palubog na perlas ng silangan

bumili ng frapuccino sa ngalan ng planner ng Starbucks, lustayin ang tatlong libo sa isang bar sa malate, magshopping sa Hong Kong, at mag-order ng i-phone 4 via net.

ang babayarin mo sa starbucks, sobra pa sa pangkain ng isang maralita sa isang araw, ang tatlong libo’y pambili na sana ng gamot para sa tubercolosis ng aleng nakatira sa squatters area na pinagwawalang- bahala na lang ang karamdaman dahil wala siyang pera, ni walang makain sa isang araw, ang pamasahe mo papuntang Hong Kong para mag liw-aliw ay sapat na para makapag-pagawa ng bahay ang isang pamilyang nasalanta ng bagyo.

ang sarap siguro maging mayaman. marahil ay naiisip din nila ang sitwasyon ng mga maralita, naaawa din siguro sila. pero hindi naman sila pwedeng mamuhay dukha para lang maipakita ang kanilang simpatiya. sinong tangang mayaman ang titipirin ang sarili dahil sa guilt na nadarama sa hindi pagka-pantay pantay ng distribusyon ng yaman sa tao? ni hindi rin natin sila mapipilit na maging pilantropo, pera nila ‘yon eh, silang mag- dedecide kung sa’n ito gagastusin.

nakakadismaya. lalong humihirap ang mga taong naghihikahos sa buhay, habang padami ng padami naman ang binibilang na salapi ng mga taong ‘mas pinagpala.’

sana fairytale na lang ito, sana’y magkaroon ng kontribyusyon ang lahat ng mayayaman sa Pilipinas para sa kapakanan ng mga maralita. happy ending? malabo.

may mga pilantropo naman, pero ang ilan sa kanila, ginagawa ‘yon para lalong bumango ang kanilang pangalan, para maalala sila ng mga botante sa eleksyon, samakatuwid, para lokohin ang mga tao. ang gagastusin ng mga taong yan para sa ika nila’y charity, mababawi nila kung naluklok na sila. ang dali lang namang magnakaw mula sa pondo ng bayan, ang dami nang gumagawa no’n, political figure man o hindi.

may pag-asa pa tayo.

may pag-asa pa rin naman tayo kahit na tayo ang pumapasan sa lumobong utang ng namahingang diktador. ganyan naman ang nangyayari eh, kasalanang ng isa, lahat mapaparusahan. para ka na ring nag-train para maging sundalo, magkakasala si Pepe at kayong lahat ang papasan nito, pagagawan kayo ng thesis, individual, haha. akala mo nakatakas ka na sa gawaing pang- eskwela.

para nga tayong mga trainee soldiers, pinahihirapan tayo ng mga nakatataas sa atin. buti pa nga ang mga OCS may papupuntahan ang paghihirap nila sa kampo, eh tayo? naghihirap tayo dahil sa korupsyon, pagiging makasarili ng mga taong dapat ay tinitingala natin, anung resulta? lalo tayong maghihirap, hanggang sa masanay na tayo sa kahirapan at dina mag-asam pang bumangon. pinapatay ‘nila’ ang pangarap ng maga tao, ninanakaw nila ang kakaramput na pag-asang nais pa sana nilang lumago.

sa kabila ng pagkahapo sa bayang tila palubog na, may pag-asa pa rin tayo. nakawin man ‘nila’ ito, bibigyan tayo ng Diyos ng panibagong pag-asa, at hindi na ‘nila’ ito mananakaw pa.

Blog entries are owned and copyrighted by Leah Bulacan © All Rights Reserved 2010. Unauthorized use, copy, editing, reproduction, publication, duplication and distribution of the blog content, without his explicit permission, is punishable by Law.

crash and burn

a phrase usually sang out loud by those people whose hearts were broken.

i could not fathom, though, how painful it is to really crash and burn; i am talking about the phrase minus the metaphor, i am talking about talking about the phrase, pictured literally.

few hours after i cried over the car accident scene from CHARLIE ST. CLOUD, i woke up to be notified that the same incident happened to my beau’s sister. i wished it was exactly the same, but it was not. it was not the usual car accident i see in the movies.

i thought about her screaming, gasping for air which was nearly out of her reach. sweat, blood and tears; none of which she cared about wiping through her handkerchief. i thought about the man who miraculously saved himself from the tragic event, while she awaits for all the pain to end, in that car where her body burnt, her legs cut in two.

her family never knew the man. as the PHILIPPINE STAR correspondent put it, “her relationship with the man cannot be ascertained.” the news’ tagline branded him as a businessman residing in BUROT, TARLAC, but few days later we came to know that his real name was hidden somewhere in someone’s attaché case, we came to know that he was not residing in BUROT, we came to know that he is a filthy rich man, with three construction companies under his tutelage, a filthy rich man who can afford to have sports cars viewed as toys boys eagerly want to collect.

a filthy rich man. i want to keep myself from writing about the technicalities, about the details of this incident which could be a collaboration of crime causing the death of a 21-year old woman whose daughter was earnestly awaiting her return. my attention being called due to me talking about this maybe farfetched, but if not, i could not care less.

the family was restless. they were driving to and fro; from the house towards the police station, from the police station towards the morgue, from the morgue towards the scene where the incident occurred, and so forth. the driver of the car, FRM (filthy rich man) cannot be spoken to because he’s gotten himself a lawyer to back him up, he’s gotten himself a lawyer even before the family learned about the accident. he had the right to remain silent, and he had multi-million dollars, too.

three days after it all happened, we’ve heard different versions of the story. we’ve observed the PEOPLE IN CHARGE doing everything they can to DELAY EVERYTHING THEY OUGHT TO BE DOING. but with the family’s persistence, the body which has been sitting in the morgue for three days, was finally sent home, the identity finally confirmed through dental records.

i have learned that nothing beats persistence, not fame, not money. the PEOPLE IN CHARGE were all appalled as they knew that the family sought help from a close friend, from someone working for MALACANANG. they were all flabbergasted when the family was able to coordinate with the Forensic Expert, the only one in the Philippines. what took a week for others to have him work on a case, it took only one phone call from the family, and persistence, persistence, lots of it.

we do not know why FRM’s real name was then hidden, we do not know why my friend’s body turned into what seems to be strips of black burnt wood but her phone and key and some valuables still good as we last saw them, we do not know why we have in all of us an intuition that SOME people were paid to obstruct justice, we do not know the real story. we do not know it, NOT YET.

some cases i have heard about, cases which had victims crying out of injustice, made me think before that justice is ONE BIG PIE good enough for us to share with everyone, but is first served to those who has gotten authority out of wealth or fame (or both) or what have you, with which leftovers are given to the less fortunate. and when there is greed, not even a midget of justice are given to those who does not have “IT.”

this is not one of those cases. the family will make it certain that justice will be served, sumptuously hot, fresh from the oven.

Blog entries are owned and copyrighted by Leah Bulacan © All Rights Reserved 2010. Unauthorized use, copy, editing, reproduction, publication, duplication and distribution of the blog content, without his explicit permission, is punishable by Law.