THE PHILIPPINES vs ALEC BALDWIN
This will be part of a series of editorials that will follow. They will be a bit different than the entries that I put together. Hopefully, they will make for interesting reading.
When I first heard the news, I did not believe it. The news was that Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin made a comment or joke, when he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman on TV. The comment he made was that he wanted to have more children and he thought about getting a mail-order bride from the Philippines. David Letterman jokingly responded by saying “Get me one too”. Word of the joke reached the ears of the Philippine Consulate in New York and certain officials in the Philippine Government in Manila. They were apparently not amused and had gone on to protest against Baldwin’s comments. Now before I try to make sense of the whole thing, I think I need to conduct a crash course in geography and social studies concerning the so-called mail-order bride.
A mail-order bride is a female from a developing country, such as the Philippines, that offers herself as a wife to a potential husband in the U.S., Canada, or Europe. Literally all female mail-order brides come from poor families with little or no income. They actually sell themselves as brides as a way to escape poverty. One of the many reasons for why such an “industry” has been so rampart is just part of the many chronic problems of the Philippines. This has a lot to do with the one thing that the Philippines remain in self-denial over: population explosion.
Compare the population of the Philippines to Canada (about the size of the U.S.). As of 2009, the official population of the Philippines is 90 million. The more realistic figure is at an excess of 93 million. Canada’s population is only at 34 million. Compare the size of the Philippines to the size of Canada and you can get a pretty good idea of how crowded the Philippines really is. Maybe you should consult an atlas. Another good indication of the population explosion is the chronic traffic jams in and out of Manila. The biggest cause of this explosion is that most people do not understand the importance of celibacy and family planning. There is lack of education in both areas.
Because of the population explosion, there are too many people and not enough resources, including jobs. The population explosion is also linked to chronic graft and corruption among most people and government. The World Bank has officially declared the Philippines as the most corrupt nation in South-East Asia. This has led to the industry of mail-order brides, among other things.
Now getting back to the subject about Alec Baldwin: When the Philippine Government went on to protest his comments, they more likely trying to portray themselves in a positive light. Officially, they say that they have cracked down on and abolished the mail-order bride industry on the grounds that they “degrade” and “exploit” Filipino women. It is also said that the industry no longer exist. Unofficially, the government has likely done little or nothing to abolish the mail-order bride industry. They actually still exist and even have their own websites.
To be extremely fair, I don’t doubt that the government is trying to clean up the negative image of the Philippines. They did crack down on child pornography rather successfully, but not monetary embezzlement and DVD piracy. Trying to crack down on all forms of chronic graft and corruption is far easier said than done. Compared to Singapore and Malaysia, the Philippines has a very long way to go on abolishing corruption. It probably will never happen, even after I died of old age.
Another point I also need to add is that the mail-order bride industry is not just confined to the Philippines. This industry also exists in other third world and developing nations, where the population explosion has gone berserk.
Now I know what you’re thinking: Am I standing up for Alec Baldwin? To be honest, no. I don’t like the actor. I just have to point out that the subject matter of mail-order brides has some kernel of truth to it. It does exist, even when the Philippine government tries to say otherwise -badly. The government has gone as far as to blacklist the actor and say that he is not welcome in the Philippines. That remains to be seen.
Had Baldwin ever visited the Philippines, the tourist industry would eagerly (clearly an understatement) welcome him, since he is loaded with money. Many local (Filipino) journalists and amateur paparazzi would clearly make a load of money by taking candid photos of him. (The photos of John F. Kennedy Jr. in country before his death, is now worth a lot of money.) Newspapers in the U.S. and Europe would pay handsomely for exclusive shots of Baldwin on the beach -and the local press knows this.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=globaltv360TV3&view=videos&query=alec+baldwin
http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&q=mail+order+bride+philippines&meta=&aq=2&oq=mail+order+br
