In the height of Cory Aquino’s worsening health condition due to the spread of cancer cells in her other body organs and the fear of loosing a dear Pinoy icon, I remember one proudest moment of my being a Filipino.
It is when I watched Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino appeared and addressed the joint session of the United States Congress in 1986. It was Cory in her prime and the Filipino people in their most shining moment during the ‘80s! I felt that the Americans were giving a long and big emotionally filled applause not only to Madam Cory upon entering the hall but also to the Filipino people for doing a job well done by peacefully eliminating a long-standing dictator.
After reviewing the event in YouTube, the most moving part of the speech is when Cory promised that the country’s accumulated foreign debt – as looted and corrupted by the former dictator – shall be paid by the Filipino people. The very people who in the first place never benefited form it. She did not appeal to dissolve the country’s arrears but instead she gently urged the Americans to support the new democratic Philippines. She said, “You have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it, and here you have a people who won it by themselves and need only to help to preserve it.”
Her addressing the US Congress’ joint session was such a fine beginning for a new Philippines, but it all seem to go down the drain. I wish that all present political figures in the country are of the same brain waves as that of Cory. For sure, the dream of being a well respected race would be so easy to achieve. The speech is full of inspirations and moral boosters I hope and pray that the young citizens of today would be able to watch this historic event. Lastly, I demand the country’s commission on elections to require all politicians running for a government post next year to watch and listen to this glorious event and meaningful speech.
Cory Aquino will eventually leave this earth, but three things are for sure: she has a beautiful soul; she definitely captured our hearts; and, she will always be my kind of president.
Lab yu Tita Cory…
Thanks to Mrs. Eugene Billones for the complimentary tickets she gave me for this year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Because of her I was able to watch an unprecedented seven Filipino films in two days. I have never been exposed to this amount of Filipino films in my life.
I usually feel dumb after watching a short film. Maybe it’s because the short films I watched in the past were all too deep-seated in which the viewer would have to have their own personal interpretation about the film, but not for Behind Closed Doors. It is my personal favorite among the five short-films I watched. I liked it because it featured two of Pinoy society’s taboo sex gizmos (the condom and the vibrator) being vital objects in the story. It is also an impressive movie because of the superb editing efforts. No scene is wasted because each is fundamental in the total construction of interesting twists in the story. The movie is wittingly and intricately presented. 
Between the two full length films I watched, I prefer Dinig Sana Kita (If I Knew What You Said). The film is simple, pleasant and apolitical. It is not necessarily a tearjerker but the whole film is endearing and charming yet very unique. It is a story about an abandoned-by-parents and deaf-at-birth young man who loves to dance and a troubled-by-parents and soon-to-be-deaf young lady who loves to sing. Surprisingly, the performances of the actors were effective. It is a unique movie that was able to cater to the deaf audience. It is believed to be the first Filipino film to have a deaf actor in the lead role. Its simplicity in story and presentation made the movie a very good festival film. The film was so impressively heartwarming the crowd gave a standing ovation and burst in a loud applause at the end of the film.
I barely remember the last time I laughed hard inside a cinema. It’s been eons of years ago that I freely laughed towards an American-made film. I know that it is so easy to make me laugh but I started to wonder if the Americans do not have the quirk to tickle me anymore. However, the inkling has ended after watching Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a light-read novel. The story may depict tragic episodes in a person’s life but the style of writing is so pleasant and pacified that you would not actually feel the horror of the main character’s experiences. The book is not preachy but you will be able to understand certain aspects about the dynamics of life.
Inside a mall hanging out with my relatives and while waiting on queue for our turn to dine in a Japanese restaurant, I excused myself to rush to the nearest bookstore. I purchased a book authored by Mitch Albom to feed my brain during weekends. When I arrived in the restaurant my nephews and nieces checked on the book, how much it was and discussed that they have read other works of Mr. Albom.
As serious as it may seem, I couldn’t stop chuckling at an intense letter of complaint sent by an angry client in one of the Class A restaurants in the metropolis. The client introduced herself as an executive of a top insurance company in the country. After reading the letter, I think this angry executive is the one who needs retraining on how to prepare a well constructed and grammatically correct business letter or even a simple letter of complaint. Here’s her letter, enjoy…
My social schedule for the past week has been literally empty, thus, enabling me to finish reading a very good book. The Shack by William P. Young, a compelling and beautiful mortal-guy-meets-and-talks-to-God novel.
Nengkoy 