The Parable of the Lubi Iton Bag

 

Introduction

First and foremost, let me remind you that this is a joke post. There was this picture on Facebook that went circulating as a joke. Lubi (coconut leaf) Iton is a joke in Louie Vuitton. Personally, I don't recommend branded items because most of them are just of the same quality as regular items. With the calls for the People's Initiative going on, I noticed some people are still spreading the wrong information about FDIs. You can have Facebook pages left and right doing so. You also have groups like Bayan Muna, IBON Foundation, Kabataan Partylist, League of Filipino Students, and Migrante International to name those opposed to FDI. Now, I hope that this joke post will fire some shots. 

I took the idea from the CoRRECT Movement's "The Parable of the Mountain Bike". Take note that I intend to let this story be as funny (and offensive) as I can within reason. I will be putting real-life characters in this one. But this post will be written as a joke to address the foolishness of some real-life characters. There will be some people who will go by nicknames as well.

How the story goes

Once upon a time, in a country named the Philippines, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was born. People thought that the brighter days were ahead now that the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr. was deposed from power. It was a great day of victory. People were dancing in the streets. It was time to say, "The Philippines is free!" In 1986, a new constitution was to be written. They say it was written only by the best and the brightest. However, some fundamental flaws in the 1987 Constitution weren't addressed. The 1987 Constitution did indeed provide rules and regulations for human rights. What it missed (and sorely missed) was that economics was also needed to completely fill in human freedom. Instead, it was still following the late Carlos P. Garcia's lousy Filipino First Policy.

The time came when in 2023, the People's Initiative was born. Attempts to do so weren't successful in both the regimes of the late Fidel V. Ramos (because of a lot of misinformation) and during the time of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Sure, there were improvements during the time of the late Benigno Simeon S. Aquino. Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo was also interested in amending the constitution for the sake of foreign investments. However, some people were still stubborn, treating the Constitution like it was a holy book. They started popping out Facebook pages. They would also quote from the likes of Silent No More PH to defend the "infallibility" of the 1987 Constitution.

Now, the move was made to promote Sariling Atin Only. In English, that would mean, "Ours alone only". To prove that the Philippines can do everything on its own - several groups who are against FDIs started to group together. The idea was to promote Filipino greatness. They all thought and thought. Sonny Africa of the IBON Foundation reviewed an old article on national industrialization and quoted this:

Our industrial backwardness has huge adverse implications. It results in massive domestic joblessness. Buying imported goods supports jobs abroad rather than in the country. Exporting our raw minerals and agricultural resources for processing in other countries creates jobs in those countries rather than here. Our people are thus forced into uncertain informal jobs or to work overseas. The absence of a robust, integrated Filipino industrial sector keeps our science and technology backward, keeps us dependent on foreign goods and services, and prevents us from benefiting from our natural resources. The domestic economy does not generate as much economic surplus as it could which keeps incomes low aside from giving foreign capital undue leverage over national economic policy.

The idea was to create a purely Filipino product. They had to find ways to make it look purely Filipino. Of course, these guys weren't exactly too keen on giving up their imported products. Finally, they gathered coconut leaves and other native materials. They created a bag called Lubi Iton. However, they hypocritically advertised Lubi Iton on a platform that's supposedly made by "American imperialists". They paid Facebook for the promotion. Soon enough, word came out and Lubi Iton caught the curiosity of the people. The tagline was written in Tagalog, It was written as, "Tangkilikin ang sariling atin! Bumili ng lokal para sa mga negosyante! Bilihin ang Lubi Iton! 100% Pinoy Pride!" In English, it would mean, "Support our very own! Buy local for our businessmen! Buy Lubi Iton! 100% Pinoy Pride!" 

The launch took place at Club Filipino. Since most Filipinos were Catholics, they hired two bishops who were also against constitutional reform. The mass was presided over by Archbishop Socrates Villegas and assisted by Father Roderick Pabillo. The mass was scheduled to start at 9:30 A.M. but in the spirit of "Filipino Time"--they decided to start it at an hour later. This caused the chagrin of reporters who were willing to interrogate the event at Club Filipino. The event required people to speak only in Tagalog, because it was the national language. The lunch party would only serve Filipino food, never find that Filipino food is a mixture of several cultures. 

After a grueling hour of waiting, the mass began at 10:30 A.M. Villegas delivered a sermon on how FDI is not pro-Filipino. Readings were also done by other stubborn anti-reform politicians and lawyers. After the opening mass, the product launch was done. Lubi Iton bags were brought in by the members of Kabataan Partylist and the League of Filipino Students. Villegas began leading the blessing of the Lubi Iton with holy water. The invocation was spoken in Tagalog.   

It was time for the open forum with the reporters. The reporters couldn't help but backbite the organizers for their lack of consideration. It's because one hour is a lot of time and the reporters may have other things to do. The same went with the guests. Those who would answer questions were Atty. Neri Colmenares for Bayan Muna, Arlene Brosas for Gabriela, Frances Castro for Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Raoul Manuel for Kabataan Partylist, Carwyn Candila for League of Filipino Students, Joshua Nadura for the Philippine Anti-Fascist League, Gary Martinez for Migrante International, and Africa for IBON Foundation. Just then, nobody could help but comment that the people were using MacPRO laptops.

Just then, somebody stood out from the crowd who joined the product launch. He soon asked if Lubi Iton was supposed to support Sariling Atin Only mentality, why was the board launching it, using imported products, pointed out that they were using MacPROs, that the types of equipment were all imported, and that the Lubi Iton bag even had a paid sponsorship from Facebook. It was to address that if they hated American imperialists so much--why even buy American imperialist products?

Raoul replied that they were simply forced to participate in capitalism to survive. Joshua replied that they had no choice but to use the equipment. The same person then even further asked if they were forced to buy iPhones and MacPROs. The same questioner talked about how national industrialization failed and that even Communist countries like China and Vietnam succeeded. Joshua tried to say how he could take the person seriously with that question. The questioner soon took a lot of data, read from several pages of the book From Third World to First citing Vietnam's and China's openness. The same person cited the study of the late Nguyen Duy Cong aka Do Muoi and the late Lee Kuan Yew. Gary got offended and mentioned the late Flor Contemplacion, the moment Singapore was raised. Members of Migrante International began to sing "Kahit Konting Awa" or "Just a Little Pity" to help them remember Flor. 

The event soon turned sour. Even more, as Sarah Elago was receiving calls using her latest iPhone, she was reminded Apple was an FDI and that none of them were using Pinoy-branded gadgets. Sarah got mad and started crying loudly. Raoul jumped to Sarah's defense and threatened to punch the same questioner. Soon enough, more people who attended the event started to raise their doubts. More similar questions such as showing studies in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and many more countries that progressed using FDI. More and more people read from LKY which only caused more members of Migrante to shout "Justice for Flor Contemplacion!" 

Without a choice, the organizers of the event called security and threw away the people. Villegas and Pabillo took some holy water, sprinkling it on them, calling them as unholy demons who defile the 1987 Constitution. Soon enough, the people were escorted away from Club Filipino. Just then they forgot to throw one more person who said, "What's next? Are you calling the International Criminal Court, which by the way, is foreign, to arrest us?" Angered, they threw away the last person until the room was left with just them and their kind, or so they thought.

The event left the members losing their appetites but they had to eat anyway. However, the scandal wasn't exactly hidden. The people they threw out had purposely irritated them. The whole tantrum wasn't put in the pages of the people involved. It was supposedly blocked on Facebook but through some technicality, the scandalous tantrum was shown. It was put in YouTube and got so many views. The Lubi Iton bag, which was supposedly launched, soon got boycotted. It's because the people behind Lubi Iton were revealed to be selfish people, after their own interests only. 

Leaving a thought

It would be worth asking, "What is the agenda of economic protectionism anyway? Is it about Filipino businessmen or only those who are considered in the oligarchy? Is it all about the interest of the Filipinos or the interest of those in power?" With the example shown, they tried to advertise Filipino First but ended up showing their inconsistencies. When asked about their inconsistencies, one must ask, "Why the double standard?" It would also be best to ask, "Why did they react that way when their inconsistency and double standard got exposed?"