That Man from Naga
Yesterday somebody died. Or i should i say somebody was confirmed dead. And it's not like it was a single death for that day. It's just that it was publicized on local TV since his death was kinda one for the headlines--plane crash in the middle of the sea.
Then i was transported to some of the scenes we used to write in soap operas. The staple plot of the exploded aircraft, body washed ashore on some remote island and probably, some face repair to emerge as a whole new person. Yes, that's make believe crap but I was thinking about that during the whole 2-3 days of search and rescue for this man.
Then I suddenly remembered his name since i heard and read of stories of how good he was a mayor in Naga. Of how low profile, how humble and simple he was. And that he won a Ramon Magsaysay award for being a public servant. The first of his kind as a mayor to win one (if you're a Mayor, you should aim to do what he did to Naga).
I do not personally know this person but after remembering all that, i had this fervent wish for a miracle. That some deus ex machina would pull him out in the middle of the ocean and he would emerge victorious, almost dying but surviving. But that is only in my mind and Poodrah has kept on rubbing it a few days ago that he won't survive. And i'm like, ok, realistic enough since it's been two days with no body found. He must be dead and in my mind, again, i wished it was somebody else and not this man i heard about back then. I am cruel enough to wish that it should have been somebody else, somebody who ordered more than 50 men killed or somebody who just continuously took money from the people like we owe it to them, that or any corrupt police, but not this Man from Naga.
I do not know this person but i cried yesterday when i woke up to news of his confirmed death. That he was found 18 floors deep into the ocean. How can you survive that? I wish he died instantly when the impact hit on the sea because it would have been so painful a death for him to just slowly die due to lack of oxygen. He just doesn't deserve that.
I am so moved by his death that i had to chug it out as status on facebook. I had to go to the bathroom and just cry it out. I did not feel this way when Francis M or Dolphy died and i know more about them than this Man from Naga.
Perhaps because this Man loved our country so much that he still continued to do good things in this damn country rather than rant about its imperfection. Rather than lose hope, he was hope. Rather than leave, he stayed and did things for us in the most possible and humble way that he can. He loved his family and he also thought about his people.
Naawa ako para sa bayang ito dahil nalagasan ng isang taong nagmamalaking Pilipino siya at nagsisilbi ng tapat sa bansa natin. Kakaunti na lang talaga ang gumagawa ng matino at nagpupursigi para mapabuti ang sistema... mawawala pa. Sana iba na lang.
But still there is hope because there was somebody like him who just happened to fade. And honestly i can't bear it when people say wala nang pag-asa ang Pilipinas. There is. There was and there will be hope. Because we just don't know it, there will always be someone like the man from Naga--- Thank you Sir Jesse Robredo.
You inspired me the way Nora Aunor and Lea Salonga did to me. I hope your death gave birth to more people like you not just in the government.
***
PS. I guess there is the importance of voting the right people in the elections. And i can't take the excuse of not doing it because things won't change and that there is no hope. Please, maiba lang. Do something not just for yourself or your family.
Then i was transported to some of the scenes we used to write in soap operas. The staple plot of the exploded aircraft, body washed ashore on some remote island and probably, some face repair to emerge as a whole new person. Yes, that's make believe crap but I was thinking about that during the whole 2-3 days of search and rescue for this man.
Then I suddenly remembered his name since i heard and read of stories of how good he was a mayor in Naga. Of how low profile, how humble and simple he was. And that he won a Ramon Magsaysay award for being a public servant. The first of his kind as a mayor to win one (if you're a Mayor, you should aim to do what he did to Naga).
I do not personally know this person but after remembering all that, i had this fervent wish for a miracle. That some deus ex machina would pull him out in the middle of the ocean and he would emerge victorious, almost dying but surviving. But that is only in my mind and Poodrah has kept on rubbing it a few days ago that he won't survive. And i'm like, ok, realistic enough since it's been two days with no body found. He must be dead and in my mind, again, i wished it was somebody else and not this man i heard about back then. I am cruel enough to wish that it should have been somebody else, somebody who ordered more than 50 men killed or somebody who just continuously took money from the people like we owe it to them, that or any corrupt police, but not this Man from Naga.
I do not know this person but i cried yesterday when i woke up to news of his confirmed death. That he was found 18 floors deep into the ocean. How can you survive that? I wish he died instantly when the impact hit on the sea because it would have been so painful a death for him to just slowly die due to lack of oxygen. He just doesn't deserve that.
I am so moved by his death that i had to chug it out as status on facebook. I had to go to the bathroom and just cry it out. I did not feel this way when Francis M or Dolphy died and i know more about them than this Man from Naga.
Perhaps because this Man loved our country so much that he still continued to do good things in this damn country rather than rant about its imperfection. Rather than lose hope, he was hope. Rather than leave, he stayed and did things for us in the most possible and humble way that he can. He loved his family and he also thought about his people.
Naawa ako para sa bayang ito dahil nalagasan ng isang taong nagmamalaking Pilipino siya at nagsisilbi ng tapat sa bansa natin. Kakaunti na lang talaga ang gumagawa ng matino at nagpupursigi para mapabuti ang sistema... mawawala pa. Sana iba na lang.
But still there is hope because there was somebody like him who just happened to fade. And honestly i can't bear it when people say wala nang pag-asa ang Pilipinas. There is. There was and there will be hope. Because we just don't know it, there will always be someone like the man from Naga--- Thank you Sir Jesse Robredo.
You inspired me the way Nora Aunor and Lea Salonga did to me. I hope your death gave birth to more people like you not just in the government.
***
PS. I guess there is the importance of voting the right people in the elections. And i can't take the excuse of not doing it because things won't change and that there is no hope. Please, maiba lang. Do something not just for yourself or your family.
I guess totoo ang sinasabing "Ang masamang damo ay matagal mateggy".
ReplyDeleteThis man's death made even more disgusted at the kind of government and officials we have. Ew.