“How so thankful I am I reside in Manila’s fifth district, where my congressman, at least, is no-talk, refusing to be a clown in the circus”
THE French classic, Et Maintenant, popularized decades ago by Gilbert Becaud and Yves Montand came to mind after discombobulating news from the Middle East blew us all from worrying only about domestic issues.
What now, my love is the beginning line of the song, though the French words simply mean “what now”. So what happens next, (a line from Evita)?
Last Friday, WTI crude was at 65.46 dollars; yesterday it was 74.09 (from the daily reports of our good friend Jonas Ravelas of the auditing firm of Reyes,Tacandong), and still going up, up and away.
Trump thought it was going to be swift and surgical like Maduro’s capture, with the death of Khamenei and his top officials, but commanders spread throughout huge Iran are holding on, pushing buttons that send missiles not only to northern Israel’s Haifa and Tel-Aviv, but to Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
With the strategic Straits of Hormuz blocked and oil refineries in the Middle East being bombed by “to-whom-it-may-concern” Iranian missiles flying all over, no one can tell when the “war” will be over.
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Back home, Mayor Isko Moreno on Day 2 issued an executive order directing City Hall and his 897 barangays to strictly conserve power and cut expenditures. “Bilis-kilos” as usual, I recalled how one of our campaign proposals called for suspending the VAT and excise taxes on oil with the 2021-22 oil prices reaching record highs.
Only on Day 5 did our laid-back, chill always president follow Isko’s call on a national scale which Sen. JV Ejercito echoed in the Senate.
We may have lost in 2022, but I remain proud of the presidential candidate I supported then, as against the candidate whose mantra of unity he has broken to pieces, shattered beyond recognition, with dire political and economic consequences.
So what happens next? Where do we go from here? (Evita, otra vez)
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In the lower House, which never since ever has been at its lowest public esteem, a courageous Egay Erice fulminated against a sham anti-dynasty bill swiftly passed by the House Committee after a series of “moro-moro” public consultations (pardon my politically incorrect description).
The bill, certified by Malacanang and authored by his own son, the majority floor leader, institutionalizes political dynasties instead of banning them.
Actions as vice-president may be scrutinized for impeachment purposes, but actions as a cabinet member is not grist for their mill, Rufus lectured, making his colleagues “nga-nga”, including that voter-rejected but Comelected “reverence” from Manila.
How so thankful I am I reside in Manila’s fifth district, where my congressman, at least, is no-talk, refusing to be a clown in the circus.
So here we are in the benighted isles, where amid dangerous times all over, clowns and trapeze artists still froth over inanities in service to a clueless “king”.
