Think about it
A few lessons from the China visit
By Jun Velasco
AS SOON as he stepped down from the Presidential Plane from China, San Carlos City Mayor Jolly Resuello, who was in the President’s Party, along with Congressman Gener Tulagan and a few others, called up just to exult how deeply impressed he was with President Gloria Arroyo’s round-the-clock work regimen.
At least, what he saw during the five-day China visit last week.
“Hindi na ata natutulog,” Resuello gasped. “Grabe, pare, all of us was on our toes, amazed at her minute-to-minute work, a fast-paced working machine; tireless, precise, almost perfect, always exuding warmth, friendliness, and we saw and felt her as our beloved leader.”
Was Jolly infatuated with Gloria?
Not me only, he intimated, but everyone in the party, including Gener. The President who acted as the tour guide showed the giant country’s gigantic progress.
While beholding China’s immense progress, the group must have vowed to espouse larger-than-life causes back home, where they would consecrate their precious hours for the betterment of society, resolving not to allow divisive politics, which is being blamed for this little country’s getting more little, to rear its ugly head again. Cross your fingers.
“How in heavens name were they able to do this?” the President’s party exclaimed at China’s greatness, now the most populous country on earth (l.6 billion) with the highest growth rate in the world.
Many comments ran like this: “the Chinese people have unity, may pagkakaisa ang mga Intsik,, tayo sa Pinas, ang hihilig sa away, laban.”
“Bakit di natin sila gayahin? Kaya rin natin yan, ano kaya, kung umpisahan natin sa ating sarili muna, tapos sa pamilya, tapos sa ciudad, tapos sa distrito, tapos probinsiya, then our country?”
The habitual Filipino pessimism resurfaced. Someone said, “Ok sana, pero may sasama kaya kung uumpisahana natin in our little space in our own small way?”
The Filipino group including our friend Bohol Governor Aumentado said: “Ang ganda ng Tsina talaga… if they have done it, can’t we too?”
Back home, Resuello, who was pilloried by a few disgruntled Carlenians for certain complaints they have already brought to the court, did not seem to mind the complaints, even evading the media which sought him to reply to the published stories against him.
“The court will do its job. I’ll just work. That’s what the President told us, keep on working and working hard.”
We noticed that the GMA convoy including the two Carlenians who are known PGMA supporters has been converted as rabid loyalists as shown by the manner they praise the president lately.
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It is now a truism that albeit the Supreme Court ruled against People’s Initiative as a mode for changing the constitution by one vote, the clamor for a unicameral government and many reforms in the present system is unmistakable.
For this reason, we consider it unthinkable for those in the majority decision to indulge in breast thumping because the voting was too close. It was a hair-line victory so that if there was or there were no last-minute vote-switching, the result could have gone the other way.
The phenomenon should be a wake-up call for all Filipinos to ponder its lesson, and not to trigger animosity and enmity, which seems to pervade the atmosphere by force of habit.
* * *
At Marlene Ocampo’s Cilamar Boutique, Dagupan’s home of US exclusives on Burgos and Bonifacio streets, a meeting of high school classmates last November l came upon two, nay, three future activities: Bobby Tan’s birthday on November l8 which will be observed with a bash in Manila; a visit of Clark Field, courtesy of our friend Chichos Luciano, COO of the Clark Development Authority, and in March, a two-day vacation in Boracay, courtesy of a Region VI-based friend.
Matibay so ulopan daraya’y Class 63, awa? C’mon, Francisca.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/think-about-it/)
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