Sex, lies and soap dish

By Rolo B. Cena

Random

Dumaguete Star Informer

October 2, 2016

They belong to the new genre of stars that deliver their respective roles with gusto.  Undoubtedly, they deserve acting trophies at the end of the season.

The country’s unrivaled Superstar Nora Aunor convincingly conveyed “walang himala” theatrics that is opposed to today’s “What if there is no God?” dialogue delivered by no less than the primetime phenomenal actor Digong Duterte with take one.  Surprisingly, this would realize Gary V’s “Natutulog ba ang diyos?” lyrical note that also hit the billboard charts just like the former.

Feisty political actress Leila Delima tried to convey a la Carmi Martin Private Property portrayal of a role that linked her to several male bigots whose criminal records added spice to the movie they are starring in in a stimulating manner of joyride over her alleged driver lover, suggestively.

Motabato, an upcoming supporting actor stole the run via the 30-second spotlight when he revealed he was the hitman of Digong Duterte’s alleged Davao Death Squad in a slow-motion yet fierce takeover but with a mimicry of weakling composure in spilling the supposed-to-be-bean of the lifetime.  The script was not memorized though that his dialogue became a stutter sending the audience and the jury a message of lyrically practiced agenda that never made it.  The story didn’t work well in that scene but that the need to rehearse and re-take the shoot warrants the production to be halted for another round of ambit.

As the scene farther moves, political actor Digong Duterte denied having known Motabato who ensured and confirmed that he knew the leading man citing it was the former who had finished the killing the subject after troops of about thirty strafed the scene.

Camera lights went off and suddenly switched on:  The hardcore godly actor asked forgiveness for the narcolist lapses, for calling a diplomat gay and for other gaps.  A major antipasto former crime czar entered the scene demanding an investigation for Digong Duterte’s narco-politic lists that for the third time not only hit the billboard chart but the box office as well. 

What a beautiful narrative and artistic interpretation of a melo-drama of the imperial Manila best suited for the Metro Manila Film Festival that’s drawing closer.  I believe this melodrama of trading bards, exchanging of spikes and swapping of tirades have come to the fore.  I truly believe that the suspense will continue to thrill the watchers even when credits are playing already. 

Tweaking the story to a melodramatic twist is the riot in the National Bilibid purportedly maneuvered by suggestive lady actress Delima killing high-profile inmates and wounding her asset Jaybee Sebastian, who, in a very interesting plot, was rumored to be her “someone” for reportedly inviting her to stay in his Kubol for more than four hours passionately talking about “passion of crimes” or “crimes of passion,” whatever make sense.  Why in Venus this specie of criminality is seriously considered in the plot when Mars was believed to have remained static for a time.

A flash back in black and white gave the audience the raid of National Penitentiary when actress Delima was then the Secretary of Justice.  It was allegedly unannounced producing those prohibited drugs, blood monies sex toys, plush comfort rooms, fully equipped music studios - all from high profile drug lords in their government-protected Kubols.  She was praised in high heavens without batting eyelashes.  Outgoing equally important actor Benigno Aquino III praised her for the results; it was too good to be true though that the recent Indie Films produced by contemporary wizards disallow conflicts like these highlighted in trashy fashion. 

Wow!  What if God were one of us?  Will Digong Duterte ever be penalized for the alleged extrajudicial killings assuming he violated such kind of law or laws?  Will Motabato be bullied or perhaps accused of libel for maligning the chief executive, or for telling us lies about the Davao Death Squad?  Will the people of Magdala stone Delima for her alleged adulterous acts and other heists with another supporting actors Dayan and Sebastian?  Will Bato be crucified for supporting Digong’s hardcore drive against drugs?  Will P-noy be crucified for mass-murdering the SAF 44 at the Mamasapano batllefield?  Will Roxas be instigated for the death of Secretary Robredo?

And what happens if there is no god at all?  Will Digong Duterte will a grand slam for such noble acts or win Noble Peace Prize for outrageously stopping drugs menace in the Philippines?  Will Delima win the best actress trophy for her portrayal a feisty senator trapped between digging, loving and winning?  Will Motabato ever win a supporting actor trophy for his timely-and-meaningful revelation?  Will this soap dish ever be a mega-blockbuster surprise?

These are scenes we usually see on screen, read in paper, hear over radios, and browse in the net.  These scenes become staple and their scope become global.  We are all over.  We already threw our dirty linens elsewhere:  in the social networking sites, airtime shows, dailies and local papers.  What more can the citizens of the world expect from us?  What surprises will the world be watching when they talk about the once-tourist centered hospitable Philippines?

To the world, we are what we show them every day:  Sex, lies, killings, drugs in a popularly concocted soap dish of the century.  Poor Philippines, will you ever be happier, more peaceful and brawl-freer again?

Soap dish:  It only exists in the minds of the ordinary!

Crabs for Sale!

By Rolo B. Cena

Random

Dumaguete Star Informer

24 September 2016

My last Sunday’s trip to the other side of the island was an unplanned way to unravel my overworked biological system drained by week’s activities we staged.  Taking a bus via San Carlos was unpremeditated for it was a wrong choice.  I could have taken the other way that’s supposed to cut across the mountains of Mabinay and reached Bacolod in about five hours.  But the trip that I took, while it traversed the easy northern plains of Negros Oriental to meet the northern sphere of Occidental brought me to my destination in about ten hours.  It was a taxing long trip though but I was able to unwind and relax until I reached the “City of Smiles.”

In the first stop over, I saw a native basket half-filled with live, local crabs.  As I saw the vendor from the window of the passenger’s bus, I could read from her lips chanting her apparently favorite line to sell her crabs, I was sure.  I love to scoff crabmeats and always love to watch them crawl.   However, I hate being with crabs:  I hate seeing them pull down someone who is almost halfway to the rim of the bin; I hate to entertain the thought of one biting the other. 

The crab behavior is by far the most peculiar.  While most of them in the animal kingdom display almost the same behavior, crabs easily catch everyone’s attention.  Irrational that they are, their game is undeniably different, something other creatures don’t do.  They are animals, right; they are governed by their “id”.

I can’t help but associate them with human behavior.  Truth be told, there are organizations that often use animal psychology during the screening process, especially if the applicants do not show behaviors that organizations want to see from them.  

And crabs are everywhere:  They exist in workplaces in the guise of emphatic friends, listening superiors or sympathetic co-workers; they blossom in schools or academic institutions in the guise of highly articulate and superior-feeling principals, deans, teachers, instructors and professors; they thrive in People’s Halls in the guise of modern-day Robin Hood helping or saving the deprived, underprivileged and the marginalized members of the society – magnifico!

Back to the crabs in the native basket, that one big crab suddenly filled my mind.  Without much effort of retrieving the file from my memory disk, I remember an officemate who, during my day one in office, expressed how he had wanted to take the position I was holding.  He alleged that he applied for the position more than once but was never given any formal feedback.  The management though, through an emissary, informed him that he was not qualified.  He told me a lot of things about the people, about the management and about the organization.  He gave nothing but negative things.  Until today, he still says something ill about the people, about the management and about the organization.   Worse, he keeps on saying ill things, which to my own analysis are unfounded and biased, about co-workers moving up.

In schools, these species bloom and blossom each day.  They behave like they are accommodating all complaints, helping co-workers, entertaining students.  But lo and behold, they talk about you, about their co-workers, about their students at the back.

Most of the time, crabbing works to a crab’s disadvantage.  Yes, I agree that it may work for a time.  Take a case of the feisty lady senator who had been very critical about the President.  She investigated the extrajudicial killings purportedly initiated by the President during his reign as Mayor until today to the extent of producing a witness that turned out to be a dose of her own prescription.  And while she talks against the extrajudicial killings of the President, she never said anything about the beheading of James and Jison by the Abu Sayyaf weeks ago as far as human rights violation is the object.  Worse, she condemns the President for killing those involved in drug trafficking and yet she turned out to be a protector allegedly receiving payola from drug lords of the national penitentiary.

This time, crabbing cost her chairmanship of the committee on justice and human rights.  It may even cost her senatorial post.  Way before the national elections last May 9, 2016, it was alleged there was a government official who silently manipulated and caused the sad fate of another official from the same group where he was.  That crabbing act cost his presidential bid.  I have known several in workplaces who lost their jobs due to crabbing and I am seeing another batch, this time.

Crabs produced by nature are high-end staple in local tables.  Crabs produced by human behavior are dangerous not just in local tables but elsewhere; they forget about values and social ethics.  They forget about respect to themselves. 

Crabs produced by nature, whenever up for sale, are truly highly marketable and salable.  Crabs produced by human behavior are purely landmines that when detonated produce a very obscure hullabaloos unpleasant to human ears.  They are bizarre work of human hands called trash.   

Crabs produced by nature are authentic; crabs produced by human behavior are paranoid.  And paranoia kills!

Will you buy one like her?

Hunting Monsters!

By Rolo B. Cena

Random

Dumaguete Star Informer

August 21, 2016

They occasionally thrive in throngs where people wouldn’t go that far.  Most of the time, they meet in places where multitudes converge in complication with space and opportunity.   Normally, they inhabit in places where celestial connectivity abounds in full gear that is responsive to their demands or their norms.  And these creatures are hunted by none other than the earthly bodies whose weaponries are extraordinarily simple in form but high profile in substance.

Yes, you are right!  This is the Pokemon Go.

Pokemon Go, the latest craze to hit several countries including ours is an interactive online game that allows players to capture, trade and battle virtual creatures called pocket monsters, or simply, “pokemon.”  It is played on mobile devices that have global positioning system (GPS) and Internet connection.  Players usually track these monsters down in shopping malls, schools, city landmarks, streets, comfort rooms, churches, and in places where you won’t expect – cemeteries.

Let’s have an ounce of trivia here.

A GPS, or global positioning system, is a device that is capable of receiving information from GPS satellites; it is capable of accurately calculating the geographical location of a certain object or someone.  The first GPS was originally developed for use by the United States military but in the 1980s, the US Government allowed the system to be used for civilian purposes.  And so the smartphones capable of tracking using the GPS was subsequently designed, manufactured and born.

Back to the monstrous game!

With its dramatic entry into the country’s workplaces, schools and households, employers, teachers and parents start to become anxious and annoyed about it.  For one, employees who become addicted to the game no longer concentrate in their works and are oftentimes found hanging out in their mobile phones in the middle of the day in the guise of either checking messages from clients or contracting business contacts.  Two, students leave their classrooms in the guise of comforting themselves at the lavatories.  Three, parents frantically worry on kids’ late return from school or on the sudden disappearances of kids from the house, especially in the middle of the night. 

However, like any other game, there is one relief the employers, teachers and parents have to ponder upon:  The game may contribute to the development of at least three competence while playing the game:  Focus, Acuity and Tenacity. 

Focus:  Because the game is designed to be interactive with the use of GPS, players have to focus on the screen of their smartphone devices to track down these virtual monsters lurking in the nearby Pokestops.  Players in fact have to be conscious of the physical and social terrain of the Pokestops of the gyms, the element of time available for the catch, and the compelling behaviors of co-players that may affect their stand in the catch.

Acuity:  Players develop the skill of keenness.  Attention to details of each PokeStops and gyms, the features surrounding the stops, time element and the biases of co-players in the race is another major consideration.  Quick-wittedness maybe too superlative to say but in virtual game, this is of critical importance.

Tenacity:  The determination of the players to capture and trade pokemon is of paramount consideration.  For what profit a player if he joins the race but captures nothing; worse, trades nothing in return.  A tenacious player is somebody who does not settle for less.  This is precisely the reason why players go out of their comfort zones – even reaching places like dark alleys, condemned buildings and cemeteries just to catch these monsters.

On the other hand, there are drawbacks that netizens and experts of the social law and order have noticed.  In fact, statistics support these claims.  There are claims for losses, rudeness in the behaviors and rising numbers of criminality since Pokemon Go has gone globally crazy weeks ago. 

Loss:  There are registered losses of mobile phone units, lives and other valuables.  Recently, it was reported that in Venezuela, about 500 lost their lives to robbers for refusing to handover their mobile phones while tracking for monsters.  Although the violence in Venezuela is caused by the current economic crises brought about by the decline in the oil prices in the world market, but experts believe that this is highly probable to happen elsewhere. Players therefore are advised not to hunt in unsafe, closed or dark places.

Rudeness:  The culture of Fun is no longer the name of the game.  Players tend to be rude at times just to capture these monsters.  Mosques, temples, churches and other places of worships become Pokestops that experts and lawmakers believe that the game becomes inappropriate and thus found it rude.  Players already forget to respect the rules and regulations of these places all because of these monsters.  Players are advised not to hunt in crowded places as they may hurt someone in the area, too.

Criminality:  Since this has become a global craze, everyone now is going crazy about the game.  In fact, more are leaning towards becoming active players.  While the number of active players increases, the number of robbers and snatchers increases in direct proportion with the pokemon related crimes globally.  While this may not be true to the country today in terms of numbers, safety experts believe that this may lead to the same experience soonest.   For what are predators without preys?

In tracking them down, please be safe!  Hopefully, you can hunt down real monsters in the dark hallways of the greed-inspired chambers of the government!  Numbers abound!

One Minute, One Day

By Rolo B. Cena

Random

Dumaguete Star Informer

18 September 2016

The metropolis was bombed.  In less than one minute one Friday, they wrecked the town.  They attacked the metro when the ruler was out to take care of a more pressing and bigger task for the entire country and populace.  The devastation was broadcasted in the country’s terrestrial giants.  It also became the staple in various social networking sites and national dailies for more than a week now. 

In less than one minute the metro was torn; it was shattered.  Unfortunately, it claimed lives and injured a number. Those fourteen lives claimed by this planned activity affected more than the number; it multiplied as these beings do have families of their own:  spouse, kids, siblings, extended families, and others.  This is something you and I must make a stand.

Davao is such a nice place.  In one of my trips, I could not help but praise the City for what it tries to deliver to the humankind; I easily fall in love with the place:  Subtle, clean and peaceful.  Its subtlety was superb, something that commands propriety.  The cleanliness was astounding, it implies sobriety.  The peace situation was overwhelming and reveals one thing:  the leader knows and uses his craftsmanship in influencing his constituents.  After all, leadership is influence according to John Maxwell.

I seldom appreciate a metro that exhibits modern structures, divergent billboards or skyscrapers, heterogeneous people or modernized shows and flicks.  I appreciate a place whose cultural heritage is preserved.  But when I was there and saw the opposing behaviors exhibited along Roxas Avenue where suspected terrorists blew a cadre of explosives, I changed my perspective.  We actually enjoyed the gaily atmosphere of the night market where visitors and locals converge to chat over local street foods sold by homegrown stores in simple preparations across some commercial stalls selling foreign stuffs, along side shanties that commercialized “ukay-ukay” of branded articles. 

Davao is still fresh in my travel memoir.  The bombing is as fresh as those memories I have had in Roxas Avenue.

After the explosion, in less than one minute, President Duterte declared state of lawlessness.  He qualified though that it was not a declaration of military rule, which most of the political rivals and opponents was trying to suspect.  Undoubtedly, in less than one minute, several critical things could possibly happen.  Interpretations could even send instantly a critically difficult thing to happen.  Interpretations matter precisely the reason why the President immediately clarified the pronouncement.  The President can still be misunderstood along this line even in the presence of the articulated clarifications.

We cannot blame people for thinking that way.  We cannot even blame them for insinuating that Martial Law is coming with the media has gone overboard in raising issues.  We cannot blame them for believing that way when there is a historical basis for that.  Back in August 21, 1971, when the Liberal Party held their “grand miting de avance” at the Plaza Miranda in the district of Quiapo, Manila, four grenades were hurled at the stage killing nine injuring ninety-five others.  Many of the party leaders and senatorial candidates were seriously injured. The Filipinos believed that it was the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos who orchestrated the bombing.   Months later in his declaration, Marcos place the entire archipelago under Martial law.

Later in his book, Sen. Jovita Salonga confirmed that communist party leader Jose Maria Season orchestrated it.  It is the same guy President Rodrigo Duterte is negotiating in the spirit of reconciliation and peace. 

Days of public exposures:  One minute, one Friday they bombed Davao.  One day, the country and the Filipino people earned the ire of the world for extrajudicial killings.  One day, our president discriminately tagged a US diplomat.  One day, our president mistakenly quoted as saying a distinctly nasty comment about the US President.  One day, a newly elected lady senator hit social networking sites, tabloids and national dailies for an illicit affair with her driver, and a lot more.  One day, the President was criticized for vulgar, harsh or rude comments unbecoming of the head of state.  One day, the Filipinos felt that they are so dumb.

But one day, President Duterte was elected Chairman of the ASEAN Summit 2017; he was praised; he was admired.

One minute one day, the Filipinos realized that they have to choose between what is more shameful, serving as government official in charge of criminalities but failed to compel drug lords and traffickers or serving as a chief executive for about fifty days but cowed in thousands of suspected drug lords and traffickers to surrender.

One minute one day, Filipino voting populace must make a stand between ending the “tuwid na daan” for accomplishments all lavished with embellishments or trudging that twisted streets with the end in mind of cleaning its pavements, halls and galleys

One minute one day you will realize that not all intelligent persons are educated.  Indeed, character speaks!