‘As long as you love me’

Netnet Camomot .

“Who you are / Where you’re from / Don’t care what you did / As long as you love me.” – “As Long As You Love Me” by Backstreet Boys

“WHO you are” is now a hashtag in Cagayan de Oro. If you’re wondering why, you’ve probably been hiding under a rock in the last few days.

Phone cameras are here, there, and everywhere, that’s why it’s advisable to be “sugar and spice and everything nice” here, there, and everywhere, otherwise your “who you are” video could prove who you are. If you’re a Cagayan de Oro city councilor aiming that “who you are” at a well-respected former Cagayan de Oro mayor, there’s a great possibility the madlang pehpohl would side with the latter.

The right expression, though, is “Who are you?” Unless what the city councilor did mean was, Who do you think you are?, and somehow forgot to include “do you think.”

To better understand that, here’s the Spice Girls: “I said who do you think you are / Oh, oh (do you think you are, I said) / Ooh some kind of superstar (oh, oh, oh) / You have got to swing it, shake it, move it, make it.”

By the way, the Spice Girls, minus Victoria Beckham a.k.a. Posh, recently had a reunion tour which ended at the Wembley Stadium in London, England on June 15, 2019. My London-based goddaughter watched the Wembley concert and I gotta feeling she had so much fun based on her Facebook photos. U2, on the other hand, has included Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo as venues for its “The Joshua Tree Tour 19.” In case you haven’t noticed, Manila is not in there. Tsk tsk.

But then, there’s the U2 non-fan who may want to ask Bono, Who are you? Like the Caterpillar in “Alice in Wonderland” asking Alice, “Who are you?” And Alice replied, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”

The Caterpillar further asked, “What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!”

And Alice said, “I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir, because I am not myself, you see.”

Well, that’s for Alice and the Caterpillar. The confrontation between the city councilor and the former city mayor, however, is not that simple since there’s now a petition for the city councilor to be removed from the city council.

“P***ng in*” was also uttered in that video, but since that’s President Rody Duterte’s favorite expression, has it lost its jarring impact on one’s sugar and spice?

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” a saying goes. Still, the scars of emotional abuse can be deeper and much more painful than that of physical abuse.

Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno has opted to remain neutral in this scenario (“Signatures cannot be used vs. Ocon yet” by Herbie Gomez and Jigger Jerusalem, Mindanao Gold Star Daily, June 17, 2019): “I listened to both versions. Si Rhona (Canoy’s daughter) was in my office and I talked to her. I gave her my position that I’m not taking sides, and I hope that emotions will die down and good relations will be restored as soon as possible.”

I don’t know if this quote from Desmond Tutu can be applied to Moreno’s neutrality, but here it is, anyway: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

The city councilor is with Moreno’s Team OKKA.

Had this happened before Election Day, would it have the potential to affect the votes for at least two candidates for Cagayan de Oro city councilor? Hmmm. “Timing is everything. If it’s meant to happen, it will, at the right time for the right reason,” as another saying goes.

There are Cagayanons who have chosen not to remain neutral after watching the video and they immediately launched a signature campaign for the city councilor’s ouster. Perhaps they’re hoping for him to resign? Since removal is a long and winding process. Oh, well. Good luck na lang.