the good samaritan

just this week an e-mail circulated among pinoys telling the story of a pinoy salesclerk in one of the bigger home furnishing stores in riyadh. sabi sa kwento, may isang babaeng arabyana raw na nahulog ang bag and the pinoy clerk helped the lady to gather her things. ang masama, the arabyana claimed daw na nawawalan sya ng 3,500 riyals. and it appread na tinuturo si kabayang pinoy na kumuha dahil sya lang naman ang tumulong sa pag-pulot ng mga gamit ng babae.

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to scape embarassment daw at nang hindi na lumaki ang gulo, nanghingi na lang daw ng tulong si kabayan sa mga kapwa-pinoy (siguro mga kasama sa trabaho) at binayaran na lang daw yong 3,500 riyals na hinahanap noong babae. but the story didn't end there. what's worse, he got sacked by his employer. ang reason daw nong kumpanya, if he wasn't guilty, paano nya mababayaran yong amount na sinabi nong babae.

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eto yong kaso ng tumulong ka na, ikaw pa ang napa-sama. obviously, may modus operandi yong babae. and the poor pinoy fell victim. ang masakit lang, mali ang naging diskarte ni kabayan in handling the situation. he could have stood by his innocence, kahit hubaran pa sya at silipin ang kasingit-singitan nya kung may makikita ngang 3,500 riyals sa kanya. kaya sa ginawa nya, i can't blame the company for casting doubt on his integrity. though i find terminating him is way, way overboard.

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a couple of weeks ago, may nabasa naman ako sa online news that a person (can't remember kung babae o lalake yong nasa balita) got sued by his/her own bestfriend for pulling him/her out of a car crash. ang initial reaction ko - what the hell?...

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as i read through the article, may law pala sa states (dunno if it applies to the entire us territory or just a local ruling) na hindi mo pwedeng galawin ang isang victim ng car crash. the law is based on medical fact that any person who had broken limbs from a fall or a car crash can possibly sustain worse or even life-threatening injuries if moved by an inexperienced medical personnel. that is why, instead na nakatulong ka, naging cause ka pa ng mas grabeng pinsala sa tinulungan mo.

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valid as it may be, i still find the ruling a bit bothering. paano kung isang taong mahal mo ang naipit sa isang kotse? would you try to pull him/her out of the wreckage or would you just ignore the outstretched hand begging for help dahil takot kang makasuhan later on? and what if the car explodes into a huge ball of fire? hindi ba't mas malaking dagok ng konsensya if you didn't pull him/her out of that car? isn't it better to have him/her still around, even on a wheelchair rather than him/her ending as a charred body?

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in both cases, isa lang ang kinakalungkot ko. that the basic goodness of human nature - the instinct to extend a helping hand, is being defeated by some evil forces na tao rin ang gumawa. that law sucks. and that scheming lady sucks. ngayon, magse-second thought na ako whenever i'm confronted with a situation where i have to bring out the good samaritan in me. masakit nito, baka hindi na good samaritan ang lumabas. coz simply by having second thought, the help could be a bit late.

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