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PHLEBITIS I came to know of because of Nixon, carotid
because of FVR, and abdominal aneurysm because of Chavit Singson,
who just survived it and should not push his luck.
FVR and Art Panganiban were in
the program honoring new Supreme Court Justice Eddie Nachura and
Court of Appeals Justice Nick Acosta last Thursday in Club Filipino.
That evening, poised to leave for there, I had meant to go to Club
after visiting detainees in two jails. Then, I felt unwell. I
decided to take a nap, which energized me. However, there was no
time for the jail visits and the reconnection to my fellow Bedan
alums.
There was time very late that
night though for a balikbayan pre-law classmate who left San Beda in
our last semester because he had to emigrate to the US. He is
retired and comes and goes to take part in golf tournaments and do
Masons stuff. Among the things I learned from him was that last
month, after playing golf, former Bedan cager Lito Juni succumbed in
California, where he and my aforesaid classmate would play. The
cause of Lito’s demise: abdominal aneurysm. So, take it easy
there, Chavit.
We senior citizens have to cool
it. Mike Arroyo did not in a libel hearing. A “private citizen”,
he presumed to indulge in verbal abuse in open court. Any private
citizen would have courted contempt. When the judge apparently did
nothing on the basis of news reports that confirmed that Mike is a
public-figure-plus, indeed, royalty not to be lese-majested or
messed up with.
After we topped the last SEA
Games in Manila, Congress did the ludicrous: it punished success and
reduced the budget for sports! Pagcor also tightened the subsidy
spigot of prior years. So, one has to kneel before Mike and Pagcor
head honcho Ephraim Genuino, for funding. Ah, these Rotarians.
Vietnam, ashes 30 years ago, just
lured a soccer coach from rich Thailand, whose rice farmers we
educated, to move to Vietnam by more than doubling his salary to
$180,000 a year. Here, Romanian gymnast coaches, toiling for a
fraction of that, we had to send home as lack of money is the root
of many evils.
Bykes is the only game in town in
Makati where ballroom dancing is concerned. My ever-loving wife and
I, who live in Palanan, used to have about 20 nearby spots to choose
from a few years ago in our environs. Now we are down to one in
progressive Makati and another in decaying Manila, whose Malate is a
far cry from what it was say five years ago.
I saw Mike for the first and only
time in Intercon’s Bahia a decade ago. It closed in late 2002.
Poor business. If it reopens in Makati and In the Mood in Malate,
Reli German may convince me that the economic boom is for real. But,
the billions we get from our overseas workers and local call-center
operators do not explain the surging economies of Vietnam, China and
India. A favorite DI joined Jun and me last Thursday. She is now
based in Singapore, teaching. She comes home often because of the
high social cost of being separated from her two young sons.
This is progress? I want to see
it in institutional and structural—not personal and
attitudinal—sports funding. Mike and Ephraim should not be the
fount from which all blessings flow. Congress should simply allocate
the 250-M we need from a booming economy.
During the dark years, “the
First Lady wants this” was law. President Cory was widowed, and
Mrs. Ming Ramos and Dr. Loi Estrada knew their place, most
prudently.
Today, “the First Gentleman
wants this” reminds us atavistically of those dreaded years.
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