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Netnet Camomot

THERE are people who arrive in Cagayan de Oro via the first flight and leave it on the same day right after the meeting or event they’re attending here. It’s not because they’re afraid of CDO but due to their busy sked and they simply can’t stay in one place longer than necessary.

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It’s the same for the Cagayanon who goes in and out of Manila on the same day. If you have that kind of sked, too, hmmm, good luck na lang. I can almost feel the stress running in your veins and nerves.

Any wellness guru will tell you to take it easy, smell the roses, and absorb the wonderful world around you. Even CDO City Mayor Oscar Moreno loves to sing, “What a Wonderful World”: “I see trees of green, red roses too / I see them bloom for me and you / And I think to myself what a wonderful world.” In other words, if you sense some negativity, ignore it, and choose to move forward. Ignore, like the three wise monkeys who “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”

But “columnizing” can make one curious. He sees everything. And then, he asks questions. And he now understands why. But that doesn’t mean he will let it go. Such as this situation that happened last year. I saw, hmmm, something. Eventually, my suspicion was proven to be right.

There’s this second thing I saw last year and I’m now waiting for that to be proven right, too, despite the denials and the coverup. It so happens that both parties are experts in pretense which is enough to convince the people around them that they’re the epitome of love for family, charity, and leadership.

Sometimes my suspicion is proven at least an hour and a half later, say, after watching a movie. For that particular, uh, situation, a friend laughed upon realizing I was right after all.

On a flight from Manila last Tuesday, I became curious again when I saw a certain group of people seated near us. A friend then advised, Don’t tell me you’ll ask them why they’re all here. Hehe. And I did, on our way out of the plane. I found myself talking with one of them until we reached the baggage claim area. That’s how I learn something new each day. By asking questions and truly listening to the answers. Otherwise, there’s Google.

So, listen to your architect, accountant, and messenger who also sees and hears a lot as he hops from one errand to another. It’s through listening that you learn.

Right now, though, I’m listening to the sounds of construction again. This neighborhood is dedicated, committed, and determined to follow President Rody Duterte’s advice to “Build, Build, Build.” With China’s help? Hmmm. Esep-esep pud ‘pag may time.

Apparently, it’s with Vietnam’s help, too. Vietnam is allegedly the source of cheaper cement, and cheaper may mean inferior quality. Upon learning about this, at least one future owner homeowner panicked and called his architect-contractor to verify where the cement for his future home-sweet-home is coming from. Not a single bag from Vietnam. Whew. Deep sigh of relief.

Pinas does have construction laws and regulations which government infrastructure projects allegedly don’t follow. Tsk tsk. In case you’re curious, too, Facebook has videos of government projects which are painted with a certain political color, and that may convince you of how substandard construction materials and even the design could be. And in that color—ugh. Anyway, where did the budget go?

And then, there’s the political party that’s an expert in public relations (PR) and has forgotten the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Let the quality of its projects prove its sincerity in serving the madlang pehpohl. But now that you know what you know—no quality in their projects—you now understand why they’d rather talk and talk and talk. Maayo pa ang mag-events coordinator na lang sila.

I have nothing against the events coordinator because it’s his job to, well, coordinate events. But when a political party becomes an expert in events but not in the quality of service it provides to the community, makaon ba diay sa katawhan ang event?

It’s campaign season again, and this is when the political party that’s an expert in events can shine. With trolls spreading fake news, PR experts spreading lies, and political candidates sharing over-the-top promises. Over-the-top, as in, mas taas pa sa langit. Unsay tan-aw nila sa ilang kaugalingon, ginoo? When the discerning voter sees such too-good-to-be-true promises, his eyebrows also go higher than langit. Hay naku. Pakibaba ang kilay ko.

And kilay is life especially to me who doesn’t know how to fix my kilay. If I’m travelling via the first flight, that’s when the kilay morphs into uncharted territory.

Pray for discernment while listening to campaign promises. Hopefully, your prayers will also enlighten the candidate to speak only about promises he can realistically keep.

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