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Netnet Camomot .

MIDNIGHT Oil is the perfect band to listen to while having midnight snacks. Operative word: midnight.

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I practically ignored Midnight Oil many years ago, so, whenever I listen to their songs now, there’s no emotional baggage attached, no memories whatsoever. Bliss.

Before that Thursday midnight, though, I was reading newspapers and checking out Facebook where I learned Clinton Palanca had passed away.

Palanca wrote about food and restos for the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) and reading his pieces had become my weekly habit. I’m already missing his byline, his unique choice of words and wit.

But it seems like PDI still has some sense of humor left in its newsroom. Proof: last Friday’s banner headline—“DU30 Approves Sale of Marcos Jewels.”

My thought bubble immediately went into censored mode a la the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board since jewels could mean a man’s assets below the belt. Which would require the resurrection of a former president.

Marcos loyalists prefer to not resurrect any bad news about their idol. Even newly proclaimed Senator-elect Imee Marcos also prefers not to resurrect any news on her family’s alleged grafting and corrupting and stealing from the national treasury, plus all these persistent queries on her educational background.

Senator-elect Imee seems to believe she could continue beating around the bush when it comes to anything questionable about the Marcoses. A simple yes or no will do, Ma’am. Because the more you beat around the bush, the more the jewels will burst forth and multiply.

The PDI banner news was, of course, referring to jewelry that the madlang pehpohl could hardly afford as they’d rather spend their hard-earned moolah on food such as the edible jewels in Soup Number Five. 

The P700-million worth of jewels featured in the banner news is called the “Hawaii Collection,” one of the three groups of jewelry seized from the Marcoses, with the “Malacanang Collection” and the “Roumeliotes Collection” completing the trio.

The collections’ names refer to the place or source of the confiscated set. Hawaii was the Marcoses’ destination when they left Pinas during the 1986 People Power, some pieces were left behind in Malacanang, and Demetriou Roumeliotes was an alleged Marcos crony caught with some jewelry at the Manila International Airport before he could bring them out of Pinas.

The three collections’ estimated total value as of November 2015, per Christie’s and Sotheby’s calculations, was P1 billion. Almost four years have passed, surely, that estimate has increased by now.

By the way, the “Hawaii Collection” includes the 25-carat pink diamond that’s estimated to be worth P237 million.

In case you’ve remained a Marcos loyalist despite these revelations, perhaps comforted by the belief that all other politicians are as corrupt, anyway, try to imagine how many livelihood projects the P1 billion could have funded. Tsk tsk. Esep-esep pud ‘pag may time.

Graft and corruption has become a hard habit to break for Pinoy politicians since the Marcoses have proven that they can remain as free as the birds that are not trapped in circuses, zoos, theme parks, and safaris.

Jewelry may still be attractive to those who can appreciate their beauty and worth, but what women do covet now are luxury bags, the so-called new gold, which pawn shops have learned to accept as collateral.

On Friday night, Preview posted this on Facebook: “10 of the Most Expensive Bags in the World.”

Topping the list is the P103,823,000 Hermes Rose Gold Kelly. Yes, that’s almost P104 million! Ka-ching! Preview revealed that this Hermes is “made with solid rose gold paneled with 1,160 diamonds.”

Second place is another Hermes—the Himalayan Crocodile Birkin that’s worth P22,425,768 and “made with Nilo crocodile, 18-karat gold hardware, and white diamonds amounting to 8.62 carats.”

Third on the list is the Louis Vuitton (LV) Pumpkin Minaudiere which costs P6,926,551, is “shaped like a pumpkin,” “made of pure gold with polka dots lined vertically on its sides,” and “comes with a golden chain.”

Of the Top 10, five are Hermes, three are LVs, and one each for Gucci and Judith Lieber.

As you may have noticed, the bags are expensive because they have gold and diamonds.

There’s a certain group of Asian tourists who go to Europe supposedly to buy luxury bags that they can copy and sell. It’s easy for a bag expert to distinguish the original from a fake one, but the clueless who believes that a luxury bag can cost less than P10,000, should be careful next time.

A bag is like a grocery cart. It helps keep your things from going crazy. If it’s not hurting your back and shoulders, and you’re not leaning to one side due to its weight, and it’s easy to maintain, then, that’s your dream bag.

But once it’s midnight, forget about dream bags—you’re better off with your dreamboat.

Disclaimer

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