Punchline
Baby Boomers vs. Millennials
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
A CURIOUS situation and discussion have developed between the Baby Boomer generation and the Millennial generation in Pangasinan about Sen. Bongbong Marcos, the martial law regime of his father, President Ferdinand Marcos and the aspirations of the 1986 People Power.
Specifically, the Baby Boomers could not comprehend how the Millennials could not relate fully to the “Never Again” rally being sustained by the victims of the martial law regime.
“We don’t know what you are talking about, so can we just move on?” That’s the reaction a man from the Beatles era got from the Justin Bieber/Bruno Mars adulator.
Out of deep frustration, the balding Baby Boomer holding a guitar had this rebuke: “Perhaps you can relate to this situation,” the man said. “Imagine President Marcos banning the use of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. And the possession of smartphones and earphones are deemed acts of subversive against the government!”
“That’s what we lost in the early 70s! All newspapers and broadcasts were censored, persons who dared to write and speak against martial law were arrested. These are the same things you now enjoy in your FB accounts, etc. Ok, hijo?
Silence.
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MORE RELEVANT COVENANT. The efforts of the Pangasinan Provincial Police and other members of the civil society to get local candidates to participate and sign “election covenants” for orderly, peaceful and credible elections are welcome. Unfortunately, the candidates don’t take the covenants seriously, if at all.
Why?
Firstly, the covenant merely puts words of motherhood statements in their mouths that could only get in the way of their winning the elections. Secondly, the candidates know that their signatures in those covenants are worthless, as worthless as the litany of campaign promises they mouth to anyone who cares to listen. Thirdly, they are not required any guarantee to prove their sincerity to serve the objectives of the covenant.
So what kind of covenant would make a difference for our candidates to sign?
The candidate must be made to agree to:
- Be responsible for any incidence of violence that a known supporter is involved in.
- Appear before an investigating body that will look into incidents of violence involving a supporter.
- Allow the PNP to make unannounced visits to candidates’ homes and campaign headquarters to check presence of firearms and will agree to the immediate confiscation of the discovered firearms in the possession of candidate and supporters.
- Remove all illegal posters within 24 hours upon receipt of notice from the Comelec or pay P10,000 fine for each notice ignored, to be donated to a religious charity.
- Authorize covenant organizers to publicly proclaim which candidate violated the terms of the covenant at anytime during the campaign period.
If these terms will not help guarantee peaceful and credible elections, I don’t know what will. But one thing is certain, the candidates who sign such a covenant know that their signatures on that document are worth their integrity and lives. Surely, the electorate would love to know who would be the first to sign such a covenant, and those who would resist.
If you agree, call your local police and parish priest for the preparation and signing of another covenant.
* * * *
FATHERS AND SONS. After Danding Cojuangco, the father, gave his blessings to the Poe-Escudero tandem, Mark Cojuangco, the son, felt rebuffed for backing the Binay-Honasan tandem earlier.
The bets on the table are for an obedient son to come forward and relent. He will announce his withdrawal of support for his favorite tandem in favor of his father’s faves.
But others who know the son better than the father, believe the son will likely withhold any announcement until the Supreme Court rules on the disqualification case vs. Poe. He cannot possibly be seen as a political butterfly who will shift to Poe, only to revert to Binay after a few days because of Poe’s disqualification. In that situation, the ball is back in the father’s court.
But will the father finally follow the son? Or will he still ignore the son and bet on either Roxas or Duterte? Or will they soon agree to push for a father-and-son endorsement and make the difference?
* * * *
Then there is Guv Spines, the father, who wants his son, Pogi, to sustain his legacy for all his impressive accomplishments made during his three terms.
But the demeanor of the son, Pogi, is so unlike the father Spines. The son is soft-spoken while the father is one who speaks his mind. Will the son make the grade of a commanding officer like his father to meet the latter’s expectations, or will he be his own man and manage the province’s affairs, if elected, without intervention from the father?
Those who know the father enough believe he will not allow his son to deviate from the course he has set for him, a situation that could very well work for the son because his work has been done for him. But the son is seen by those who know him as well that he will venture to leave his own footprints, not content on being his father’s son.
Their situation is no different from other fathers and sons who find themselves carving their own identities in the same room. Like father, like son. Or like son, like father. Not a very easy situation to be in, that’s for sure. I kid you not!
* * * *
SERIOUS SILTATION. Perhaps Dagupan Mayor Belen Fernandez may not be aware of it, but clearly she’s being led by the nose by City Agriculturist Emma Molina.
The good mayor cannot possibly imagine the extent of the damage being done by the illegal fish pens that continue to operate with impunity in the city’s tributaries until she gets a full perspective from the air. Far from the claim of Ms. Molina that the fish pens are being dismantled, the huge illegal fish pens are intact to this day!
I recently joined a helicopter ride two weeks ago to the city and what I saw from 500 feet above was surreal – there were just too many fish pens that clog the city’s rivers. The serious damage caused by heavy siltation as a result of thousands of bags of feeds thrown daily into the tributaries will only be realized when the rains again begin to pour, and the rivers begin to overflow from their shallow depths. The indicators are there for everyone to see. By driving through the New Pantal Bridge on De Venecia Extension Highway, one can see the DPWH’s dredging machine that used to float for its dredging operations is already sitting on land, making the dredging operations in the city literally an impossible mission.
When the rains come and the city’s streets and villages are quickly flooded, one can no longer blame former Mayor Benjie Lim. Nice work you did on Mayor Belen, Ms. Molina!
* * * *
GONZ’S DUTERTE. Congratulations to our Fire Player Gonz Duque for his success in proving to all and sundry that the Duterte-Cayetano tandem is still the team to beat in Pangasinan. And Duterte is a rock star who can rock you.
If you didn’t know it, it was the teamwork of Gonz and Jun Esperon that made it happen in Dagupan City.
* * * *
The PUNCH staff and I are sincerely grateful to our Kabaleyan Club members who continue to support our free Online service for the benefit of our kabaleyans overseas. I wish to acknowledge the continued support of our kabaleyan Art Barberan of CA. USA, whose letter we received this week:
“Dear Ermin – Here is my check for $35 as my renewal membership fee and for DCHS Class 1960.
With the coming election I could hardly wait to read your column each week on what is going on with politics and other news in Dagupan and Pangasinan.
I am proud of what you do each week as you report the current events affecting our community. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Art Barberan”
Again, salamat ya balbaleg Art!
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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