Teeming with teams

Netnet Camomot .

EXPOSURE to tun-og can be harmful to a person of a certain age. Senior-moment episodes need tender loving care and lots of Vitamin C, water and a good rest. But there’s no rest for the weary who has to keep on working despite the colds. Achoo!

Whenever President Rody Duterte, 73, doesn’t show up in occasions where his presence is required, it could be either he’s avoiding tun-og, or previous exposure to tun-og has given him colds. Being the country’s president is not a stroll along Manila Bay even if the latter is already undergoing rehabilitation. All that stress and pressure can be harmful to the president’s health. I gotta feeling he’s reviving the suggestion to rename Pinas Maharlika since that’s the only time he can relax and think of the possibilities.

It was former President Ferdinand Marcos who first suggested Maharlika since Philippines is named after King Philip II of Spain. If you’ve read José Rizal’s books, you should know by now that the Spanish era in Pinas was not exactly friendly to the Pinoy. Yes, Rizal’s books are proof of the adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Non-fiction should always be based on the truth and nothing but the truth otherwise it morphs into fiction and will mislead the reader with what’s now called as fake news which can be as simple as posting on Facebook an embellished past glory. Or spreading chismis that the end of the world is near.

If the end of the world were indeed near, I wonder if the Catholic Pinoy will still seek the guidance of a Catholic priest despite all the troubling news that the Church has been dealing with lately. From sexual abuse to pedophilia. Oh, my. Pope Francis has called priests who abuse children as “tools of Satan.”

Well, Satan has been depicted in paintings and drawings as red with horns and a tail. But three years ago, I realized the devil could use an angel as a disguise. So, beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Catholic priests are expected to be the epitome of a good moral character and right conduct. But once you learn the opposite can also describe a priest, please don’t allow that to make you lose faith. Besides, you can have faith without religion.

The Catholic Pinoy is surely shocked with the revelations he’s learning about the Church, and these may inspire him to crawl out of his comfort zone since it’s when one is away from his comfort zone that he grows, matures and finds himself. When he hears Mass, prays the Holy Rosary and novenas, is he distracted by the news on abusive priests? Still, Duterte has predicted, “Itong Katoliko na ito will disappear in almost 25 years.” Gasp! But the question that hovered above my minute brain was, How old would I be by then?

Religion and politics are the worst topics in the world since both are neverending stories that can only hurt friendships and relationships. You’re better off joining Team Kris or Team Nicko in the Aquino-versus-Falcis case.

Or how about Team Kris or Team Gretchen? Barretto, that is. She hosted a “thanksgiving party” for Falcis when Kris’ qualified theft case against him was dismissed by the Makati city prosecutor. Falcis, however, was absent from that party. Did Barretto even invite him? That’s the question.

And here’s more: Team Kris or Team Phillip. Salvador, that is—the father of Kris’ eldest son, Joshua. There’s a video of a campaign sortie skit where “senatoriable” Bong Go tells Salvador, “Naloko mo nga si Kris Aquino.” Salvador replies, “Hindi ko siya niloko kahit kailan. Minahal ko siya. Hindi ko niloko si Kris.”

Of course, Kris reacted to this through a 20-minute Facebook live video, and here’s an excerpt from her soliloquy: “It really hurt. The hurt there comes from being made a joke of. And I am not blaming Bong Go. This is on you, Phillip Salvador. Tatay ka ni, Josh.”

The Cagayanon, however, will be choosing between Team Oca or Team Pompee on Election Day. Yay! Happy days are here again for the potential voter who loves debates and, uh, trolls. At least one Cagayanon is predicting reelectionist Mayor Oscar “Oca” Moreno will win again. That will be his last term. In 2022, let’s see if Moreno’s mayoral candidate will win, too.

The political climate in Cagayan de Oro remains the same—Moreno’s political color versus violet. Okay, violet-orange. In 2022, it can be Moreno’s color versus violet versus orange if the violet-orange coalition will prove to be unsuccessful this year.

A candidate’s political color should be consistent in order to guide the voter on who’s who. If the candidate keeps on transferring from one political party to another, the voter may start to suspect it’s a bad case of balimbing.

But the Dilawan should continue wearing yellow proudly or else the legacy of the People Power Revolution will go pfft.

It’s easy to stick to your usual choices among political candidates if they’ve been proven to be the kind that delivers and not merely a slave to lip service. Choose the one with a good track record since he will continue to play that record with utmost passion and compassion.

In this age of blockchains and bitcoins, will the politician ever become obsolete? Do you want politics to hibernate in Siberia? Will their absence lead to world peace? Hmmm. Dream on.