He is your father

By Netnet Camomot .

DO you still know what day it is today? Or do you wake up without caring to know if it’s a weekday, a weekend, or a non-working holiday?

Well, here’s the kind of revelation that may awaken the Pinoy who believes he knows about Sarah Balabagan’s story which was breaking news in the ‘90s. The pandemic is already a worst-case scenario but Balabagan’s recent grating, er, great reveal that Arnold Clavio is the father of her eldest child was more shocking than Darth Vader telling Luke Skywalker, “No, I am your father.” And to rub it in, a Pinoy commented, At least it’s Clavio and not Mike Enriquez. Oops!

A happening, event, or incident—these three words practically mean the same thing—is at the height of its impact for the people involved while it’s, well, happening. 22 years later, its impact may have gone pfft for the concerned parties but perhaps not for Clavio whose side of the story has remained hushed as of this writing. His latest Instagram photo shows him having a TLC—tender loving care—for his hair. Now we know the people responsible for his new look.

In an interview that the Philippine Daily Inquirer published on Aug. 22, 2010, the piece included Balabagan getting pregnant in 1998 and hinted about a media personality as the baby’s father. The chismosa thought it was Rey Langit.

With ABS-CBN off the air, it’s now the time for other television networks to shine. But GMA has been mum so far—as of Tuesday Aug. 25, that is—about the Clavio-Balabagan love story. Will there be a Part 2 for “The Sarah Balabagan Story”?

“Time heals all wounds,” as the saying goes. After all, it has been 22 years since that pregnancy, and so many things have already happened to Balabagan who now lives in Las Vegas, USA with her second husband. Talk of a colorful life.

Balabagan said that Clavio was funny. Well, how many women have fallen in love with funny men? Tsk tsk.

There’s this meme that says, “The key to a woman’s heart is laughter. Just make sure she’s not laughing at your d*ck.” Haha!

I don’t know if we can consider this latest chapter in Balabagan’s story as a welcome respite amidst the pandemic since there are people who have forgotten about her, or in 1998 were too young to know what the hullabaloo was all about. Like, Sarah who? They’d rather talk about Sarah Geronimo and her future plans now that she’s married to Matteo Guidicelli, and what TV network she’s transferring to after ABS-CBN.

ABS-CBN’s shutdown right in the middle of a pandemic was something that the Pinoy didn’t expect to happen. He thought the government would have the heart to wait until after the pandemic.

Well, business owners have been paying taxes to city hall and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) despite the pandemic and the quarantines. Does that prove that the government has no heart? The BIR did postpone the deadlines for taxes when Metro Manila was under an Enhanced Community Quarantine but the show must kind of go on and deadlines are back to the old normal now.

The business owner may choose to pay taxes, anyway—that’s one payable out of his Accounts Payable especially now with all the loan restructuring he has to deal with. For his Accounts Receivable, the “receivable” there has morphed into wishful thinking as customers and tenants continue to seek forgiveness for their overdue accounts. But look at the bright side—these are the businesses that are still operating against all the odds, with both supplier and retail store, tenant and lessor, debtor and creditor helping each other survive through the crisis. Thanks to them, the economy has managed to reopen.

Everyone can help in reopening the economy by practicing the minimum public health standards and if they meet only for the most essential reasons. Even weddings were supposed to have a maximum of 10 guests at one time. But with the city mayor allowing the 600 guests for a wedding at the clubhouse, I wonder if there’s still a limit on guests for events. If you have 599 guests and city hall won’t approve it, go back to that wedding and tell the mayor, “But you allowed the 600! Why not 599?”