Style perverted our leaders

Butch Bagabuyo

“Style is the dress of thoughts.” – Chesterfield, Letter to his son

LAMB, in his (henceforth, the pronoun for all human beings is “he”) letter to Wordsworth, refined style by saying: “Neat, not gaudy.” Otherwise stated, ordinarily men, women and LGBTs need to look plain, and not flashy. However, every candidate for any elective position in the Philippines has to dress himself attractively to capture votes. Hence, it is in style that spin doctors of whatever name and the price they are paid for, dress their candidates to win votes, and nothing else. Because no candidate can afford to be anonymous or faceless in a crowd, their spin doctors make them appear in different shades, colors, and looks, principally designed to hide the unwanted warts of their candidates. Chances are, the budget of any candidate defines whether his spin doctors are worrywart worth their salt.

This charade has been going on since time immemorial, if I may use a cliché. But this is not good for our country and its people especially among Kagay-anons of all walks in life. This mime must end pronto.

As a media practitioner and a lifetime words craftsman student of statesmen like the late Vice President Maning Pelaez, former Senate President Nene Pimentel, Bono Adaza and Ben Canoy, I dare say that our media practitioners, perhaps even more than corporate lawyers, know best how to ferret out and expose the truth, unmask the candidates and make them appear naked in the eyes of the public.

Sadly, however, ever since the trapos and the filthy rich bought/own radio networks, TV and newspapers as well as hire the best media practitioners that money can buy, truth and justice became unreachable for ordinary folks. They have been cleverly repacked and co-mingled with trash so much so that the public has been held hostage and imprisoned if not, blinded by the klieg lights of giant media outlets owned by the trapos and the filthy rich who are undoubtedly the rulers of our country and people.

Today, hardly can anyone find a media outlet that is free from bias and independent from the greedy clutches of the moneyed. Hence, the people’s knowledge on burning issues about the teeming poor are cleverly hidden and mixed with garbage. Consequently, our country has been deprived of electing the right leaders ever since the conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand E. Marcos and his wife, Imelda Romualdez Marcos, brutally ruled our country.

Luckily for us, we, the Kagay-anons, willingly suffered to carry on our shoulders a transition substitute to the overstaying occupant of our City Mayor’s office. And because of our long and excruciating experience for 15 years, we had to unite the teeming poor and the middle class under the combined leadership of father and son Aquilino Pimentel, brothers Rufus and Maxi and their sister Bebot Rodriguez, as well as the acknowledged kingpin of the 1st District of our city, fondly called by his constituents as Congressman Klarex Uy. Thank God, the result was more than a landslide. It was an absolute annihilation that even the Comelec had no choice but to affirm the unmistakable verdict of Kagay-anons to kick out of City Hall the then Mayor Vicente Y. Emano.

However, because nothing is perfect in this world, Kagay-anons’ noble and sublime decision created a Frankenstein––but not for long.

Dongkoy Emano’s stunning knock-out defeat was so devastating that his bitterly bruised ego refused to move on. And so despite his visibly precarious health, as shown by his pathetic looks and slow motions whichever which way, he  excruciatingly struggles to make an unwelcome return to his former gold mine.

But the worst part is, the hard-fought victory by Kagay-anons went straight to the head of transition Mayor Oscar S. Moreno. He imperiously acted like the triumphant entry into the City of Rome by Caesar in the splendor of his chariot. His head swelled so much so that on day one of his administration, he adamantly refused to listen to anybody but himself, disregarding his self imposed assurance of good governance. And his arrogance was such that for the very first time in the annals of our city, aging basketbolistas were hired lucratively, even as he overpaid discards and proteges from the capitol and proudly brought along with him from Quezon City financial wizards kuno. By appointing these import OICs, OSM feloniously violated our time-honored civil service laws, if only to haughtily show that VYE is nothing compared to his insolence.

Because of our saddest experience in the last 15 years, Kagay-anons are determined to put behind bars thieves and plunders of our government coffers. The best way to ensure that the culture of impunity shall forever be buried and absolutely wiped out in our city is to empower all the more our well-known press freedom fighters and crusaders for exemplary public officials for the many who are poor.

With the cooperation of media practitioners, I deemed it best to revive our dignified and wellespected Breakfast Club in our city. God permitting, the revival starts on the last Saturday, the 28th of November, this year, and every Saturday thereafter. To ensure that the best in every candidate is made to shine in every edition of our Breakfast Club, opposing candidates are invited a week before the show. Further, as envisioned, each opposing candidate is given five minutes to speak on matters closest to his heart. After which the opposing aspirant is similarly given the same time to expound on what he believes is best for our city and people. Thereafter, the moderator allows accredited members of media to respectfully ask but not to debate with the candidates on matters relevant to their speech; both candidates shall have the same number of questions fielded from the accredited and duly recognized members of the Club. Then the moderator will speak on the burning issue(s) of the week. After which, the opposing candidates will give their respective comments on the matter followed by an open forum. The show will be carried live on both radio and on cable TV even as news reporters, columnists and radio/TV hosts will choose their wild on their respective entities.