Staying put.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Conrado de Quiros

OVER THE LAST couple of weeks, I've heard some startling stories about people leaving the country. What has made it startling is that the people who were doing so were not the kind you normally expect to.

A couple in fact had just finished building a fairly comfortable house in the suburbs. Both ran small businesses of their own, and were able to save money for their dream house. But barely had they warmed it when their application for a visa to Canada passed. They didn't hesitate at all. I don't know if they put their place up for sale, or if they kept it just in case they had to come back. But they packed up their bags and left.

A doctor told me as well recently many of his colleagues are contemplating relocating abroad. Some feel their avenues for advancement have been blocked here. Though they aren't doing badly, they figure they can always do better abroad. Or earn better, since they know they won't be doing the same thing abroad: Many Filipino doctors end up as caregivers, especially in the United States. Others want a better life for their kids, one that isn't prey to kidnapping and all sorts of mayhem, and figure the United States and Canada (the places of choice) offer that. Still others are desperate: Contrary to rumor, not all doctors are rich, some eke out a living like the rest of us.

I don't know that the number of people wanting to leave the country has risen since last year, when 19 percent of the population indicated their desire to do so, but these stories give cause for concern. I can't say I entirely blame those 19 percent or more. This country can frustrate you. The complaint that things do not seem to change except for the worse is more than justifiable, it is there for everyone to see. I've been writing columns for a decade and a half and have gotten a ringside view of events, and half the time I've had a sensation not unlike that of John the Baptist, which is crying in the wilderness. I can only thank God no one has yet asked for my head, like Salome.

The very real possibility that we may see another round of rule by the same people we overthrew in Edsa I and II can't possibly stem the tide of Filipinos engulfing distant shores.