The letter and the message

What now? A message from the President of the Philippines, published in a newspaper (not the DAILY STAR), congratulates the City of Bacolod on the celebration of its Charter Day. The Message, dated June 18, 2012 says, in part, “My warmest greetings to the people of Bacolod City as you celebrate your Charter Day I congratulate you on this milestone, and it is my hope that you will further be motivated by the collective achievements you celebrate today, along with your storied heritage, your distinct identity, and your pride in your city and your culture. Build on these gains and fortify your efforts to take your city into even greater heights…”

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Wow! He surely does not sound like that deputy legal officer who purportedly signed a letter that was faxed to media outlets by the Golez Realty Corporation saying that July 18 was not our Charter Day, and so forth and so on. And, mystery of mysteries! City officials are puzzled because they have NEVER received that letter from a certain Michael G. Aguinaldo, officially. And who are the owners of that Golez Realty Corporation? Any relation to the Congressman said to have vehemently opposed the recognition of the Charter holiday? The plot thickens.

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There really seems to be a mystery about that Aguinaldo communication. Does it mean that the President knew nothing about it, since he signed a congratulatory message four days after it was supposedly sent by fax to media people? Does this imply that there are right hands and left hands in the palace and they do not know what each is doing, or signing? But one who knows the workings of the Palace is the congressman who used to be very familiar in that territory as the very effective spokesman of the disgraced former president, whom he could not defend from the ominous charges now being filed against her. The President (PNoy) should be warned about this. Who knows what other mysteries could be cooked up by the remnants of the past administration there.

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By the way, a report yesterday also said that former President Gloria Arroyo was asking the court to excuse her from the hearings, probably citing her neck ailment, for which she has been asking for leave to be treated abroad. But why did she also ask the other day for the court to allow her to play golf? Would attending court hearings be more strenuous than playing golf, where one has to bear the heat of the sun, whack that heavy little ball from one hole to another and then walk and walk and walk to whack it again? Surely the judge had noted that?

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Meanwhile, the family of the popular and prolific icon of Philippine entertainment world are asking his friends and admirers to pray for him as he was reported to be critically ill at the Makati Medical Center last night. Dolphy (Rodolfo Quizon in real life) had been in and out of the hospital for several weeks now, but last night, his family seemed very anxious about him. How can we imagine Pinoy movies, especially the most enjoyable ones, without Dolphy? So let us help pray for him, as well for his children and loved ones to whom he is very precious. I hope they hurry up and grant him that National Artist award while he can still rejoice in it.

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So it is not only in our country where killers “in tandem on motorcycles” operate. A very shocking report from the international wires yesterday said a beautiful young singer was shot dead in Peshawar, together with her father who was accompanying her. Ghazala Javed, 24, who is from Pakistan, had fled to Peshawar because the strict laws in her country that condemns entertainers like her, had already arrested or condemned some of her contemporaries. What a waste of young musical talent.

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Another woman leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been lionized in the countries she has visited ever since she finally got freed from the long years of house arrest. The most touching reception was in Norway where she was able to deliver, at last, her response to the Nobel Prize she had been awarded 21 years ago. What a sentimental moment that must have been.*

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