Filipinos are being abused in own country

This has gone too far! I refer to the incident that happened in an international airport in Western Visayas where a Filipino suffered discrimination and humiliation right in his homeland.

According to the report, a soldier named Ryan Layug was “barred from entry into an airport lounge because it was for Koreans only” (Across the Nation, 1/4/16).

The gall! If this could be done to a military man, what more to civilians? This is no longer a case of showing the much-vaunted Filipino hospitality. It is abusing the kindness and friendliness of Filipinos in welcoming and treating foreign guests and visitors.

Likewise, it seems some foreigners have a mistaken notion that they can take Filipinos for granted and they can insult our kababayan even in our own country. It was a good thing that Layug had a good sense of self-respect and took reasonable pride in being a Filipino.

Lest I be called a racist, there have been several instances where Koreans have shown disrespect for the people of their host country. Take note of the following, to cite a few instances:

Basketball star Robert “Sonny” Jaworski was kicked in the butt by a Korean player during a championship game between the Philippines and Korean teams in a hotly contested match held at the Araneta Coliseum sometime in the 1970s.

Korean students became so rowdy as they were in a big group taking hard drinks in the lobby of a hotel near Teachers Camp in Baguio City. A big part of the hotel was converted into a private school. (I have attended a conference of values education educators, teachers and advocates in the hotel.)

A Korean guest rudely and arrogantly threw a copy of a local newspaper he was reading in front of some Filipinos at the lobby of a hotel in Bacolod City. Some of those present were Filipino teacher-leaders attending the 7th annual convention of the National Organization of Professional Teachers Inc., which was held April 18-20, 2007. (Incensed and feeling insulted by an alien in my own country, I stood up and firmly told the Korean to return the newspaper properly in the newspaper and magazine rack. Perhaps, he came to his senses and meekly followed what I told him to do.)

These incidents clearly showed how we are nadedehado even in our own backyard. With the latest incident in the international airport in Kalibo, the capital town of Aklan, it is high time officials and men of government agencies concerned did something positive to maintain the respect for Filipinos. Pronto!

—EUSEBIO S. SAN DIEGO, founder, Kaguro; former president, Quezon City Public School Teachers Association, essandiego@ymail.com