The Guardian
Iloilo City
Quick
List: SMOKING IN PUBLIC (2-6-03) - Whatever happened to the City's anti-smoking ordinance? A LAMB JOINING A WOLF WAR (2-10-03) - In the war between US and Iraq, Gloria insists that we Filipinos should intervene BANAT (2-13-03) - Playing with "Peace Talks" and "ceasefires" slow down our enforcement of the law. THE DAY OF DARKNESS (2-14-03) - Valentine's Day is not a very good day for all. SADDAM IS SMILING (2-17-03) - The Squabbling must stop, the UN must resolve to depose Saddam THE PARABLE OF THE WASTING (2-24-03) - A Parable against networking businesses, and things that promises easy money but deceives you in the end THE STRUGGLE (2-28-03) - When revolutionary ideologies become out of hand. WRAPPER FICTION - A story of how a plastic wrapper has brought forth menace < last page< OFTENTIMES DISTURBING103
* OFTENTIMES DISTURBING303 >next page
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OFTENTIMES DISTURBING
Write-ups from the column of Reymundo Salao
FEBRUARY 2003
SMOKING IN PUBLIC
(February 6, 2003)
Have you noticed something these past
few days? Have you been hearing loud barks? Are there dogs around? No.
Everybody's been coughing a lot. Everybody's been sick. Yes, because of the
unpredictable weather we've been experiencing, many people have been getting
sick with flu, cough, and asthma. And there are many factors in the environment
that make it worse. One of them, thank God, is being solved by the smoke
emission tests on vehicles. But Im talking about something else.
What the hell happened to those
"no smoking" ordinances on public places?!!! It has been several times
that I rode a jeepney and found some dude smoking inside, creating a "gas
chamber" aura inside the jeepney where various people, children and old
people, ride in. What is the government against this simple, yet
not-to-be-neglected offense? Would it be like the anti-littering law that the
drivers were obligated to put up garbage cans, since if their passengers would
be found littering, it is them the passengers that would be burdened by the
penalty? Would this be the same penalizing format for drivers? By the way, what
DID happen to that anti-littering law? Everybody just forgot about it? After the
mayor has inspired us with the task to upgrade Iloilo back to being the
"Queen City of the South", would we let litterbugs and jeepney smokers
drag back that progress slower, pulling it back to its ugly, dirty, polluted
status?
Perhaps the Pharmacies have noticed
that there is a rise of sales of asthma-related drugs like Ventolin. It's
because asthma's quite a fad lately, everybody's just so into it. Why? Society
has been tolerating the public use of cigarettes. Nicotine, tobacco, whatever,
it's gross and it is toxic. I even dare say that Marijuana is healthier than
those cigarettes that everybody smokes. Yet, cigarettes are legal. Something
that we tolerate because it's supposed to be a "free country", it's
supposed to be "something that everybody cannot just pass by without in a
day". Ever wonder why there are many people worldwide that petition for the
legalization of Marijuana? It's because it is unfair for the millions of users
that cigarettes, which are proven to have killed more lives, to have caused more
damage, yet it is permitted by the law.
I know that the implementation of
"no smoking" ordinances is a difficult task. I cannot even easily just
sermon my own friends and loved ones who cannot kick off their smoking habits.
It's because whether we like it or not, our own loved ones cannot take their
fingers off at least one stick a day. But at least they should know where to do
their little addictions. Yes, smokers are addicts too. Yet society has deemed
them to be normal people too. Come to think of it, it is a practice of prejudice
to brand all marijuana users as "addicts". (Hey! Just because Im
writing in defense of Marijuana, you brand me with that "adik" label
too? Let's be scholastic here! This is, in one way or another, education as well
you know!)
So okay, we cannot easily just tell
everybody to stop smoking, or even raise a placard that says "No to
cigarette smokers", God knows a lot of people will beat you up afterwards.
Now, it is only the power of the law that can control smoking. And we all know
that if we control the city's smoking habits, progress would be smoother. Take
into example, what if I was a really old millionaire from Brunei, a bit sick at
my age, who invests big time businesses on many countries, and I just came to
visit and watch the Dinagyang fests of the previous weeks, I ride one of the
jeepneys, to take a stroll, and see the city in quiet observant eyes. Then some
macho A-Hole came up the jeep like a Capre, smoking his camel, puffing a cloudy
mist inside the vehicle. I guess, I would then pack my bags and forever have bad
memories of Iloilo.
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A LAMB JOINING A WOLF WAR
(February 10, 2003)
Once again, I have lost my respect
for Lola Gloria. Ive heard of the term "American Intervention", but
what she's doing is "Intervening with America". Her size is actually a
comedic, but appropriate symbolism of how small we are compared to the 2 giants
that are about to go to war with each other. The funny part here is how
ridiculous Lola Glo would look, raising her fist, trying to join a conflict,
which she isn't supposed to be a part of. She even boasts an unsolicited
"military support" whereas our military forces cannot even manage to
solve the many crises on this country. Isn't it that not long ago, Lola Glo was
welcoming American G.I.s who come marching down our Mindanao countryside, in the
guise of "Military exercises" because we "needed their military
support"? Now WE are out to diminish our own forces so that pinoys could
fight a war that doesn't even concern us in the first place?
Let's face it, even the millions of
Bush's countrymen aren't even supportive of his war-monger. And what business do
we have, jumping into the ring of a war that even the UN is skeptical about. The
war may only cause more terrorism. US Strikes, and how do you think Iraq can
retaliate with the same damage that has been laid to her? President Arroyo must
not be thinking too much of what she's supposed to and not supposed to do. And
that is to use her presidential tongue and her presidential decisions wisely. We
are talking about lives and war here. We have Filipino workers out there in the
Middle East. Maybe thousands, or maybe even more than that. We have workers
there and we must think of their lives. That does not involve an elaborate
explanation. We must make sure they come home safe. Arroyo's little game of
ass-kissing will only endanger Filipinos further. For if we take sides on this
war, we are opening our guards to exposing the Philippines to retaliatory
attacks from sympathizers of Iraq. We take sides, then we become an enemy of the
opposite. The war here is that of shallow causes. It would not make sense to
take sides, since this is the kind of war, where lives will only pointlessly be
wasted. For there are many other ways to make Saddam disarm, if he does have
those weapons that Powell has pointed out the other day.
Francisco Tatad, convenor of
Citizens' Caucus, asked his former colleagues to formulate a "non-binding
resolution" condemning President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's recent
statements on the looming war between the United States and Iraq. "She has
no business calling Saddam Hussein names when her own legitimacy remains in
serious dispute. She has no business trying to put somebody else's house in
order when her own house is in such a terrible mess," Tatad said. He adds
that President Arroyo's "She has no business calling Saddam Hussein names
when her own legitimacy remains in serious dispute. She has no business trying
to put somebody else's house in order when her own house is in such a terrible
mess."
Tatad continues to accuse Arroyo of
trying to do everything to attract the attention of the White House in
connection with her forthcoming April visit. "She wants President (George
W.) Bush to upgrade her political sortie into a full state visit, complete with
a state dinner and a speech before the joint session of the US Congress. It is
pure ego trip, but it could ultimately cost lives," the former senator
said.
With the NPA burning celsites in the
countryside, and reports of assassination threats, our country does not, and
SHOULD not, have to face the possibility of decreasing our own military. The
country is so messed up; we have our own problems to fix. At the height of our
own troubles, we shouldn't go out picking up fights with bigger bullies, for we
are but a quiet, skinny, third world nation.
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BANAT
(February 13, 2003)
"There are about 1,000 members
of the lawless elements including some MILF who assembled in that area and so we
are going to assault that area," Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes told
reporters in a hastily called press conference in Camp Aguinaldo. The suspected
criminals include some who were linked to a deadly bomb attack last December, he
added. At least a thousand Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, together with
Pentagon Gang kidnap members, are believed to be holed up inside a rebel camp
near the boundary of this town and Pagalungan town, Maguindanao. Nearby,
thousands of government troops, heavily armed, their guns warm with
anticipation, are ready to deliver their strike. I imagine it must be like a
giant tidal wave at its magnificently deadly height, ready to crash down to its
prey. The military is pissed. In some villages on the outskirts of this town,
(according to Army Col. Cardoso Luna) soldiers were facing the rebels
"eyeball-to-eyeball". And small gun battles have ensued, there was
even one report that the government troops were merely having breakfast when
Muslim rebels rained bullets on them. Trigger-fingers must be itching.
Then came President Arroyo's call to
stop to all military offensives against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
in Mindanao, saying the clashes could endanger peace talks with the Muslim
rebels. If I was one of the soldiers out there (imagine being shot at, being
under heavy fire, seeing your comrades fighting and risking their lives, with
the belief that what you're doing is for the motherland, and all of the sudden,
it is all a mistake and you're being asked to just stop?!) I would surely say
out loud "Peace Talks my ass!" Ms Macapagal asked Armed Forces chief
Dionisio Santiago to convey to the ground commanders to stop the attacks and
return to the barracks. The President's directive came hours after heavy
fighting erupted in Pikit town in North Cotabato on Tuesday. The clashes had
left at least seven Muslim rebels and one soldier dead and scores wounded. At
least 17,000 individuals were forced to evacuate to safer grounds for fear of
being caught in the crossfires.
On the other end of the grounds, MILF
spokesperson Eid Kabalu had said the latest attacks were part of a government
strategy to pressure them to accept a "political package" that
negotiators would present when talks resume. Okay, yes, peace, peace, peace…
that sounds noble and correct. But what it sounds is not what it seems. Is it
not obvious that the MILF seem to just use the "peace talks" whenever
they're losing. That goes out the same for the NPA. It's easy for them to turn
into peace-loving hippies, waving flowers and white flags whenever they're weak,
but when they gather some strength, they harass, kidnap, torture, rob, destroy,
rape and kill, isn't it? Let's face it, it is difficult if not impossible to
filter the true-blue patriotic, idealistic rebel from the rebel that maliciously
does criminal acts along the way of his "pakikibaka". The problem of
insurrection in this country is cannot be solved because it is ALWAYS delayed by
so-called "Peace Talks" that go nowhere. The funny part of it is that
these same barbarians who destroy, rob, rape, and kill can easily find amnesty.
Whenever their armies are weak and ready to be massacred by a government
offensive, it is then that most of them announce that they want to return to the
fold of the government. They give up their very old armalite rifles for a sack
of rice, and being given a pat on the back as if they were ambassadors from
another country. The same rebels who probably killed a handful of men, women,
and children, probably responsible for quite a number of other dastardly acts.
And at the end of the story, it is they who get a handsome reward. The
government is kind and open for reconciliation. I honestly believe that it is a
very good thing. But most often, rebels abuse that kindness and use it to their
advantage. At a time when it is hard to tell the difference between true rebels
and barbaric hooligans, the government should try not to be too kind, at the
expense of the AFP's morale.
Yes, the situation in Mindanao is
complicated. It cannot be solved with short talks, and sweet deals. But the
players are tricky. It is tricky to play with the circumstance of having the
opportunity to use "Peace" and "Religious Holidays". Now
that the President has stopped the imminent offensive of government troops, we
could all assume what happens next. The Pentagon gang can secure themselves,
probably add to the funding of the MILF, and well, it could probably give these
rebels enough resources to let their armies be strong again. Weapons cost
millions. The good ones. I have no evidence that this is what they're doing. But
everybody assumes the same thing. It is almost logical. Remember what happened
when President Ramos gave them a nice long "ceasefire", we later found
out that they made themselves a nice fortress, it was Camp Abubakar, if I
remember it correctly. But President Erap crashed that camp all down. Hey, come
to think of it, only Erap had the guts to do such a thing! Maybe we should
reinstate him.
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THE DAY OF DARKNESS
(February 14, 2003)
It's freakin mushy, and kind of korny
actually, but I chose to have this poem I wrote years ago to be printed today. I
know a lot of people are depressed today, I think God knows that this is
Valentines festival is a cruel thing. It makes an excuse for jerks to fool
around more, and persecutes unattached individuals into being alienated. I know
many of you HATE Valentines Day. This is a day of darkness. This little poem (is
it a fu#kin poem?) is for you mortals who are under that darkness.
feeling each minute of hollow pain
each numbness of emptiness
embracing the feeling of abandonment and invisibility
the feeling of being left out
from a party where the whole world was invited
i am cherishing the pain of depression
so that i may someday know
how joyful happiness would finally be
when i get to it
moving on a different pace from that of the rest of the mall,
my mind is in a state of murky storm
with questions that only the key to bliss could answer.
while in a state of unattachment,
what do i do to make my time worthwhile?
satisfy the urges of sexual rampages?
what then, when it has been satisfied?
if i remain, would it be not a factor of fear
that i may be trapped
in the spiral of sex and adolescent revelry?
all of the sudden,
a brightly colored bahay kubo like the ones drawn by 3 year old children,
situated in a fablesque meadowy hill, 2 children, and a meg ryan-esque/
julie-andrews-like wife, waiting with a fresh brewed coffee
seems like the definition of paradise.
maybe i have been in the darkness too long that i long such realistic fairytale
epilogue that begins as a prologue to a long happy story.
a perfect world, it sadly is not.
inside my eyes are tears that shed for the millions who never expected to have
their present miseries.
i have friends, now married, i wouldve thought they would have had a cinematic
romance and to lead them to their state of
happily ever after.
[paused writing]
4:15 am
.....
i was watching the late news tonite
drinking whatz left of december wine
and fell asleep drunk
at around 350am, i wake up
with an excruciating pain in my head
as if somebody planted a nail in my brain,
i was also wheezing with a tight gripping asthma
it is chilling outside and i am sweating
like a dying fish
like a solitary lovebird
like an unknown christ
like a dying leper
the shadow looms
my eyes watch the sunshine close the door
trying hard to let my lungs breathe
i would not take the drug of fake joy
i shall feel the pain
alas,
my darkest days
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SADDAM IS SMILING
(February 17, 2003)
"Ridding the world of Saddam would be an act of humanity, it is leaving
him there that is inhumane, that's why I don't shrink from military action,
should that indeed be necessary."
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair
>
I might have been one of those people
who shout in protest with placards, that rage against the US-led war against
Iraq. True, I was indeed one of the many, or should I say, millions who stand
against this imminent war. Although I haven't been planning on packing my bags
for some kind of protest march, I was planning to write against war. Not until I
heard the British Prime Minister Tony Blair in an address to the ruling Labour
Party conference in Glasgow last saturday. He made it clear that this war is a
way of creating a social justice. He made us see past the suspicions that
America is leading an "Oil War".
Now, my mind has opened up upon both
sides of opinion. The whole world is rallying against this war. True, there are
ways of disarming Saddam without going into war. Hans Blix and the rest of the
UN Inspectors hasn't shown the world any concrete evidence that Iraq does have
these weapons. The U.N. Security Council Report by chief U.N. weapons
inspectors, notes that 11 weeks of inspections in Iraq have turned up no
evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Among many others, France has been
skeptical about the evidences that Colin Powell has presented and the talks of
these evidences as being "manipulated" has seemed plausible,
especially considering the suspicious background history of the US and their
CIA. Talks of US raising a war of "Blood for Oil" has also been
plausible, for the American economy has been predicting a bleak future for
itself. This may sound plausible for doing so, would hit two birds with one
stone, justice for bringing Saddam down, and the oil as war booty for the
taking. Then there's President George W. Bush, who probably is just awful at the
field of public speaking, for when he talks about war on Iraq, a reckless and
vulgar bullying tone is heard, that you expect him to scream "Hee-Haw!"
at the end of every paragraph. His charisma is probably to be blamed for the
public, nay, world opinion of going against the option of striking terror into
Saddam. Numerous are the reasons that one must raise his/her voice in demanding
war to end, and peace to reign.
But Saddam Hussein is not a person
who doesn't deserve to be warred upon. Tony Blair clearly put it how brutal the
reign of Saddam is over Iraq, that the Iraqi people have been suffering under
his leadership, and that Saddam is an evil man, saying "When Saddam
attacked Kuwait, he wasn't provoked". To take the side of going into war,
it is one subject that is most difficult to explain. Perhaps Blair put it
clearly when he said that "Ridding the world of Saddam would be an act of
humanity, it is leaving him there that is inhumane, that's why I don't shrink
from military action, should that indeed be necessary."
There is no meter of morality in the
arena of war. It is Christian and noble to stand with peace and not with
retaliation. But in the realistic scenario such as this, we need to have Saddam
eliminated in order that further suffering would be avoided. In an honest tone,
morality will never save you when ruthless wicked men are determined to strike
death upon you. We could all sing and cry peace all day and all night. But while
Saddam is on power, the millions of Iraqi nationals cry in misery, for while
Saddam is alive, and is their nation's leader, they will languish in the
quagmires of a dictatorial rule. The Iraqi people need to be liberated. The UN
must agree with the military option so that the armies that will come to depose
Saddam would be that of the UN, and NOT exclusively of the US.
Lately, Saddam has been a beautiful,
well-polished image in front of the media, as he bans weapons of mass
destruction and opens its doors to the UN, with a grin that reminds me of TV
commercials and deodorant billboards. Saddam's smile has been sweet lately,
because of Bush's clumsiness, the world is now, more than ever, losing its trust
in the United States, the arch-enemy of Saddam. He probably knows that if this
happens, France will further squabble with America in front of the UN, the UN
will probably squabble with one another as nations would divide into two, the UN
could be split, and while the citizens cry for peace, Saddam is ready to go to
war. If the US pursues to have its war with Saddam without the approval of the
UN, He would win half the battle for if this is so, Anti-American sentiment
would no longer be just exclusive to Third World and Arab nations.
This week, millions worldwide would
have begun their massive protests. It still surprises me how my opinion was bent
today. I hope many will open their minds too. We all agree that war is a bad
thing. But we also agree that Saddam must be removed from his reign.
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THE PARABLE OF THE WASTING
(February 24, 2003)
A friend once told me a very eye
opening story. Once, not long ago, in a rural area not far from the city, there
was a farmer (let's call him) Pedro. He was married to Maria (how typical!) and
has a child named Juan (typical indeed). Maria was running a small sari-sari
store in their little barangay. They had been living a simple life, and did not
even wanted to need anything, for they were a happy, content family who lived
in, lived out, with the harvests and the little profit of Maria's store, and
Pedro's hard work.
But times change, the summer
eventually comes to a chilling season of cold, ugly rains and wickedly painful
sunburn noontimes. Crops grow bad, and the newly opened grocery down a tricycle
ride away had more goods to sell and a nice batchoy restaurant along with it.
Evenings find Pedro and Maria frowning, as baby Juan frowns along with an
annoying cry for better baby milk.
One day, a handsome young fellow who
smelled like Sampaguita and rode on a car that looked like a plane came by. It
was a friendly grinning fellow named (lets call him) Brian. Brian was a
businessman of some kind. He talked to Pedro one long afternoon about a business
that promises great things. It was a business that did not even require him to
toil in the ugly mud ever again. It just required him to convince and enlist
more of his friends in some kind of a club or a group. This business also
requires selling, but if you enlist many people on it, you don't even have to
sell a thing, yet you reap the benefits and the profits out of being friendly.
"What's not to like about this business?" Pedro thinks to himself.
"This is the perfect business for me since I sure am one heck of a friendly
person, besides, I have no qualms with anyone!" He begins to daydream about
how he could feed little Juan, buy Maria some jewels, and get their own
television set. Pedro agrees. But there was one requirement that he has to do
before he begins. He has to pay a couple of thousand pesos for this box of drugs
that he can opt to sell when he begins to be part of the business. Confident
that this is a goldmine, he pays Brian one-third of the amount as downpayment,
and promises to pay before the end of the month.
He comes home, excitedly telling his
wife, who was suspicious of the said business, and Pedro's intentions of
joining. And with childlike enthusiasm, he announces that he's selling the
chickens that they have to pay for the debt he has with Brian, adding his
eagerness to begin with the said business.
And so, a week later, Pedro gets to
begin with his business. He ventured out into town, he was proud to shed off his
farmer identity to become Pedro, the Business Representative. He garbs in a nice
clean polo shirt, and a shimmering grin, in one way or another, he was imitating
the aura and the charm of Brian. The start of the day had given him music to his
ears. But as morning became afternoon, and the brightness of daytime began
giving way to its end, Pedro's smile melted into blankness. "Perhaps
tomorrow" he thought. But as the weeks pass, barrio to barrio, Pedro only
felt like he made a fool of himself. Pedro felt like a wandering idiot. A poor
one who just lost his chickens which would've been the breakfast-lunch-dinner of
his family. Even his child, little Juan was feeding on su-am. The family was in
a pitiful mess of emptiness. He felt like punching the box, throwing the
bottles, and burning the brochures, in fury. But it was pointless. Pedro was a
gentle man. And he never learned to feed his anger, but his misery torments him.
Maria embraces him, giving him hope, it is never the end. We will make things
better, was what she said. Adding that, tomorrow is a new day, you will be a
farmer once again, and we will live again happily in our humble life. And so
Pedro did become a farmer once again, never looking back at the box, never
looking back at the business, and never looking back at the fancy aura of what
Brian was, for we did not even know if Brian's aura was real. Maybe he was
hiding his misery too. The path to easy money can sometimes lead to an abyss of
failure.
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THE STRUGGLE
(February 28, 2003)
Aside from carrying guns around and
shooting lawless elements, the military also has the function of social welfare.
One of this is the setting up of roads and water pumps in rural areas. The
military is, after all, part of the government, and comprises the most reliable
and most efficient manpower government service can produce. This way, the
military is a big help to our brothers and sisters that live in areas which are
far beyond reach of civilized facilities that make life easier. It is in this
argument that the Engineering Brigade of the AFP are considered heroes (at
least, the ones who are dedicated to their job) that deserve our respect and
praise.
That is why in this reason, do we greatly mourn the death of the soldiers who
belonged to the 52nd Engineering Brigade, who were killed in an ambush last
Monday. This recent ambush only proves right that the NPA does deserve the
branding as a "terrorist organization" since it is still evidenced
that banditry and brutal killings are still a craft that they repetitiously
excel in.
The ideology has died out. The revolutionaries are now replaced by hoodlums,
what is more to the "pakikibaka" if the resources are only used in
criminal activities? Will burning of celsites and collection of
"revolutionary taxes" bring about a change in the system of the
Philippines? If the leftists want to push their ideology, it is here in the
frontlines, it is the age of information: the lobbying, propaganda, and
information dissemenation may be slow, but it is better than "armed
struggle" which only results in a cycle of violence that will take
pointless lives.
At least the military know what they
are fighting for. The enforcement of the law and the welfare of the Filipinos.
We all have the confidence to say that those soldiers died serving a noble
cause.
It is barbaric to take the sympathy
of the masses through violence and coercion. Here, in the frontlines of the
modern age, a more honest way of laying out the "schematics" of an
idealism is what must be used to show us and probably convince us with their
cause.
x-x-x
With the issue of peaceful pakikibaka
in mind, the events last Tuesday in celebration of the People Power Revolution
in Edsa was, according to BAYAN, a "mockery of a celebration". Instead
that the spirit of pakikibaka was to be refreshed by the cries of the masses
that still demand for the government to progress from a system which has
(repetitiously) been accused of being a corrupt one, Edsa was manned and guarded
by platoons of policemen who were ready neutralize one. It was a mockery since
the People Power is a symbol of the people's freedom to rally for the good of
the nation, it symbolizes the strong sense of activism that once had toppled
down a dictatorial empire. But instead, it seemed the opposite. If you ask me,
what happened last Tuesday was like a dramatization of what might have happened
if the People Power wasn't successful in toppling down Marcos.
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WRAPPER FICTION
Rogelio was strolling in the streets,
sightseeing, buying sidewalk shirts that cost not more than a hundred pesos,
whistling a tune. He decided to buy a nice mint candy to cool his throat.
Slightly unaware of his actions, he throws the synthetic green candy wrapper to
the sidewalk. Hours pass, the wrapper was driven from one place to another by
wind, mud, and toxic water. Until it stopped at a sidewalk drainage. It came to
a halt as it got stuck along with a whole batch of other candy wrappers in the
drainage. For it wasn't only Rogelio's wrapper that got stuck there. It was also
Samantha's cigarette butts, Jerry's chichiria wrapper, Hector's empty shampoo
sachets, and so on, and so forth. Now that mound is moving like a living sludge.
It was like a mosh pit as the crowd dances in movement of being clogged, each
wrapper laying atop another, and another, all wet, muddy, and deformed into a
thick slime of dirt, hair, ash, spit, and shit. Nobody dares to clean it.
Everybody is a wuss, waiting and parasitically relying on the Metro Aides.
A couple of days pass and the sky
blackened. The wind blowing up skirts. The weather gave a cold chill. And you
suddenly regretted to have been wearing a summer sando, when rain was actually
ready to fall. So it fell. And it fell hard. So hard that minutes later, people
were tiptoeing to get to their jeepneys. So hard that umbrellas couldn't protect
you from getting wet. So hard that it floods. Then you mumble. You blame the
city government for not "cleaing the streets". You blame the
government for not anticipating calamities such as this and you blame them for
not providing the public service that the government should give to its
citizens. You mumble so loud that people echo your mumbles. And they get angry
too. Rogelio is angry, mumbling, complaining. And so is Samantha, Jerry, and
Hector, and a great many others. They point their fingers at a Metro Aide and
they mock him for not being a robot which could clean the entire city with the
aid of a computerized mental and physical endurance. It is a hasty blame made
only by hypocrites.
The mocks are silenced by a sudden
death. To be followed by another, and another. The floods have bred mosquitoes,
lethal ones, enriched with the toxic vitamins of polluted water. Like thousands
of evil warplanes, they soar and plunge with bites that bring viruses. And they
bite here and there. Oh, so many human legs and arms to bite, and to suck the
blood out of! Fiesta, it is. And their dark fiesta has led to deaths. Dengue and
H-Fever, who knows what worse things mosquitoes can bring? One thing's for sure.
There wouldn't have been a whole lot of mosquitoes if not for the flood.
Children have been victims. Rogelio weeps for them, and so do Samantha, and so
do Jerry, and Hector, and so many other tears. There wouldn't have been a flood
if Rogelio was patient in finding a proper place to throw his wrapper. Same
thing for the others, and for all.
On the other hand, nobody should be
arrogant enough to blame the Metro Aides with matters of public cleanliness. For
they also do their part. But many of us don't help them. The Metro Aides are
just human and they cannot easily finish cleaning each and every section of the
city if the entire city has this kind of BABOY mentality.
Shall you wait for the rainy season
to realize this? It is easier to make ways for safety before the storm comes.
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