Guest Comments by Isabel Escoda

Escoda, a journalist and author living in Hong Kong, comes originally from the Philippines.

Watching Thailand tear itself apart day after day induces a kind of Schadenfreude among Filipinos. For many, like me, it’s more a feeling of “There, but for the grace of God, go we.”

We once had our pride-producing People Power moment, but it’s been downhill ever since, although still not the total chaos into which Thailand is headed.

Not long ago, outsiders viewed the Philippines and compared it unfavorably to Thailand, a once-poor country that managed to progress materially with its healthy export economy, booming tourism industry and political prestige. On the other hand, the Philippines wallowed in political disorder and regressed, producing exasperation and pity among Filipinos and outsiders alike. Ingrained corruption in our past and present governments has caused much demoralization -- especially since now our main export commodity is humans (mostly female). We rank at the bottom of the pile, just a step up from Bangladesh and Burma, which doesn’t promote much national pride.  

Compared to Bangkok, Manila’s image often suffered, a condition that can be traced back to the Ferdinand Marcos era and its plunder (which our younger generation tends to forget), the often-inept administration of Cory Aquino (which sentimental Filipinos still see through rose-colored tones) and continued corruption and mismanagement by the present Gloria Arroyo regime (on which most Filipinos are fixated, thanks to short memories about our history).

This is why it’s a jolt to see Thailand on the verge of civil war, a reality that makes some Filipinos think: “We may be poor, but we aren’t killing each other and destroying the country.” Mind you, that’s not entirely true. By not fighting hard to rid our political system of long-established incompetents and plunderers and by failing to practice our democratic values, we’ve allowed the nation to degenerate into disorder and despair. Indeed, as some analysts say, Filipinos always seem to shoot themselves in the feet. In other words, we’re our own worst enemies.