commentary Say Chiz
Say Chiz
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 00:00
I'M a fan of Sen. Chiz Escudero. He has a lovable face, the kind that could morph to cute and cuddly with doe eyes a la Puss in Boots in the "Shrek" series, making him look young at hear t forever and ever. Well, Puss in Boots may not be a politically correct term now that it's being used by some Cagayanons on Facebook (FB) to describe this particular fashionista congressman who went to a Sendong-affected area looking like a fashion model on a runway. Well, a muddied runway with scattered debris, garbage, and other remnants of a flash flood. Let's just say "if a picture paints a thousand words..."
I heard from a city councilor that each of them in the city council was given an area to oversee after the flash flood. I didn't ask anymore when the assignments were given to them, but that's how it has been I guess. So, if you're wondering why, say, Emily Homes wasn't getting a visit from city hall's top guy himself, just look for the city councilor who's supposed to be in-charge of the area. One of the affected areas got some help from a city councilor who sent a construction equipment that had a streamer with his name on it. In this age of FB, Twitter, and a camera in almost every gadget, someone is bound to notice and take a picture of it, post it on FB, and you could already imagine the reactions it has been receiving. The city councilor's sister started to defend her beloved brother but she later went pfft perhaps after realizing there was no way she could win in this game of defining what's epal and what's not.
The sister's defense started with the thought that her brother used his own money and borrowed equipment from his friends to clean up the particular area where that photo was taken. But FB users began to ask, Where did the money come from? Are those friends his favored contractors for city hall projects? Well, with all the chika about city councilors getting their share from the top guy, such questions are expected to be asked. That's actually how generosity is defined in some circles-if a particular politician or government agency head shares his, uh, "commission" with his assistants and employees, then he's generous. If he doesn't share, then he's not generous. Simple, eh? Those assistants and employees would even start to compare: "Maayo pa ni si incumbent kay mo-share. Katong immediate past, hangol kaayo, dili mo-share." And sometimes there's even a specific day for sharing the bounty, like Friday afternoon perhaps, after office hours?
This reminds me of Lourd de Veyra's TV commercial where he says, "Bawal mag- share." But it's about this drink that he introduces with "Maraming bawal sa mundo... Bakit nga ba masarap ang bawal? Bawal na tanawin, bawal na pag-ibig, bawal na pagkain..." But here's one that's not bawal, the drink that he's endorsing, so he says, "Dito ka na lang..." and he mentions the drink's brand. "Sa sobrang sarap, akala mo bawal."
Things that are perceived to be delish can be bawal. Like alcohol and drugs. "Perceived" could mean "akala mo lang yon." The prospect of getting high or forgetting your problems through abuse of alcohol and/ or drugs is a good example of "akala mo lang yon." Wait till the morning after when you wake up with a massive hangover, or once you're low batt-ouch. Good thing if you have the money to buy more booze or drugs. But what if you're the type that depends on friends who "share" their alcohol and drugs? And this time, they're suddenly morphing into De Veyra: "Bawal mag-share." Uh, more ouch.
A "commission" is also perceived to be delish. Well, it's delish at first. But it's even more sinful than abuse of alcohol and drugs. Why is that? Because you're using money that's meant for health, Education, infrastructure-you know, good things that are meant for the general public. If you want to find out how that is, just go to a Sendong- affected area. Sendong victims commemorated the end of the 40-day mourning period last Jan. 25 but they're still looking for the bodies of their loved ones. Most of them are still tr ying to star t from zero. If you ask them if there has been any help from the government, the usual answer is an emphatic no, nil, nada, none, wala. I've been hoping that my idol Sen. Chiz could help us eliminate all the ills in the government-well, I do love fair y tales that's why I like watching "Shrek." But when he said that "Hindi ngayon ang tamang panahon sa ganyang mga bagay," referring to the recall petition against the top guy at city hall, I hope I had the chance to ask him, Sen. Chiz, have you ever been a flash flood victim?
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