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Now that Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson of Nueva Ecija is back, I expect
him to deliver a privileged speech in Filipino during the
celebration of Linggo ng Wika. Edno has been pushing for the greater
use of Filipino as the national language and he has been punctuating
this by conducting press briefings and interpellations and by
delivering privileged speeches in Filipino.
On several occasions, in the Eighth and Ninth
Congresses, Edno’s proclivity in using Filipino got the goat of
many Cebuanos, notably the late Rep. James Chiongbian of South
Cotabato and Rep. Pablo Garcia of Cebu. James or Pabling would stand
up and raise a point of order once Edno started speaking in
Filipino. They said they could not understand what Edno was saying
since they had very little knowledge of Filipino. The presiding
officer invariably sided with Edno on the propriety of using
Filipino in a privileged speech. James or Pabling would then
interpellate Edno using Cebuano. That’s when another point of
order is raised, with some congressmen asking if they could also
speak in their own language.
Incidentally, James later authored a law that
turned his district into a new province called Saranggani. He was
stern-faced but with a loud guffaw. Despite his displeasure of
privileged speeches delivered in Filipino, James often spoke with me
in broken Filipino but with a thick Visayan accent. Once his ire was
roused, it was almost impossible to mollify him. I remember one time
when he was virtually raising hell on the floor over something I had
already forgotten. Rep. Mike Mastura of Maguindanao pleaded with him
to pipe down, saying, “Manong James, you have counseled me a
number of times. It is about time that you also listen to me.”
James retorted: “Yes, that’s true, but you never listened to my
advice!” Mike was completely silenced by that riposte and he beat
a hasty retreat as James went on with his rage.
Of course, Mike himself was not beyond getting
angry. Once, Rep. Rodrigo Gutang of North Cotabato introduced a bill
that pertained to the affairs of Maguindanao. Mike had to be
restrained from going after Gutang, who had retired from the Army as
major general. Mike, speaking on a question of personal privilege,
said that his impulse was to take an Armalite and empty it on Gutang.
Gutang later withdrew his measure and apologized to Mike. Mike later
moved for the deletion of his unparliamentary remarks.
Accents and the great divide
But I am deviating from my original topic. I
mentioned the case of Edno merely to amplify the fact that decades
after the passage of a law mandating a national language, many still
could not agree on what our national language is.
I am aware that some persons prefer to speak in
English than in Filipino because of their difficulty in pronouncing
Filipino words correctly. Some, however, suffer the same difficulty
even when speaking in English.
I once met somebody who insisted on talking in
English. When I asked him what was his line of work, he replied
proudly: “I am a bicker.”
I never heard of a “bicker” before so his
reply drew my curiosity.
“What is a bicker?” I asked him.
He looked at me, as if I had asked a stupid
question, then replied: “Why, a bicker is one who bicks kicks!”
A friend said this happened when he once went to
a hotel in the provinces. A young sweet girl at the hotel counter
asked him: “Chick-in ho kayo?” My friend was taken aback
momentarily but recovered his bearings and replied: “De-hins. Noy-pi.”
Tong on ZTE
One of my favorite former congressmen, Tong
Payumo of Bataan, sent an email detailing his objection to the
$329-million ZTE contract to build a national broadband network. The
Department of Transportation and Communications justified the NBN
contract with ZTE, saying that the government would save money by
putting up a backbone for its communications system. Tong slammed
this line of reasoning.
Tong said that the government would be
abandoning its policy pronouncement that “it is the business of
government to stay out of business” if it pushes through with the
ZTE contract. He maintained that government should undertake only
those initiatives which exceed the capacity of private individuals
or groups acting independently.
“Government ownership of business, especially
in the Philippines, does not mean public ownership of the business.
It only amounts to control by politicians and bureaucrats,” Tong
observed.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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