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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider More to love

More to love

Published Jul 3, 2023 09:34 pm

MEDIUM RARE


More to see, more to love. That’s what to tell tourists looking for a strange new world to visit: They should come and visit and fall in love with the Philippines, or fall in love in the Philippines? Either way, more fun. But, first things first. When the slogan says LOVE THE PHILIPPINES, doesn’t it sound like it’s addressed to People of the Philippines? As well it should be. Love your country first, then other people will. Somebody tell that to the callous urbanites who throw their garbage into a scenic but endangered Manila Bay, into the creeks over which scores of rickety homes stand. Garbage in, garbage out, the result is garbage in your face. Tell the touts at the airport, government “agents” with a private agenda in mind; tell taxi drivers on the prowl for victims first, passengers second; tell airport biggies with little pride in their work: Love your country even if there’s so little of yourselves to love. Love the Philippines. Tell that to our own domestic tourists, in particular those who are afraid of stepping out of their comfort zone. This is a wide open market for the Department of Tourism to tap and trap: Let everyone and anyone be a tourist in their own country. Yes, do the sights and don’t be afraid to get lost! Half the fun of getting to know a country, whether it’s your own or your visitor’s, is finding yourself after getting lost in traffic, in the maze of streets, in not being able to speak the language. (In Paris, the wandering tourist will discover that it’s the immigrants from Africa who will be eager to answer your questions, friendly-like, in English. This was true years ago, and if things have changed, they should be for the better now, in any language, comme ci, comme ça.) Love the Philippines, her beaches, beautiful girls, a bevy of PH-made products to take home. More to see. More to like, love. Fall in love WITH the Philippines? For two of my favorite all-Caucasian examples, falling in love IN the Philippines was a no-brainer – they didn’t see it coming! Yet the best part of their visit was to surrender and volunteer to become prisoners of love, forever more.

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MEDIUM RARE JULLIE DAZA Jullie Y. Daza
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