FN Blog - Seven heads are better than one!

The sappy saying—“Love is blind”—certainly applies to how I feel about Manila. Yes, I continue to be a great fan of the overcrowded metropolis despite all the crap that I’ve taken from it and all the crap that I’ll take from it in the years to come. I dare say that my adoration for Metro Manila counts for a lot. After all, I was born in Cebu and raised in Cagayan de Oro. I fell in love with Manila because it is where I ran into some parts of my messed-up but nonetheless fun (I hope) grown-up self for the first time. You see, I spent the first three years of my college life in UP Manila, where I took up BS Nursing in order to please my parents. (Thank God, my mom took pity on me and allowed me to bail out in my junior year.)

Though I was mostly depressed during my stint in Manila, there were many city-generated character-building moments that made me stronger. I really could’ve sworn off Manila life when I was caught in these infuriating situations but, well, love decrees that you don’t have the license to leave a place even when your sanity or safety is threatened.

Here are the five cringe-worthy moments that weren’t enough to make me hate Manila:

1. Wet, wet, wet. I’m talking about floods that make you think about the Venetian waterways—except you’re nowhere near Venice and instead of gondolas, you see giant rants swimming through the garbage. A definite mega “Toink!” moment but it’s nothing that a bucket full of alcohol and a whole lot of soap won’t solve. Whatever dirt you have on you will wash off easy—as long as you’re not the one producing the dirt.

2. Criminal intentions. Once, as I waited for a Harrison Plaza-bound jeepney on Taft Avenue, I saw a man grab hold of a classmate’s necklace and make off with it faster than you can say, “Magnanakaw!” Even my classmate was amazed by the man’s speed. “Wow. He’s fast, huh?” she asked nobody in particular. Of course, I had to say, “Yes. You’re right.” Needless to say, we never reported the crime. At least the man didn’t hurt anyone. It’s better to lose a necklace than to have someone threaten to stick a knife into your neck.

3. Weird law enforcement. Riding on a car with my then-roommate driving, we were stopped by a couple of cops who told us we were on a one-way street. We pleaded ignorance and gave them two packs of cigarettes. They let us go. Nicotine products, as it turns out, aren’t really dangerous to one’s health when one doesn’t get to use them anymore because they’ve been used as bribes.

4. Best before. I remember when a portion of the Light rail Transit’s wall fell on the street and when they asked a man (I don’t recall if he was in charge of the wall or the LRT) why this happened, he replied, “Kasi 20 years na ’yan. Masisira talaga.” So much for having things that are built to last! What I learned from the incident: It’s best to walk near newly built structures. (Or simply those that have not yet reached the 20-year mark.)

5. Regional discrimination. Being Bisaya was somewhat a strange thing to be back in college. I remember a classmate asking me if my family was rich. She then fired off the following intrusive questions: “How can you afford to study and live here? Magkano allowance mo? How come you can speak Tagalog?” Yikes. All I said was, “Well, I watched a Robin Padilla movie over and over again before I came here.” Then I walked away. When people become intrusive in a way that makes you feel kind of dirty even when you haven’t done anything wrong, tell them you’re a Robin Padilla fan. For some reason, it drives them away. Nothing like Robin Padilla saving the day.