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Netnet Camomot .

JANE de Leon is the new Darna and the Darna fan hopes this is it, pancit—no more injuries, no more replacements, no more speculations on who the next Darna will be.

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Jane who? That’s the question.

Much like the question mark that continued to hover above the Pinoy’s hopefully non-minute brain as the search for House Speaker kept on going and going like an Energizer Bunny despite President Rody Duterte’s endorsement of Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and the seemingly sure-na “Magellan” 15-21 term sharing for Cayetano (15 months) and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco (21 months).

The search became a “never ending story.” Like that song: “Reach the stars / Fly a fantasy / Dream a dream / And what you see will be / Rhymes that keep their secrets / Will unfold behind the clouds / And there upon a rainbow / Is the answer to a never ending story.”

Thanks to the July 22 deadline, though, Cayetano is finally the new House Speaker. Let’s see if he will honor the 15-21 term sharing.

At least, with the House Speaker race out of the picture, the Pinoy can now heave a deep sigh of relief as he ponders on Duterte’s latest State of the Nation Address (Sona), and his campaign promises versus achievements to date.

Had Duterte’s Sona happened once upon a time at the height of Manny Pacquiao’s boxing championships, the Pinoy won’t be talking about the Sona at all. He would be discussing Pacquiao’s fight and victory, and how Pacman knocked down Keith Thurman in the first round. Yay!

But even Pacman’s fans are wishing for him to retire despite the fact that boxing is one thing that he knows so well. Outside of that, he has to rely on his entourage for advice and feedback which are hopefully meant to improve his non-boxing skills and not merely to fatten the advisers’ greedy pockets.

Perhaps Duterte could read our mind since he did mention greed in his Sona: “My countrymen, it is a sad commentary that we cannot distinguish our need from our greed, our principles from our prejudices, the real from the fake, and the truth from a lie. The reason is because that many of us, what matters above all is the ‘self.’ It is selfishness at its worst for no purpose other than personal aggrandizement.”

Uh. That should have ended with this: “Bato-bato sa langit, ang matamaan ‘wag magalit.”

His next paragraph had words to live by, too: “To borrow the language of F. Sionil Jose who said, we have not risen above and beyond the parochial interests. Our warped loyalty to family, friends and tribal kin continue to exact a heavy toll on our programs designed to uplift the poor and reassure our investors, our foreign investors local, and the business sector in this country.”

Again, “Bato-bato sa langit, ang matamaan ‘wag magalit.”

He also said, “We, in government, talk too much, act too little, and too slow.” For a while there, it sounded like he was talking about Thurman who talked too much before last weekend’s fight.

But the trending topic on Monday was neither Pacquiao’s win nor the Sona but the rumored breakup of Gerald Anderson and Bea Alonzo. Dapat man gud si Basha (Alonzo) and Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) na lang ang nagdayon oi.

Remember what Basha said? “Kasi ang totoo, umaasa pa rin ako na sabihin mo, sana ako pa rin. Ako na lang. Ako na lang ulit.” And 15 months later, there’s Cayetano heartily dedicating those same words to his fellow congressmen, hoping they’ve forgotten the 15-21 term sharing?

Tito Sotto has remained as Senate President in a senatorial team that now includes senators Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, Imee Marcos, and — gasp! ––“comebacking” Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid.

Being on top of the pyramid could make Duterte feel like Mufasa, with Sotto and Cayetano feeling like Simba. But here’s Duterte’s thoughts on his presidency, as shared through the Sona: “Time and again, I have emphasized that like my fellow workers in government, trabahante lang po ako ng Pilipino.” Hmmm. That sounds familiar. Parang kailan lang when former President Noynoy Aquino said in his 2010 inaugural speech, “Kayo ang boss ko!”

Well, there’s that scene in “The Lion King” where Mufasa tells Simba, “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.”

Pumbaa is my most favorite “Lion King” character, though, and he also has some words to live by: “You got to put your behind in your past.”

As Pinas looks forward to three more years with Duterte at the helm, the Pinoy’s mantra should be, Hakuna matata! Well, either that or, Ding, ang bato!

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