Manny is really a nice guy

Manny Pacquiao came home yesterday, still the champion in the hearts of his people. And if the crowds met him, and welcomed him as he drove off from the airport were not as big, or as raucous as former ones had been, it could have been due to the fact that his return was already delayed, that others could not make time for it anymore.

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But Manny is such a nice guy, who can still smile and think of others, never behaving like the prima donna of boxing that his recent opponent is. I remember the time in Las Vegas when, after he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez, his physician, Dr. Recto, invited us all to lunch at his residence as his daughter was celebrating her birthday. I was sitting on a sofa, watching a replay of the fight when Manny and Jinkee arrived, and they sat down near me to also watch. I noted that he looked rather tired and told him he should get a good rest later.

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Early the next day, however, he called up my brother, Bing L, saying we will meet later at Universal Studios because some of his friends had not seen it yet. But when we got there, he told the others to go around, while he sat down on a bench under a tree. I told him I would sit with him, too, because I had already gone to the place several times. I behaved myself, and did not bombard him with questions even if I knew an interview then would be a scoop. He is really a truly nice guy, a very thoughtful one. In Macau last November, where we also went to see him fight Chris Algieri, he saw our group in the lobby of the Venetian hotel, and was the one who came over and said “Picture, picture”. How my companions loved that, and how they admired him for such thoughtfulness.

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Meanwhile, I myself had my own bout yesterday, via text, and what an interesting one it was! I hope the officials of the RCBC, both in Bacolod and all over the country, learn about this, too. I was awakened by a text message to someone I didn't know, but whose name I am not revealing to protect her privacy. The texter, who claimed to be from RCBC Bankard was reminding the addressee about some balance in her bill. Immediately I became suspicious, especially because of recent warnings from the Central Bank about scams via text. So I just texted back that I am not a holder of any RCBC Bankard. My suspicions heightening, when the texting continued, I texted bluntly: “Pls don't bother me s dis a racket”?

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Wow, the abuse that spewed out of the cellphone after that! When I asked where the character got my number, she went, “Dun ka magreklamo sa Smart na nagrereycyle ng #... tarantado ka!! Sinabi na nga sayong hindi ikaw yung hinahanap na tao then ignore our text, Hindi ka ata nakakaintindi ng english then tagalogin ko na…” There was more of that vitriolic language but after another tirade, I simply texted back “OK” and stopped altogether. But she went on and threatened, “Who is this anyway? Kung hindi ka titigil katetext dyan baka gusto mong ipatrace namen yang number mo sa nbi!!!! Stop texting alright?”

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The texter identified herself as “Mrs. Nowie” with cell phone number 09277500822 of RCBC BANKARD. Now, what do the officials of RCBC have to say about the language of their people? Is that standard language for their workers? I can show them the text messages if they care to investigate, and maybe I can also sic the NBI on her. She just reminded me of other unpleasant experiences our newspaper and even the government had with RCBC.

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Several years ago the STAR discovered that a very big amount of its deposit at RCBC Bacolod had been stolen. Complaints to the officials were to no avail, until the Philippine Press Institute, through its president, Jake Macasaet, publisher of Malaya, called their top officials in Manila and they had to pay up. Even so, the manager then, Joey Ledesma, appealed to us not to charge interest and we grudgingly agreed. We had kept all this confidential, until now.

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And then, also, RCBC is the bank that led a Bacolod City official into big trouble with the Ombudsman when it allowed the deposit of millions in government funds in the PERSONAL account of the official. I only came to write about all this after this very unpleasant experience with someone claiming to be representing them. I hope they take this up with their higher-ups, unless this woman's daddy owns the bank.*

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