked us and everyone out! My dad wanted to help so he called the local municipality police station.
Police: Eh san ba yan? Yang lugar nyo?
Dad: Sa Katipunan Subdivision.
Police: Oo nga, eh saan ba dyan?
Dad: Sa loob, sa dulo ng subdivision.
Police: Ay, oo nga. Ay, san ba yang Katipunan subdivision?(kinausap yung ibang kasama sa kabilang linya) Pare, san ba yung Katipunan?
It was crazy. My dad was pissed and the he hung up the phone. With that span of time wasted in the telephone conversation my neighbor and her whole family would probably dead if the stranger was a serious killer. Turns out he wasn't, he was just a mad man. No one got hurt. And the man made only damage was breaking the eggs in the sari-sari store.
Well.. if my dad had just called the a pizza delivery hot line then they wouldn't, for sure, have to asked twice or trice where katipunan subdivision is and they wouldn't arrive and deliver the pizza LATE or else we will get our money back plus we will get our pizza for free(guaranteed)! yummy.
Another incident, it was December last year when this group of barangay tanods visits every houses around my neighborhood(this time it wasn't in Katipunan) to asked for pamasko (I mean, cash in an envelop) because It was season of giving (and receiving!). They visited this one house and handed their sobre to the house owner.
Tanod: Namamasko po kami.
Houseowner: Ay, sino po ba sila?
Tado: Mga barangay tanod po kami, kami po yung mga rumo-ronda pag-gabi.
Houseowner: Ay ngayon ko lang po nakita mga pagmu-mukha nyo. Ni di man lang kayo napapa-daan dito. Anong rumo-ronda?!
That was harsh but true. One night my dad stayed up late outside the house. He saw these group of tanod's walking by doing, their job, then one of the tanod's spoke up, "Wag tayo [dumaan] dyan ah, magulo dyan ih". When my dad told me about this again I was like, "what the..." naaah, I can't do it; I have no shot gun, no pitbull, I did not even took a single lesson of karate!
Imagine.. come to think of it. How many tanod's are there in this country? Who only shows up every season of giving? Who don't shows up when there are trouble around the area? How many policemen who doesn't know the location that they were assigned to serve and to protect. And how many kids are starved to death? Can't afford to go at least to public schools? who are working at their early age to earn little amount of money? Yet our government is wasting their (and our) time, effort and money!
As a citizen we have lots of choices. we can choose. we are free to choose. And we HAVE to choose. It is not As simple as a,b,c. because we have to make a choice and stand for it until we die. There's no way for turning back because that make us even weaker and weaker. Matira matibay!, ika nga. It is only TO RUN AWAY ALONE or TO FIGHT BACK AS A NATION.