Election time

THE first thing I learned about the Philippines when I was around 14 years old, from a map that I found on the street, was that the archipelago had three important cities: Manila, Quezon City and Cebu. The map was just aimed at indicating time zones, not geography, but I was puzzled. How could it be that two big cities were just together? At that time, I did not have Google Maps or Wikipedia to solve my question.

The second thing I learned came from a documentary in a multi-awarded program called "Informe Semanal" (Weekly Report) in the Spanish National Television (RTVE). I think I was 16. It was there where I learned that Filipinos do not speak Spanish anymore. The documentary did not explain why as it was focused on people from Laguna province that were selling their kidneys very cheaply. I was shocked to see how those poor people proudly showed with a smile their scars to the camera.