Chapter 16

We went to a party a couple weeks ago and met Ernest and his wife (I didn’t catch her name, sorry!). Ernest is from Tucson, his wife is from Bohol, a barangay not far from here. Ernest works at Bank Of America and was visiting his wife’s family.

Small world.

I had occasion to go to the city offices the other day to get what is called a TIN (Tax Identification Number). What an interesting visit that was. There were 16 people at work at that office, plus a number of empty desks (presumably those desks held people normally). One girl was punching holes in paper. The other 15 were either playing games on the computer, watching the television (oh yes, there is a television in most of the offices), chatting with their neighbors, chatting with visitors (all of which I recognize as being fellow workers in other offices) or chatting with someone that may or may not have official business there.

Having gone to a different office, the office that does the taxation, the girl there wrote out a bill on a piece of scratch paper. I handed that paper to the cashier, who was the first person I encountered, sitting at what we would call a student desk. He took out his ‘official’ receipt book, placed a carbon beneath the first copy, and then began to duplicate what the scratch paper had written on it, including the total.

He looked at the total, scratched his head, and then compared the scratch paper again to his ‘official’ receipt book. Finally, he stood up and went to another employee and asked if he could borrow the calculator.

Having done so, he then returned, recalculated and found a mistake. 50 centavos, which is slightly more than 1 penny US. Total fee was just under 5 pesos (11.06 US pennies), which he then just rounded up to 5 pesos (11.1 US pennies).

Which reminds me of the visit I had to the community bank in Ubay last year. I wanted to open an account there, as there was an ATM outside the bank. As the ATM would not accept credit cards, only that bank’s card, hence the account. I thought that would save me a 3 hour trip into Tagbilaran each month to receive my social security payment. This bank had 3 tellers, 1 customer service clerk, another clerk doing unknown activities, and a manager who sat at his desk watching the proceedings. There was no office, merely desks, except for the tellers who sat behind a counter.

Upon arriving, the security guard would ask your business, and then direct you to the appropriate spot. I was sent to the customer service clerk, who had 2 chairs placed in front of her desk. Now, you and I would place those chairs so the person sitting in it would be facing the clerk. Not so here, and not so in the rest of the island for that matter. The chairs were placed so 2 customers would be facing each other, the one having to bend their neck left to see and speak to the clerk, and the second having to bend their neck right to see and speak to the clerk. And, of course, if you wanted to be served, and there was 1 customer at the one chair and no one at the other, you had best sit down in that next chair before someone else sat there.

So, you were privy to all the business that first customer had at the bank. And, when it was your turn, someone else was privy to all your business there.

Before I go further into what happened at the customer service desk, let me explain what happened at the teller counter.

Upon the decision that you needed a teller, the security officer (complete with a pistol) gave you a card with a number printed on it. That was your ticket to conduct business, when called.

Once you were called, you approached the teller. Let us presume you wanted to deposit some money. You placed the money and your written-out form on the counter. The teller then captured the money and the form. Usually this was done without any communications between the two of you. You then turned around and found a seat somewhere.

Sometime later, the time depending on how many times the teller was disrupted by people asking questions, the teller would access your account and then proceed to hand-write a receipt, stating your beginning bank balance, your cash deposit, your new bank balance, and if required, any interest or service charges accumulated since your last visit to the bank.

This process might take as much as 20 minutes.

Another purpose for visiting the bank may be that you wanted to withdraw money. Guess how that was done! The same way, and you had better expect a 20 minute wait.

Back to the customer service desk.

I finally realized that I had to force my way into the empty seat before anyone else, this recognition occurred 3 or 4 customers after I had arrived, and had lost my position.

Once I was approached by the clerk, I stated my business, which was to be able to open a current account, with a small savings account, that I could have money transferred internationally using electronic transfers. The clerk said that was no problem, but I needed to have a small passport-type picture taken first. That required me leaving the bank, going further into town and getting the picture taken, which then required a wait while it was processed before I could return to the bank.

As it was approaching lunch, I could not get my picture taken until the photographer returned from his lunch. Once the picture was processed, I returned to the bank only to find out that this bank closed at 2pm for the day to process the transactions.

So, I returned the next day, and waited again for the customer service clerk. Once I was first in line again, she reviewed my picture, as well as the paperwork from the previous day (she did not remember me, although I was the only foreigner in the bank the day before). She then informed me that I was missing the xyz paper, which is certainly a requirement, and why didn’t I complete that paper? When I said she did not give it to me the day before, she said that was impossible.

So, I received the xyz paper, went to a table and began to fill it out. This paper required some thought, so occasionally I would sit back and ponder.

During one of these ponders, I observed the customer service clerk stand up and approach the security guard at the front door. She then went back to her desk, and the security guard went to the last teller, which was situated right next to the customer service desk.

He spoke to the teller, who pulled over this enormous bright yellow scotch tape dispenser. I swear this machine (the typical simple scotch tape machine) was at least 14 inches long and stood about 7 or 8 inches high.

The security guard then carried the dispenser 2 feet to the left and placed it on the customer service clerk’s desk.

A number of ponders later, the first teller called the security guard to her counter, and the process was repeated.

During this time, the manager sat at his desk, doing absolutely nothing, just watching the proceedings.

The other clerk doing unnamed and unrecognized tasks, seemed to be the only one gainfully employed during all this time.

Having completed the xyz paper, I then waited until the second chair became vacant, and rushed forward, but I was beat by a little old lady who smartly sidestepped in front of me.

When I finally was the next in line, I had to repeat everything from earlier as well as the day before. She then began the lengthy process of copying everything I had on my application to her computer. At some point in time, she turned to me and told me I needed a certain amount to open the account, and at no time during the active account was I to go below that amount. Ok, no problem, similar to the rest of the world. I thought I was now on the way to being able to do banking without having to travel 3 hours one way.

Some 35 minutes later, the processing was complete. I now had a small savings account, a ‘current’ account (no checkbooks here – you had to just come to the bank, wait in line, then receive the money and go to pay the store you owed money to), and the use of the ATM machine.

However, no ATM card, that would take about 2 weeks. So, before I left, I asked what the bank transfer number was. She didn’t know what I was talking about. I explained the electronic transfer theory to her, and she then said I should just transfer the money, no number needed.

Sorry I said, without a number the money cannot be transferred.

Is that so? I never heard about that.

How about a Swift number? Does this bank have one of those?

Swift? What is that?

Can you call the main branch (3 hours away) and ask how to transfer money internationally to this branch?

Ok.

Almost 20 minutes later, having gone through several people at the main branch, she hung up and said I should transfer my money to another bank, and they would transfer it to them. I asked for that bank’s transfer number, but she didn’t know what it was.

Being absolutely frustrated, I left the bank.

A few days later I went to Tagbilaran and asked that second bank about the transfers. No way would that bank transfer money to the community bank. In fact, they had never transferred money to that bank. Ever.

But, they did have a Swift number, so I opened an account there.

I went back to the community bank, and tried to close my account, as it was not needed due to it not being able to provide customer service. I was not allowed to receive my money before being charged for various activities which the bank would have to undertake in order to close my account.

Eventually I got almost half of the money I had given the bank, several weeks later as they needed to leave the account open to determine whether there had been any activity. Now, you must understand that the minimum balance was $20, so, not really an earth-shattering problem, just frustrating.

So, back to the local office. The library happens to sit in the same building as that particular governmental office. I would guess they have as much as 3 thousand books there, about half of which is in English. So, I checked out a book of Philippine photos from the early 1900’s. The book is written by a fellow called Jonathan Best, a New Yorker.

Some time ago, in earlier chapters, I gave a small history of the Philippine Islands and its relationship with United States. Jonathan Best goes a bit further, and is critical of the American approach. He explains that around 1898 Western colonialism was at its peak, primarily European powers along with the Russians and Japanese. America, ‘the world’s most loudly proclaimed democracy’… ’seemed inappropriate for the United States to participate in foreign colonial conquests.’ Except for ‘gun boat diplomacy in Central America and forced trading concessions in China,’… ‘during most of the 19^th century it had been expanding across North America, pushing Native Americans, the French, Mexicans and Russians out of the way as “Manifest Destiny’ drove the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The temptation for expansion across the Pacific and the pressures of world politics finally proved too great.’

In 1889 we declared war on Spain, ostensibly to help free Cuba from Spanish tyranny. Admiral George Dewey had been ordered to wait with the American Pacific fleet in Hong Kong in anticipation of hostilities. When war broke out, Dewey sailed directly to the Philippines and handily sank the aging Spanish fleet in Manila Bay, which was the first major victory for the Americans in that war and also the first naval victory over a foreign power outside United States waters. ‘The American public was greatly impressed, cheered on by the jingoistic Hearst newspaper chain which had been pushing for war. Dewey became a national hero overnight, and the American road to Empire was set.’

Once the war progressed, the Americans changed from naval containment to the conquest of the Philippine Archipelago. On August 13, 1898, General Wesley Merrit let the United States Marines up Pasay Beach for an easy conquest of Manila, a victory pre-arranged with the humiliated Spanish who vainly tried to save face by staging a symbolic defense. With no help from mother Spain, the Spanish colonials were more afraid of the Filipino revolutionaries than they were of American capture.

The official American position in 1898 was that its only intentions were to make war on the Spanish and that their becoming the de facto colonial administrators of the Philippines was merely and accident of war. Once stated, we argued that it would be morally irresponsible for a great democratic nation to abandon the Filipinos to chaos, predatory foreign powers or an unruly band of revolutionaries, an argument generally accepted by the American public and made into international law with the Treaty of Paris, on December 10, 1898. ‘Filipinos, however, were not even invited to attend the conference which resulted in little more than a three-way real estate deal between the Americans, the Spanish and the Vatican.’

What was not made clear was that the Filipinos may have been able to function solely after the removal of the Spanish, however was never allowed to function under normal conditions due to American military and diplomatic pressures. ‘This policy ultimately led to open warfare with the Filipinos starting in February of 1899, ending three years later with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from military hostilities, disease and starvation caused by the war.’

‘Powerful expansionist elements in the American business, religious and military communities had their own agendas for the Philippines and the rest of East Asia, and these were the forces with ultimately determined American policy.’ ‘…in favor of colonial expansion the Philippijnes appeared to be a rich source of raw materials, cheap labor and eventually a large new market.. Beyond these commercial factors there were those who argued that the United States needed military bases in East Asia to counter the moves being made by the Japanese, Germans, Russians and British. Added to this were the Christians, both the Protestant majority and the growing Catholic community in the United States who favored American control of the Islands for their own theological and financial reasons.’ ‘The Philippines were seen by many in the religious institutions at the time as a stepping stone to China and its millions of souls in need of Christian “salvation”.’

We were a dynamic young nation of primarily European immigrants ‘filled with an aggressive belief in the superiority of … democratic form of government and their Protestant religious ethics. They were products of an industrial and scientific revolution which was rapidly making the United States one of the richest and most powerful nations on earth. They attributed much of this economic development to their emphasis on individual freedom and enterprise and their rejection as a nation of all that was old and mired in archaic tradition.

While it appears we conquered the Islands, we then arrived, in small groups, to conquer the religious and business communities. ‘The Philippines was seen as an example of both the primitive undeveloped world and the decadent “Old World’ as modern Americans viewed the Spanish culture and most of Europe. A total transformation of Filipino society was prescribed by American colonialists even to the extent of changing the national language to English. The more responsible and civilized Americans believed they should transform the Philippines by example and mentorship, while the more retrograde element believed they had a license to accomplish this by brute force.’

On July 4, 1901, William Howard Taft was named the first civil Governor General over the bitter protestations of the former military Governor General, Arthur MacArthur, father of General Douglas MacArthur. The American generals ruled the Philippines by martial law and were not eager to give up this privilege to civilian authorities.’

‘Unlike the Spanish or French in their colonies, the Americans followed a modified version of the British policy of racial separation. It was not considered “good form” to fraternize too closely with the natives either socially or in private affairs. Fortunately this racist approach was not always adhered to and Filipinos managed to break down many of the social barriers put up’…’by the 1910’s.’

Ok, enough of the history according to Jonathan Best. However, in his book there are excerpts from letters and postcards of that time describing things that eerily, more than 100 years ago, are seen even today, albeit with different costumes.

Apparently we approached the Filipinos bearing cameras, that period being the beginning of the prolific amateur picture-taking public. This called for exotic natives, enchanting and scantily clad maidens, a few old Spanish churches and a glimpse of the peoples of some of the regions. The clothing worn in these pictures are actually quite respectable compared to today’s practice. Back then everyone seemed to be dressed up, a situation occurring only during weddings today. Obviously these pictures were posed.

Many of the pictures of markets and open air eateries look exactly as they do today, with minimal changes, other than the density of the vendors and the clothing.

Maud Jenks, the wife of the future head of the Ethnographic Survey, writes on first arriving at the dock in Manila Bay, July 16, 1902: ‘Bert (Jenks) and Mr. Lord went after carriages, leaving Mrs. Lord and her two children, Judge and Mrs. Powell and their seven children, and me with the luggage. For twenty minutes or more, while we waited, I sat on our suitcases. From that experience I think I know how the freaks in a sideshow feel when the crowd is staring at them. At one time I counted forty-eight natives standing around staring at us as if we were a new species from another planet. They were constantly coming and going on the outskirts. Those in the front row finally got tired of standing and squatted down, never taking theirs eyes off us. Mrs. Powell told me afterwards that it made her so nervous she didn’t know what to do. I never thought of being nervous – I was amused.’

While you will not gather crowds of forty-eight natives today, you will draw several natives staring whether you are in a small village, in the country, or in a large city. While you might think the population in 2010 would be comfortable with foreigners after more than 100 years, many of the folks here are from the mountains and have never seen a foreigner before.

From Outlook Magazine, “The Filipinos Near At Hand” by an American Woman, November 8, 1902: ‘From many of my friends here I learn that much of the patriarchal system of living still prevails even in Manila. In some large houses there are from twenty to thirty dependents of all degrees from poor relations to cooks and scullions. These persons live about the house, sleeping in corners, and are clothed by the mistress. They marry, have children, and raise them in a harum-scarum way that would drive an American woman to an insane asylum. Again and again I have seen in one of the finest houses here small naked children asleep behind the parlor door, while large-eyed, placid women nurse babes quite unabashed as they crouch on the floor in the hallways. These servants have their home, their clothes, food and from three to five pesos a month. In a way, I suppose, they earn this money as they nonchalantly polish the hardwood floors or carelessly flap the dust from the center tables and chairs. They sit on the floor in kitchens in front of a pan of water and wash the dishes that are piled up around them, and stack them edgewise along the wall to dry. Surely their ways are not ours, and it is a shock to the nerves to see a kitchen in the heat of preparation for a banquet of which one is to partake later. It requires some skill to pass between the various dishes being prepared on the floor, where cats and dogs and babies, meats and fruits and vegetables seem hopelessly jumbled up. I always forget about it later, for a delicious dinner will almost always come forth from the chaos.’

Some things never change. The excerpt closely describes the open-air eateries of today. In my experience, especially with Florida and her family, Filipino families are exceedingly clean about their homes. In fact, even at homes with dirt floors, the floors are swept clean, sometimes several times a day. Food, while prepared in advance, is zealously kept covered, even to the point where children are assigned to wave fans over the covered food to ensure flies have no opportunity to attack. When a blender for example is used, it is immediately taken apart fully, washed, or should I say scrubbed, and then replaced with a sewn, close-fitting cloth fully covering it, whether it is in the open or in a closed cupboard. Daily, at some point in time, all silverware is sterilized, irrespective of its use or scrubbing. Clothes for the most part are not washed in washing machines in many families, the washing machine being an unneeded expense (about $125). In some families where there is a washing machine, most often you will see that the clothes may have been hand-washed before or after being in the machine. I have noticed that the hand-scrubbed clothes seem to last longer than those cleaned solely by machine.

‘The Filipinos are a cleanly people both in person and in dress, a fact which makes every river and stream a site for promiscuous laundry work and bathing. While the mothers of the household thrash and beat the family linen upon the stones, their numerous progeny, clothed only in sunlight, swim and splash about beside them.’ Daniel r. Williams, secretary to the Second Philippine Commission, writes in his diary, October 30, 1900.

I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but funerals are an important part of life in The Philippines. One may join a type of club, with monthly or yearly dues, whereby he or she is guaranteed a crowd will show up for their funeral. This is part of the agreement you sign when you join that club, that you will attend other’s funerals, even if you do not know them.

Burials are common, cremation may occur, but the body has to be sent to Manila, as there are no crematories on Bohol. So, cremation is not frequent here. The wealthy or middle income folks will have a place in the church cemetery, while the lower income folks will be found in the municipal cemetery, a generally unmanaged and unkempt resting place.

‘On the fifth anniversary of the date when the weeping friends bore the cold clay to this beautiful spot and left it with tender partings the funds must be renewed, and if they are not prepaid for another five years, then the vault is broken open and the bones that have been blessed are dragged forth and some other more profitable tenant is installed in the room for rent, unfurnished.’ George A. Miller in “Interesting Manila” on a visit to Paco Cemetery in 1906. That practice remains until today, the five-year fee is $10.00.

‘The comments you write about our life out here among the “Hottentots,” as you insist on calling them, make me laugh sometimes. I know how it seems at home, but when you are right here in the midst of them, they don’t seem the same at all. Though the people may look like Hottentots – and I confess some of them do look very wild, still I never think of that now. I have found out that they are real men and women, with homes and industry and affection and character.’ Maud Huntley Jenks, Bontoc. January 28, 1903. Answering her family’s letters to her from Wisconsin.

Indeed, it is the same today. As in any society, there are some wonderfully superb people, as well as the dregs of society.

Religion: the Filipinos for the most part are staunch Catholics, even some Christians, as they are called, Mormons and Protestants. However, centuries-old superstitions still prevail, even to the most dedicated religious person. In times of stress, these superstitions take precedent over religion and common sense. Two months ago, although I do not believe in these spirits, I told Florida we needed to bring a quack doctor up to the top of the ebabou to ‘bless’ the site to ensure people that no evil existed there. However, we have been unable so far to find a suitable quack doctor that specialized in these things, the last one locally had died some years ago. There is talk that the ebabou as well as the area around it have these evil spirits.

We had some unusual activity on the ebabou June 4, and as a result, we have had to place the ebabou project in abeyance.

Two weeks ago we hired a man with a chainsaw and a helper to cut down some rather large trees on the ebabou. We walked up the mountain with them to show them what we wanted done. They set about immediately to work. The helper was assigned to a particular togus tree to chop down a limb about 10 feet off the ground with his bolo. In the meantime, Florida was showing the chainsaw man what we wanted to be cut down in its entirety. I retired to my hammock to supervise.

About 15 minutes later, I happened to glance at the togus tree, only to see it shift a few inches and then the top 20 feet of the tree plummeted straight to the ground, its top still where it belonged, only 15 feet lower.

I heard Florida call loudly to the chainsaw man, and he began to run towards the tree. I jumped off the hammock and ran down as well. There, 15 feet into the air, hung the helper, the vines had kept him from plummeting head first to the ground, a fact which in my mind kept him from being killed immediately.

He was bleeding profusely from the side of his head, and was obviously unconscious. The breathing was loud and harsh, blood bubbling from his mouth. The chainsaw man swiftly climbed up the tree and lifted the man up and twisted his body so the blood flowed to the ground rather than catching in his throat. There was only room for one person to help, so I stayed on the ground expecting to have to catch one or both of the men should they fall, or at least break their fall.

Florida’s mother, 66, was there on her first visit to the top since she was 17. Fortunately she had her cell phone with her, and called down to Bojing (Leonora), Florida’s sister, to call the ambulance and call some men to come up and help.

We threw up a thick rope to the chainsaw man, who proceeded to tie it around the helper. In the meantime I observed that the trunk of the tree had been chopped in a way I had never seen before. Almost a week later a friend of the helper, who also cuts trees for a living, investigated and told us that the helper should never have cut a tree the way he did, it forced the tree to drop, rather than fall.

Having tied the helper, we wrapped the rope around another tree and Florida leant her body into the rope to provide ballast. I returned to the bottom of the tree to catch the lowered man. Once down, the chainsaw man hastened to remove the rope while I called to Joshua to bring my hammock. As this was happening, a very young man of about 22 and a man of about 68 arrived, and shortly after that a neighbor of about 50 arrived, all three of them having run up the mountain. The first 2 men moved down to our position to help carry the man up the side of the ridge. The young fellow was afraid of blood, so he held a conversation with me, away from the sight of the blood, while he helped carry the man up. I have no idea what he said, being in Cebuano Visaya, a fact of which he was fully aware. He just needed to move his concentration from the blood.

We wrapped the man in the hammock, who was now conscious, and forced a thick sapling through the ends of the hammock. The young and old man picked up the hammock, and the middle aged man took position at the middle, holding the sides of the hammock together to keep the wounded man from falling out. They then quickly moved down the mountain and then to the street.

The chainsaw man had no money on him, so we gave him the thousand peso bill we had, which is about $20. He ran down to his home, got his wife and the helper’s wife and ran to the wounded man still waiting the ambulance.

The ambulance arrived and took all to the emergency ward in Jagna, a 10 minute drive by ambulance. Once there the staff gave him oxygen and glucose, and sent him on to Tagbilaran, another hour by speeding ambulance, as they did not stock medical supplies for this type of accident.

Later that evening the chainsaw man’s wife came by to say that the fellow had broken his jaw and several of his ribs were broken, but the doctors felt he would be ok, but needed a scan because of the tremendous blow he had taken to the jaw. She asked if we could help, making sure we understood that we were not to fault for the accident. I had a further 2000 pesos, so we gave that to her to help, as the ambulance required gasoline, and the medication would have to be purchased and the scan as well. The doctor’s services would be free as he was in a governmental hospital.

The next afternoon the chainsaw man’s wife appeared again, and said that the man was ok, but it would take time before anything could be done to his jaw. She asked if she could borrow more money, as there were more expenses to be borne. We gave a further 2000 pesos and said that we had no more money, which was true, and I would not get paid for another 2 weeks, and at that time we would have to reconsider any further monies to help. She thanked us profusely and left.

Later that day some of the neighbors came by to thank Florida for the kindness we had shown to the helper, and all said it was an accident, that we were not to blame at all for what had happened.

Six days after the accident, we saw the chainsaw man arrive behind our home with 3 other men. They proceeded up the ebabou, returning about an hour later. Florida went out to speak to him, while the other men then left. One of the men was the brother to the helper, and one of the others was a quack doctor.

He explained that the quack doctor determined that the ‘Big Man’ lived in that togus tree, and was the cause of the accident. Apparently this ‘Big Man’ is a force to be reckoned with, drawing fright from most people at the mere mention of his name.

The quack doctor had gathered leaves, dirt, bark and other substances from the area, and was planning on visiting the patient later in the afternoon. The chainsaw man said the patient was doing very well, up and talking although in pain. The swelling had started to subside, and once it would recede enough, a stainless rod would be place in the jaw. He said the man was thankful for all the help we had given, as well as the 3 men. We had sent the 3 men each 100 pesos for dropping their respective duties to run up the mountain. Each of them earned 150 pesos a day for labor, so this was an unexpected gift and greatly appreciated, and word had reached the patient’s ears.

Apparently the quack doctor arrived later that day at the hospital, burned some of the substances and otherwise conducted quack doctor activities around the patient.

Just after midnight, the early minutes of the seventh day, the patient died.

Autopsies are not performed normally here. The governmental doctor determined the patient had hemorrhaged, causing death.

I find it hard to believe that a patient with a broken jaw, being in a hospital and proclaimed to be well on the road to recovery that morning, would die from bleeding seven days after the accident. It is my belief that the quack doctor drummed up the stress level of the patient, as the patient had been in excellent shape earlier that day. The beliefs in these superstitions are so strong that it takes over any common sense that would normally be there.

The man was buried yesterday.

Florida is frightened sufficiently enough that she will not go to the ebabou, and, unusually, demands that I do not go either. I respect her wishes, and have agreed to not go there for the interim. Some of her sisters have already stated they will not visit, as they are very afraid. Some of the locals have also stated they will not go.

Such is the beliefs, and those beliefs are etched in granite, I don’t think I will ever be successful in changing that. Having said that, Florida does repeat my position to people that we have been going there almost every day for 3 months and never has anything happened to us, as we go there with a clean heart and are not afraid of spirits.

But she still remains frightened.