What’s the question?

Netnet Camomot .

“THE Panti Sisters” is so funny, you’ll be laughing while going out of the theater after the movie. Well, that’s what happened to us, anyway. Mura mi’g gigitik.

“Laughter is the best medicine,” as the saying goes, and “The Panti Sisters” gave us that kind of laughter.

Don’t you wish each day is filled with laughter so that you’re laughing even while your heart is crying? Hmmm. I guess that’s what you call denial.

“Denial is not a river in Egypt,” as another saying goes. Haha.

Talk of denial, anyone caught with drugs usually denies they’re his, and that’s understandable since he’s innocent until proven guilty. But with alleged plunderers going free and allegedly grafting and corrupting government officials able to continue stealing from the national treasury without getting caught, anything is possible in Pinas. Had the Good Conduct Time Allowance law allowed more heinous crime convicts to be freed from jail, imagine Janet Lim-Napoles savoring her freedom in a foreign country while enjoying the fruits of her labor a.k.a. the alleged pork-barrel-scam billions.

The rich and powerful have many benefits in and out of jail, while the not-so-rich and not-so-powerful have to follow all the rules, or else.

And the rules, of course, include those for President Rody Duterte’s war on drugs. On Wednesday morning, two brothers were caught with drugs in a barangay in Cagayan de Oro, and at least one Cagayanon asked, Naa pa diay drugs? Abi nako wala na. Yeah, wishful thinking.

Drugs are like the chicken-and-egg story: which came first? Well, lovers may have another meaning for “came.” Wink wink. But when it comes to chickens and eggs, the pious Pinoy will probably say that God created all things and, therefore, it’s not for man to decipher which came first.

An alleged drug user or seller, however, will find it hard to use this for his defense: Which came first, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency or the drugs?

In drug-related cases, it’s usual for the alleged drug user or seller to say that the evidence was planted. I wonder if one caught with a nuclear bomb in his backyard will also say that it’s planted evidence. Does planted mean it has roots, branches, and leaves?

“Planting rice is never fun,” as the song goes. And the more it’s never fun for the Pinoy rice farmer who has to deal with low palay farmgate prices which dropped from P22 per kilo last year to P17 this year per a Rappler piece. Or is it P7 to P8 this year? Que horror!

Since I’m now on a no-rice diet, I’m kind of detached from this rice news. I may have more concern for bananas and apples. But when I eat out, it’s carbs galore: unli-rice, pasta, bread. No wonder I’ve not lost a single pound.

And the bread that Cafe Garaje uses for its ham-and-cheese and tuna sandwiches is so yummy. How to resist that? That’s the first question.

How to avoid carbs? That’s the second question. But that’s not the question in the Pinoy’s analytical mind as he reads the news on the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (Sogie) Equality Bill, which the Panti sisters, er, brothers might be able to answer.

Gabriel (Paolo Ballesteros), Samuel (Christian Bables), and Daniel (Martin del Rosario) are gay, and their father, Don Emilio (John Arcilla) is in denial and refuses to accept their gayness. If only gay means happy, eh? But Don Emilio has his reason for what may appear as denial: he wants to protect his sons from ridicule.

In an interview, as quoted by ABS-CBN News, Ricky Reyes had this to say about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community: “Ako this year, lahat ng LGBT, nilikom ko silang lahat. Sabi ko, ’Tigilan na ’yang kabaklaan. Huwag na kayong magbestida sa kalye kasi lalo tayong pagtatawanan ng tao, okay? Dapat tumulong tayo sa kapwa para mahalin tayo ng tao.’”

“Walang makakaintindi sa bakla kundi kapwa-bakla lamang, at ang affair ng mga bakla dapat sa atin lang ’yan. Huwag nating ipangalandakan sa tao. Bakit kailangan kong sabihin sa madlang people na, ‘Uy, intindihin mo nga ako, bakla ako.’ Teka muna,” Reyes added.

He further said, “Meron naman tayong gay community. Bakit kailangan nating pumunta ng mga beauty pageant na kung ano-ano eh may gay pageant naman tayo? Bakit tayo magpupunta sa mga bar at ipagpipilitan mong girl ka, eh may mga bar naman para sa mga bading, di ba? Doon ka sa lugar natin! Huwag mong ipagsaksakan ’yung sarili mo sa hindi ka naman matatanggap.”

His more interesting statement from that interview, though, was this: “Basta ang bakla ay bakla. Ang bakla, gilingin mo man ’yan, ang labas niyan baklang hamburger.”

Well, “The Panti Sisters” is funny but the Sogie Bill and the debates it has inspired should not be taken lightly.