■ Hans Christian Marin
It must be a good feeling to know that there is somebody willing to cross all the oceans, literally and figuratively, just to be with you.
I am currently a struggling engineering student. With all the heartbreaks, hardships, and failures I’ve experienced, I am now in the process of finding myself. As an introvert who tends to keep everything to himself, I have been looking for an outlet to release my thoughts.
Finding out about the 24-hour government hotline in our country had given me this crazy idea of using it for letting out my emotions. I just could not help but think how great of an idea it is, with the thousand lives that can be saved because of its convenience.
In the government hotline, the telephone number 911 is used for emergencies while 8888 is used for citizen complaints. I was tempted to call the latter so that I could talk to somebody without an ounce of judgment. What could possibly encapsulate the real definition of “citizen complaints”? Technically, I am a citizen with complaints, albeit personal, that I want someone to hear so that my mind will not burst from my ballooning woes.
Being staunch in the war on drugs that has spawned hundreds of cases of extra-judicial killings, you’d think it ironic for the government to give even an ounce of care to its constituents. During the course of the hotline’s implementation, it is remarkable to note that 29 people were saved from being stranded in a ship … even cheating lovers were caught.
But what made me scratch my head was the high number of prank and dropped calls. Seven hours after its initial imposition, 2,475 calls were made where only 75 were legit. On the other hand, 1,119 were dropped calls, and 304 just came from pranksters.
This is where the danger of government hotline comes in, when people can just call whenever, disrupting the tedious process of relaying information, and wasting minutes of precious time. They can even say anything, even those that can falsely harm the life, reputation and career of a government employee.
I could not help but fathom how anyone can manage to devour the thoughts of other people, who really need help, in panic because they could not get an answer from the hotlines brought about by too many prank and dropped calls.
Now, should I call 8888 just to complain about my personal problems? Hell no.
My problems are nothing compared to people who suffer from accidents, crimes, and corruption, and most especially to those poverty-stricken families and indigenous groups like the Lumad who continuously seek genuine social services and benefits from the government just to make ends meet.
Whenever I feel down and troubled, I just remember that there are people who are far more unfortunate and would need more urgent help. Then, I would not have to call anyone and I would just proceed with my life. ■
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