“Maybe I should get another bottle of beer to wind myself down, aye?”
I DRINK. Beer and wine, I do. I’d raise my bottle of San Miguel and toast to some good times while munching on a plate of nuts and meat.
But a drinking session was not the reason why I got a three-day-long hangover.
My Monday began with CJ Hirro, the lead host of Peanut Gallery Media Network, who was subpoenaed by the NBI to explain her alleged involvement in the supposed extortion attempt of Franco Mabanta to Martin Romualdez. Sans the so-called “journalist,” her fresh set of lawyers were present to try and explain the shifts in her counsel, as explained by how much he stuttered.
My day with the NBI did not end with Hirro vs. Romualdez; it spurred onward through her and a former lawmaker who claimed to have been a “victim” by her own, sensational narratives. Former QC Rep. Marvin Rillo met with NBI Director Melvin Matibag, who looked as if he pleaded to conduct a review of her tirades against him – to which he could not be blamed for.
Afterwards, I was all hoping to share some quick snacks with other reporters on the field.
But our day with the NBI did not part with Hirro. Boy, it did not end with her.
A senator of balding glory returned to the chamber he hid from for half a year amidst an arrest warrant. Unfortunately, unlike the shining scalp on his skin, his entry was a dramatic feat. He wailed to the chamber that some agents chased him on his way to vote for a coup.
As soon as I heard swirling rumours of the NBI inside the Senate complex, I did not hesitate to book a motorcycle taxi on the way to Jose W. Diokno Boulevard.
Lucky for Alan, he got his wish. As for us, we had to stick our feet for hours and watch.
My instincts proved right. Matibag showed up at 5:30pm to make his first attempt at entering the Senate compound. He was still wearing his barong that he donned while meeting with Rillo, only this time with a jacket. He tried to ask the Senate guards if he could enter and talk to the agents who were inside; his access was denied. He made his way back into the vehicle where he sat.
And all the while, we again departed from that van. We stood in front of the Senate gate to watch all the vehicles that may pass through the Senate’s gates.
Is Bato there inside your HiAce? Civic? Mercedes? Geely? He was nowhere to be found in any of these luscious cars. We were only guessing and guessing and guessing until our eyes got dried up.
And then, the green army came. They were in their green shirts and green bandanas, with their phones hoisted up in the air to produce their own version of the news.
Two hours later, at 7:30PM, Matibag tried to enter the Senate gate again. I’d assume that he was already in contact with the Cayetano-led Senate authorities. Of course, we had to barge in first before he could enter. Yet we were being squeezed by these supporters who ransacked our ambush interview with questions such as “anong masasabi ninyo sa 32million na galit sa inyo,” “bakit hindi ninyo susundin ang ating mga batas,” and all that were driven by one thing – propaganda.
Matibag, at this point, was able to enter the Senate. Squeezing myself in was something I did not seem to mind at all. But having to hear the siren of their supposed anger brought by their political choices, I sometimes wondered if this alone is more of a bad dream than a nightmare.
But, oh well, that Monday turned out to be three days long. I now say my piece here to help debrief myself of another divisive moment.
Maybe I should get another bottle of beer to wind myself down, aye?
(The writer is a correspondent for Manila Standard, covering the justice and education beats. For comments on this piece, please write to him at ngrolando2003@yahoo.com.)
