Beware of bone jerkers

The mayor of Quezon City is now in hot water after he lost his temper and slapped, not once, but twice, a Chinese national who had been caught with a sizable amount of illegal drugs. The Chinaman reportedly tried to pretend he could not understand Tagalog or English, so Mayor Herbert Bautista smacked him with the back of his hand. This was clearly shown on television footage, so we need not pussy-foot about reporting it.

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But one could sympathize with Bautista for acting as he did. Those drug traffickers are causing a lot of harm to our people and taking advantage of our hospitality in allowing them to enter our country. Bautista could have slapped him again, maybe boxed his ears, had he known then that the Chinese suspect holds a driver license issued in this country, and the clerk who issued it said she was able to talk with him during the process. I’m sure many people are inclined to agree with Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte when he said that, had he been the one involved, he would have kicked the guy.

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But now, poor Bautista is in trouble because, naturally, the Commission on Human Rights is getting into the picture and may investigate, or even charge him for what he did. Poor “Bistek”, he must have forgotten that even if it is only a dog or a cat you mistreat, you can be charged for it. As for the Chinese drug suspect, he must be laughing at the trouble he has caused the mayor of Quezon City. Let us hope Bautista works hard to get him convicted.

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I caught a portion of the “counter SONA” delivered by now Senator JV Ejercito, and I really did not think much of it because all I could think about was how much weight he has gained, so that his face no longer looks as it did several years ago when I met him at his mother’s house in San Juan during a party. His girl friend then was model Patty Betita and I thought they would be “it”, but he married someone else. Sayang, he was quite “guapo” then, but now, well, it is no longer the same face one sees.

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The most alarming world news today is the continued escalation of the number of victims of the deadly ebola virus that had already claimed, so far, 1013 lives in South Africa. A Spanish priest who was working with the people there has also died. It has been reported that the virus has registered an almost 90 percent fatality rate. So far, the only two reported to have shown improvements are two American health workers who had been flown back to a hospital in Atlanta that specializes in rare viruses. Let us continue to pray that our Health authorities here can successfully prevent the entry of the virus to our country.

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Not as deadly as the ebola, but as threatening to one’s quality of life is the practice of some “quack” masseuses and “accupressurists” right here in Bacolod, who have managed to worsen the conditions of their patients. The son of a friend whom I met at a drugstore recently buying several kinds of medicines for his parent, said the condition of his patient had been worsened when a family friend, claiming to have the ability to relieve his muscular pains, jerked him this way and that, and this resulted in incapacitating the patient. A relative also told us about her co-worker at a school, who submitted to “massage” from someone recommended by a friend, and was rendered unable to walk when the “massage healer” forcefully pulled his leg apart and a cracking sound was heard. I hope this warns others who might agree to have their aching bones treated by pretenders like those.

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E tu, Alan P? Reports say Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and his family are also embroiled in the pork barrel scam for the purchase of “firebusters” in Taguig, where his wife is the mayor. The report said P400,000 worth of “firebusters” were purchased for Barangay Calzada, but only drums with pails were delivered. Worse, the supplier was said to have no business permit, and had also denied having a contract for firebusters. Another project reported was a house-numbering one that did not go through public bidding, the purchase of uniforms and ambulances, and the hiring of 3,800 casuals for the city government office. Let’s see what the couple’s explanation will be.

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Have you noticed what I have noticed? It is that citizens as well as officials of the countries in Europe, in Africa, and even in Asia, that international media are covering during those troubled times, are mostly very conversant in English. Some of those interviewed by, say, CNN, seem to come from the poorest classes, and yet they manage to communicate in English. And we have officials who insist on minimizing the study of English in our schools.*

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