The face of St. Pedro

During his Bonifacio Day speech, President Benigno Aquino III said “We will never be short of Bonifacios, Rizals and Ninoys”. Of course he meant the heroes of our history. But if we are talking about present day victims of murder, we have plenty of them, with the news carrying almost daily, reports about those shot for unknown reasons by killers “riding in tandem.”

***

Still on PNoy and his speeches, it was a relief to hear him speak in English when he addressed the vast crowd that had flocked to Cebu for the mass offered in honor of our new saint, Pedro Calungsod. I suspect somebody had warned him that Tagalog is very unpopular with Cebuanos, and that his words may not register with them if he does his usual thing, by delivering his talks in Tagalog. When will somebody convince him that more people in this country speak other languages or dialects than Tagalog? In fact, many resent having Tagalog called the “national language”.

***

I was not able to watch the entire coverage of the Calungsod celebration but was truly impressed at the huge crowds it gathered. I hear there were more than a million and that is not surprising because it is not everyday, not even every century, that we produce someone who qualifies to be declared a Saint. I must confess, though, that I cannot seem to relate to the image of St. Pedro that has been adopted, knowing that there is no record of any picture or even a painting or drawing of him. What I know is that the image of him portrayed in those statues, was based on the face of a basketball player named “Tubid” or Tibud” – I forgot which. And that a sports columnist who wrote about this player recently, said he has already changed, not looking so wholesome or innocent anymore.

***

It has not been a full year yet since our country experienced the tropical storm called “Sendong”, that had been preceded by others, almost as destructive. Now we are again expecting another one, said to be even deadlier, with winds and gusts far stronger than Sendong’s. I hope our experience in those past ones has taught us valuable lessons in how to prepare and cope with the rain and winds that could cause floods and destruction, and even loss of lives. Meanwhile, this new one goes by the local name of “Pablo”, while its international one is “Bopha”. Again, I ask why we cannot adopt the name by which the rest of the world knows it. Has our Pag-asa ever issued an explanation?

***

Yesterday, I saw a replay of the football game between the Philippine Azkals and Myanmar. Although I had already seen the actual game, and knew how it ended, it was still interesting to watch, especially taking note of the Filipinos in Bangkok who were right there at the area. There was something I noted, though. While in most sports events involving foreign players, the participants join the singing of their national anthem, some of our players were not singing at all. It could be that some of them are “imports”, that is, they weren’t born nor did they grow up in this country. We know that it is only because they are partly Pinoy, that they have been admitted to represent us. But, at least, their coaches should require them to know how to sing the anthem, to prove that they do have Filipino blood.

***

It’s getting nearer. I mean, the much publicized and much-awaited fourth match between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, one of the many Mexican boxers that Pacquiao had vanquished. But while all the others had gamely accepted their loss, this one has convinced himself that he had always been the winner. What a sore loser. Not only does he keep insulting Pacquiao, he also speaks ill of all the judges in those bouts. He is so different from Manny Pacquiao, who did not even say anything about the blind men who made the loser Tim Bradley win through their ignorance. I really don’t know why Pacquiao has decided to entertain the gripes of Marquez by agreeing to give him another fight.

***

It looks as if it is not only Imelda Marcos who has a fetish for collecting shoes. In an interview that was carried by the wires recently, Lakers star Kobe Bryant admitted that he also has about a thousand pairs. I guess all of them must carry the Nike brand, of which he has been a longtime endorser. And he must also be a bit superstitious, or sentimental. He admitted that he keeps the pairs that he had worn whenever they win the championship. I’m sure that if he ever decides to have them auctioned for some worthy causes, those shoes would fetch a lot of money. Some collectors are crazy that way.*

back to top