George Bailey has lived a somewhat difficult life as a series of events have altered his life plans and goals. George, for the most part, has always tried to do the right thing but even then it has not always worked out for his best. He has tried—like we all probably do—to make the right choices but, in hindsight, maybe the “other choice” would have been more beneficial. George can never seem to get far enough ahead of his troubles to relax a little and enjoy his life.
Faced with many problems—both financial and personal—hitting at the same time, George loses it. He gets drunk, has a fistfight with his child’s school teacher, and crashes his car into a tree. He runs to a nearby bridge and decides to commit suicide.
Clarence, George’s guardian angel, suddenly shows up, and George tells him he wishes he had never been born. Clarence grants his wish and creates an alternative universe where George never existed. Clarence then shows George what the world would be without him having lived.
Sometimes it seems that “The Philippines” has had a life like George’s. Imagine waking up tomorrow morning and you and the Philippines “aren’t”. What would the universe be if the Philippines never existed?
Forget about Filipinos like Dr. Jose Rizal, Nick Joaquin, or Manny Pacquiao and their personal accomplishments. Ignore Philippine events like “People Power” or the recent arbitration decision that has been one-off despite the global influence. Without the physical Philippines, Vietnam and the region would be substantially different. The Philippines acts as a wall against every typhoon that forms in the Western Pacific Ocean, many more of which would grow to “supertyphoons” and smash Vietnam and southern China every year.
Ninety percent of the disputes over the South China Sea would be eliminated and China probably would have reclaimed several “Hong Kongs” in those waters by now. Japan would not have spent blood and treasure in the Philippines during the war and could have better concentrated on invading Australia. The Battles of Leyte Gulf, San Bernardino Strait, Surigao Strait and the Sibuyan Sea—geography giving a great advantage to the US Navy—changed the course of the war against Japan and would have never happened.
Without Filipinos, the Americans, Europeans and Australians would all be “gadget challenged” without Philippine call centers. They already tried India and no one could understand what the agents there were saying. Of course, some nations would be very happy without a Philippines, considering that the $30 billion of overseas workers remittances would have to go someplace. But maybe not.
Given a choice with other factors—like compensation and qualifications—being equal, the global ocean shipping, medical and hospitality industries prefer to hire Filipinos.
Perhaps, like George Bailey in the 1948 American movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, the daily struggle of the Philippines seems like a waste of time and energy. However, without the Philippines and Filipinos—even in these perhaps silly examples—the world would not be a better place.
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