It pains me to know that there are Filipinos among us who would keep their silence while knowing that Filipino fishermen are bullied and harassed repeatedly by water cannons from a Chinese ship.
Now, before you tag me as another non-thinking war-monger, please understand where I’m coming from. I, like most individuals, have had their experiences with insecure people with only one thing in mind: domination.
While it is always a good thing to talk things over from a negotiating table, it is despicable enough to see how the mighty can easily step on the little ones – and get away with it. What could it be? Canine loyalty to a former leader?
While I too can be a rabid supporter to my political biases, I will not hesitate to call out what needs to be corrected.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may be perceived as weak and too gentlemanly, but he is a thinking president and his actions are carefully calculated with impeccable timing.
So you see, his “weakling” stance is actually the strength he possesses to think rationally, not for himself, but for the good of the country and the people. Hence, it was only right for the President to rescind that ‘gentleman’s agreement’ especially when the entire nation is in the dark as to what really was agreed upon and why these Chinese ships are more aggressive than ever before.
Yes, I understand that many times fanaticism to a specific individual or entity can cloud one’s rational thinking even to the point of not doing anything while our countrymen are being bullied right in our own backyard.
Kwentong Kalentong
Many years ago, I used to visit my barber in Kalentong once every two months for a great haircut and a shave. That was then, and I wonder what has become of him.
Meet Mang Fred, 71, married with 5 kids.
He cuts hair all day long next to the Kalentong Market (New Panaderos).
The moment I sit on his old and rusty swinging chair is the same moment he starts telling me stories like a storyteller would to a 7-year old.
Amazingly and astonishingly accurate is this man that he would beat me to the latest gossip. His stories almost always confirmed things I would find out later still, which would be confirmed by another source. He was the original but credible ‘marites.’
And it always keeps me guessing where he would get these latest news. From other customers perhaps?
Probably. Whatever and whoever his source maybe, it must be from an unimpeachable one.
Anyway, the only time Mang Fred would stop blabbering was when my haircut was done and I would alight from his chair. He would then continue with the next customer I suppose.
I never failed to reward him with a generous tip for his ‘breaking news.’ He should be employed at the Malacañang Press Office where I am quite sure he would be an asset. He knows his politics like a true scholar of the craft.
On the other hand – meet King Archelaus. Perpetrator of that ancient joke about replying “in silence,” to the barber who asked
him how he should cut his hair, and how he would be pleased to know that his tradition is occasionally carried on in the modern era.
A man, who might well stem from his kingly line, handed the barber a coin and then climbed into a chair. “Why sir, thank you!” said the astonished barber, “never before have I been tipped in advance.” “That is not a tip,” said the customer. “It’s hush money.”
A gathering of the nation’s communicators
By the time you’re reading this, I will be in attendance for the National Security Cluster Communications Workshop somewhere up north.
It is, and I quote, a “three-day workshop which aims to provide information and immersive learning experience for media practitioners, government communication heads both from the executive branch and the local government units (LGUs) and administrators from the national security sector, to facilitate informed reportage and media coverage on the national security sector.
Taking off from lectures and field visit with policy experts, the workshop seeks to broaden and deepen the understanding of government communicators and media practitioners on the national security agenda.”
The workshop will have VIPs from government and officials from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) led by our dedicated and gracious Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil and Senior Undersecretary for Traditional Media Cesar Chavez, a hard-working journalist and strategy expert.
He’s also a good friend whose dedication to his craft I can fully attest to. Malacañang is in good hands with a great guy like Cesar Chavez who has, in my own knowledge, been re-appointed several times by past administrations. Proof that his expertise is much-needed.
They are the right people for the job!
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