Playing with Fire
Work of Al
By Gonzalo Duque
WE have refrained from writing critical columns since the coming of the Yule season. You must have noticed it and probably wondered our change of mood.
Well, we realized that even amidst the merry month of December, most people were not in the habit of celebrating Christmas. It must be due to the hard and harsh times. The economic meltdown, the political conflict and basically hirap ang buong mundo. And so we decided not make things harder or harsher. Di ba maganda yan, mga igan?
Brod Dr. Ado also has reminded us to be gentle on our news subjects. He says people deserve a pat on the back, not slap. Dapa tmagmahalan ang mga tao, he says. Medyo tama siya, kaya naging mapagmahal tayo these days.
Matutuwa nito ang mga paborito nating subjects — yong mga kurakot lang naman, kasi pag mababait, we are always soft.
Don’t worry, in due time, babalik tayo sa original na paspasan. Ok ba?
* * *
We wish to thank Mayor Al Fernandez for inviting us to grace the recent Pawil Dagupan program last December. Part of the Pawil event was a visit by our sister Luz and daughter Ad who wanted to participate in the turn-over of housing unitsfor Mayor Al’s and Tony Meloto’s Gawad Kalinga project. Sister Luz and her daughter Ad donated 30 units in the name of her late husband, Steve Hammershaind. They live in Philadelphia.
Ang babait ng Ate at pamangkin natin ano?
Last Christmas, we visited Mayor Al at his “hideout” — a beautiful if not breathtaking farm house or fishpond because it lies amid a fishpond in Barangay Bacayao Norte in Dagupan. We were impressed by the mayor’s sense of life, his artistic inclinations, and his passion for what is good and beautiful.
Ang ganda ng mga structures that he has caused to be built or constructed at the fishpond. You’d feel the gentle bite of the breeze and savor the sight of a pond and a blue sky out there, and then you wouldn’t ask for more when you’re back at the admin building which has sala, a conference room, dining, and more. It also has a manicured garden decorated with vegetable vines.
We keep pinching our arm why we haven’t thought of having one like it. Inggit tayo kay Mayor. People who have visited him at the place are full of ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’.
It’s more than just Mayor Al’s political statement, if you ask us. His constituents simply love the place and often wonder how they could leave it after falling in love with it.
Maraming bangus ang nasa man-made pond. No less than Mayor Al would join a group doing the harves-ting himself, “gilon,” gilon.” Di ba nakakatuwa ang mag harvest sa sarili mong pond? Ay, talaga, inggit tayo riyan kay Al.
He deserves to have one like it because after all his successful years as a politician and public servant, the mayor would choose to relax and bask in his glory in thier farm and pond. Bale bale, marakdakep, nakaka in love, yan po ang bawat komentaryo ng mga nakapunta na sa fishpond. We sincerely congratulate the mayor for having thought of it and done it.
* * *
We met a group of Human Rights advocates in Manila who were all praises to Governor Spines for having thought of supporting the last symposium with no less than CHR chair Leila de Lima as guest speaker and National Counter Terrorism director Gen. Arturo Lomibao as keynote speaker.
Leila is a fellow alumnus of San Beda, producer of the best lawyers in the country, while Lomibao is a successful peace and order leader, being former PNP chief.
We heard though that the mana-gers of the start-studded event severely lost in the tills because only 167 people attended. Ano ba yan, Kharmina? Sayang ba ang pinagpaguran ninyo?
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
