Bongbong as Saluyot
By Atty. Farah G. Decano
I SAW this “Saluyot at Durian” tandem being pushed by some people on Facebook. These products of the soil refer to Former Senator Bongbong Marcos and Mayor Sara Duterte. Obviously, the spin doctors want the common tao to identify with this team for they are food of the masses.
I have no qualms about Mayor Sara being alluded to as durian which is endemic in Mindanao. She was born, raised and mostly educated in Davao. She only went to Manila for college education and returned to her hometown soon thereafter. What about Bongbong? Was he appropriately called “saluyot?” He was born, raised and educated in Manila. He had further education elsewhere in the world. He was merely then a son of an Ilocano. His close association with the Ilocos territory began when he sought the votes of the Ilocos Region to catapult his family’s return to power after 1986. I cannot say that he is a genuine northern saluyot.
Google search, however, of where saluyot is grown yielded that these jute leaves are grown in most parts in the Philippines. Hence, these leaves are not organic only in the Ilocos Region. A more truthful depiction of Bongbong Marcos would be Manilenyong saluyot na anak ng Ilokos saluyot. Ok, I concede. I will give it to former Senator Marcos that he is a saluyot in generic terms.
Let us dig deeper into the lowly saluyot. Aha! Operative word: lowly. The Marcoses represent anything but lowly. Right after the EDSA Revolution in 1986, the media feasted on videos of lavish parties thrown by the Marcoses with the elites of Manila including international celebrities like George Hamilton. My young mind was struck by what was then considered an unusual party on a yacht with the dancing young Bongbong Marcos sporting a bow tie with blinking lights and his famous mom with similarly radiant heels. These gadgets were then inaccessible to the common tao. My teenage self found the gathering very lavish! So, can Bongbong Marcos be properly called a saluyot? I will be loyal to the findings of my younger self. No, the former senator can not be identified with the lowly jute leaves.
On the other hand, saluyot when cooked is slimy. I cannot believe that the spin doctors recklessly want their client, Bongbong Marocs to be associated with a vegetable that has mucous? It connotes either puerile or deceitful behavior. These PR people also seem to be ignorant of the fact that people from the Visayan Regions dislike slimy veggies like the okra. Don’t they know that forcing one to eat okra is considered torturesome activity for the Bisaya?
Yes, identifying Bongbong Marcos as a saluyot is a spin fail.
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As I write this, I am in a private isolation facility of the Villaflor Hospital. The COVID virus finally got me. I am not slippery healthy after all. Maybe, I should eat more saluyot, hahaha!!! I am grateful that I manifested mild symptoms which prompted me to isolate myself and save my elderly mom from being contaminated. When the RT-PCR test confirmed my condition, I voluntarily “ejected” myself from our house and sought refuge in this place. Kudos to Dr. Juvie Villaflor for expediting my temporary change of residence. So far, I am being well taken care of by this facility, and remotely, by friends and family. Some sent me food. Yes, I have to watch out for triple chin. Some sent potted flowers, which I water daily and bring out from my unit every morning. One friend gave me a pet solitary fish in an aquarium. Now, I have some creatures to take care of. Solitude is not boring after all.
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