Publisher’s Note

Greetings from the Philippines

Having been in Manila for one month, during one of the more dangerous periods in its recent history, I’ve seen how bad things are in a city much like our own.  Manila is a ‘cultural copy’ of L.A.  Most people speak English, there is a high Christian population, they love basketball, wear similar clothing, have the same tastes in music, and every few blocks there is a Coffee Bean or California Pizza Kitchen.  As far as nightlife goes, they emulate our clubs like Club LAX for instance. Most native Filipinos want to look American and the women use creams and makeup with bleach in order to get their skin permanently lighter!  Aside from our similar cultures, they have HUGE economic roadblocks, even though we are at the 10% unemployment mark in the U.S.   At times like these when we all face challenges it’s important to take a step back and look at things not through a Beverly Hills perspective…but a human one. 

The typhoons that recently hit the Philippines continues to devastate the city.  The ongoing damage and causalities had a traumatic impact on the population.  With more than 80% of the city sitting in water, it reminds me of the horror stories of Hurricane Katrina.  Keep in mind that Manila isn’t one of the smaller or less populated areas of the Philippines; Manila is the Capital, the central hub and commercial backbone that props up the country economically.  After the typhoon hit it took up to eight hours to travel eight miles in the chaos.  

In addition to the forces of nature, the forces of man are equally as harsh. While in the Green Belt mall several armed robbers attempted to rob the Rolex store.  The men were dressed like SWAT team personal and one was carrying a grenade launcher.  Everything seemed to be going their way until half way though the robbery a politician and his bodyguards (in the mall at the time) realized what was happening, and started a gun battle with the robbers. Nothing I’ve ever seen at any mall in L.A. yet!  The bodyguards killed the guy holding the grenade launcher which prompted the remaining robbers to flee with only a part of the loot.  Luckily, no civilian injuries or causalities occurred other than the robbery.  Hearing the shots from a distance I went closer to investigate.  After realizing what happened I decided ‘enough shopping’ for the day and it would be safer to lay low in the Shangri-La hotel next door.  Little did I know that the A-list Hotel’s aren’t always the safest place in Manila, especially after speaking to a friend who informed me that the last time he was in Manila, The Peninsula Hotel next door was overrun by rebels in a tank.  This is nothing like the malls we frequent in L.A. except maybe the week before Christmas when everyone is scrambling to buy presents and tempers are flaring.  Even then…tanks?  Grenade launchers?  I guess not really!

While these harsh and somewhat uncommon situations shouldn’t reflect the Philippine culture, most streets with tourists—especially bar areas are lined with robbers, prostitutes, kidnappers, and cars taking up four lanes on a two lane street.  Even among the middle class they live and commute in claustrophobic spaces which would be unbearable to us.  Even with it this bad, people preserver for their $350 a month—not because of hope for a better life, but because they think they have found that better life; a means of providing for their families so they can survive.  Don’t get me wrong, its accurate to say that we in Beverly Hills have as much stress of our own in our daily lives as these Filipinos have, but the difference is: the stresses in their lives have a significantly higher probability of killing them and devastating their families. So next time you think how tough life is, take a moment and realize that life can be worse.

Stephen Takowsky

Publisher

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