The True Filipino

When I was stationed at Clark AB, P.I., I owned a 5-speed Datsun hatchback. I bought it, in normal military tradition, from another airman who was leaving. It was baby blue inside and out. Back then things were very much different from what they are now. We had to be careful, because, at that time, some "sparrow" units of the New People's Army (NPA) were just starting to target G.I.'s. Before that time, they had not bothered Americans, but they "upped" their campaign against the Philippine government by attacking it's main ally; us! One airman was shot in the back of the head as he walked out of a McDonald's. Another airman was killed at an illegal roadblock. Of course, the base commander also "upped" our game by bringing in a lot of Office of Special Investigation (OSI) people, who tracked down these shooters quickly. They did a good job of it, and it soon spread that if an airman was shot, the OSI would pursue you and your whole group until you were caught or killed. So these killings didn't last very long. But, when we travelled around, we had to have eyes in the back of our heads. Almost all the police back then did not have uniforms (they do today), and there was no way to tell if they were real cops or not. So we were told not to stop at any roadblock unless there was no choice. One airman ran thru a roadblock and was shot in the head as they sprayed his car with automatic gunfire. They were "real" police, and thought he was a drug runner. This all ended when the base commander told the chief of police that no military people would stop at roadblocks, unless the ploice were in uniform. And if they were shot at, then all military that were weapons trained (like me) would all carry loaded weapons even when off duty. They did not like that at all. I carried a .45 around with me off duty for about three months. Finally the chief said that only uniformed police would set up roadblocks, and if they were not in uniform, then they were not police. This slowed down the illegal roadblocks quite a bit. They even had a fight at the main gate between P.I. Air Force personnel and P.I. Army personnel. They were shooting at each other for reasons unknown, and three of them were killed, along with two bystanders. The P.I. Army was banned from the base for thirty days, and all the P.I. Air Force guards were changed out.Things were much more dangerous back then, and, at the same time, much more free.
But, getting to the "true filipino", is a different story. The ones that do not live by the bases, or in the crowded towns. They are not influenced by all the drinking in bars, or airman everywhere.
I was driving my car to Manila (about an hour and thirty minutes then) to pick up someone at the airport. I had a spare tire in the car. But on the way there, out in the middle of nowhere, I  ran over a broken bottle that blew out both right tires. I changed one, but wasn't going anywhere. I was stuck. Back then this was not a good situation, and there were no cell phones. I saw an old man riding a bicycle towards me about a mile away. He was going very slowly. When he got to me, he looked at the car, saw the problem, and picked up my flat tire. He never said a word to me, just smiling, and took off with my tire. I was thinking I just lost a tire, but I didn't really have any options. I was sitting ther for almost two hours, starting to get worried that some "unfriendlies" would hear that I was stuck out there. Then, over the hill came that little old man, slowly, with the tire strapped behind him. When he finally got to me, I could see that it had been repaired. He took it off the bike, and rolled it to me. I then tried to give him some money, which, to my huge surprise, he flatly refused to take. I tried several times to give him pera (money), but he just shook it off. I  shook his hand and thanked him. He just smiled at me and rode away. I made it to Manila (got my spare fixed, and picked up the guy). I  have thought about that for many years. This was the "true filipino" showing his natural hospitality and friendliness. I was very impressed!

Is there a moral to this story? I think it's obvious. Don't judge the whole country by a handful of people. Don't think that the ones you see every day are typical of all of them. The worst in every country usually hang around the cities looking for easy targets. They congregate around military bases where they think they can pick up some easy money. The pickpockets, scam artists, common thieves, and even killers hang around where there are lots of opportunities. If you want to meet or see the "real filipinos", then get away from these areas. Make it a point to go out farther. It's not more dangerous, it's more safe!