Iloilo always survives

“We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”
--Dalai Lama

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- In every economic and political upheaval in the Philippines, Ilonggos always survived since time immemorial.
When political situation turns wild and woolly and deteriorates in Metro Manila, the Ilonggos are unfazed; capitol and city hall officials offer their shoulders for one another to lean on.
This has happened during the turbulent moments of administrations before and after the EDSA revolution.
When natural calamity hit the country, Ilonggos are ready lock, stock, and barrel for any emergency assistance in terms of manpower, goods, and food supply.
Ilonggos are deeply religious and they attribute every thing that provides them relief and comfort to the Divine Providence.
Also, unlike other elected officials in the Philippines who justify immorality -- and even paraded their inamoratas in public -- Iloilo city and province have been blessed with mostly “morally upright” leaders.
We remember 18 years ago in a speech during the “Kruzada Kontra Sa Druga” at the Iloilo Amphitheater on September 14, 1999, Gov. Art Defensor warned the Ilonggos that a country, a territory, a city or province, can only deteriorate if it is already in the threshold of moral shambles.
Defensor was talking about the period of the Principate, which was the age of moral decay in the Roman Civilization.

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Divorce among upper classes was so common as to be scarcely a matter of remark.
According to the records, there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome during the reign of Trajan, and, judging from the testimony of some of the most famous writers, homosexuality was exceedingly common and even fashionable.
While political corruption had been subjected to more stringent control, crimes of violence appear to have increased.
This was the period when shabu and other illegal drugs weren’t yet common.
Moral indictment became serious which can be brought against the age.
It was the further growth of the passion for cruelty; the great games and spectacle became bloodier and more disgusting than ever before.

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The Romans could no longer obtain a sufficient thrill from mere exhibitions of athletic prowess; even pugilists were required to have their hands wrapped with tongs of leather loaded with iron or lead.
The most popular amusement of all was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum or in the other amphitheaters capable of accommodating thousands of spectators.
Most of the gladiators were condemned criminals or slaves, but some were volunteers even from the respectable classes.
The Princeps Commondus, the worthless son of Marcus Aurelius, entered the arena several times for the sake of the plaudits of the mob.