A. Power-distance, Fe Remotique said. That was last Sept. 29, after Milenyo ravaged Manila. We were in a hotel in Quezon City with Norma and family. Maya was rehearsing for her oral defense, rescheduled,for her MA at Ateneo. I got ecstatic, with a sigh, about how her findings reveal so much about the state of Philippine education, and about the many works still to be done.
I first met Fe in 1997 when I was a 2nd-year college student. She facilitated the 5-year planning workshop of Paranubliun. Mission, vision. That was the first time I heard of SWOT Analysis which many years later, caught me up in Lasalle. What with the re-imagining and re-structuring going on with the curriculum.
Anyway, what with power-distance? Fe shared that once, in an international conference, a European presented a paper on this and she remembered that the Philippines was ranked 4th! Meaning, we are a country that is number 4 for being so class-conscious! Rich-poor — and the gap continues to widen, to separate us.
Our history of colonization! Our being an archipelago! I heard myself talking. I always start my Philippine Literature class with these points, referring to the essay of Dr. Isagani R. Cruz on the history of Philippine Lit., taking note of these factors in discussing our identity and specificity.
Power-distance. Yeah, I was in Starbucks last Friday and Saturday when those giant billboards fell down; when hundreds of families mourned for their missing and dead love ones and properties lost in landslides and floods that I’ve only read in papers; when old and young trees were uprooted that I was shocked as I walked along Singalong. I was asleep the whole night. I never thought Milenyo was that powerful.
No, I’m not rich that was why I did not check in the hotel. ATMs were off-line, of course, and even then, I’ve got no cash enough for me to seek refuge even in the nearby motel which I’ve heard, raked also in profit. I am just like you, a regular middle class who, where else to go but to the neighborhood fastfood joint, coffee shop, mall.
I am just your regular middle-class who had my breakfast and lunch at Starbucks when Milenyo closed down Jollibee - for free newspapers because I have no tv, and of course, to charge my cellphone. No wonder I met up with friends.
Power-distance, Fe said. We had lunch at Trellis, my first time there. And off we went to The Mall of Asia. We sipped grean tea with the Manila sunset and we talked about global warming, Broadway musicals, artists’ equity, the changing value-systems in the age of consumerism, among others. The night ended with me stashing my credit card for books.
Indeed, it was a beautiful day of foods and conversations and long walks with Fe, Norma, Arnold, Bayani, Maya and Ariel. Because we are all lovely people and responsible citizens fully aware of power-distance that we also know how to enjoy good company. Yeah, this is a beautiful country; it could be great again and again!
B.Power-distance. Riza, my younger sister who is a pre-school teacher in Laguna, had her first experience of flood. She was shocked to see refrigerators and cars, among others, floating! And she had to climb the rooftop as well to save herself; endure a couple of days of fasting, and more days of picking and cleaning-up what have been left by Milenyo before she could visit me.
Yeah, I and my sister have no memory of floods. In Antique, we long for water. Clean, safe water. Our rivers run dry and what you can see as fishes and shrimps are jeepneys ploughing through.
Now, if you can’t imagine nor understand that, that’s power-distance for you.
Help, I need to dispose these items - passing on the positive vibes 
Rattan sofa from Aklan. Durable, multi-purpose, perfect for summer. 1500.00
Folding stool. Wood. 150.00
Writing table with a chair ito. 400.00.
