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Friday, March 29, 2024

Mabuhay, Manny!

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By Jonathan Dela Cruz

Mabuhay Manny. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas. Thank God for Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquaio. With that seventh round victory over the reigning WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur, the country got its optimism back.More importantly, for our people, our sense of unity and nationhood was back on track.

For weeks on end before this fight in Kuala Lumpur, the country was on the war path against itself—like the Biblical injunction, “brother against brother, parents against children” and all the bad things that can happen to a country in the midst of global disruption.

It was as if after two years of an upward, optimistic note as the Duterte administration got to a rousing start with all guns blazing, as it were, on the three critical fronts which underpinned the come-from-behind campaign of the then Davao City Mayor—the ‘war’ on drugs, criminality and corruption—the campaign for a better Philippines was faltering. The sense of optimism was slowly but surely getting blunted as anti-Duterte groups made hay with even the smallest problems and blunders the administration got itself into, the latest being the unwarranted “stupid God” episode.

Suddenly, as if on cue, this self-inflicted wound became the handle for all the negative things these groups had to say about the acid tongued warrior from Davao. Coupled with broadsides from the antis, local and overseas, and the decidedly skewed if not overly negative characterization of the economic problems bearing down on our people at this time the administration was getting a beating. Which prompted the call to arms, as it were, of Vice President Leni Robredo and her allies in the Liberal Party and its affiliated organizations sensing perhaps a kind of blood letting before the next Sona.

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Well, they now have to take their grumbling somewhere else and wait things out. As has been his tack every time some shots hit the floor, the President got to recover some grounds in a flurry of meetings and mea culpas to the groups who mattered—the church leaders of all denominations—and got back to his all purpose campaign operations. With an eye on his third Sona, the President is expected to come back with a candid and realistic report on the state of the nation.

To be fair, he has a number of solid things to say—an economy on the mend despite global disruptions, peace though uneasy on the secessionist and insurgency fronts, Boracay and environmental clean up on the rise, Build, Build, Build moving though slowing down on some sections, educational and health services recovering, investments still moving—all pointing to a country on the mend.

Of course, the setbacks have to be reported as well—killings including the latest sensational ones need to be solved soonest, coping measures for the poorest of the poor need to be expanded and delivered, infrastructure projects need to be shown and reported, loans and investments need to be advised and absorbed properly.

There is no question that despite everything, the  building blocks remain in place. The people’s optimism though somewhat dimmed remains cautiously upbeat. Our country remains a magnet for investments and tourists continue to pour to our islands. But, of course, the challenges remain. The obstacles seem foreboding but not if we stay focused and the administration gets its act together. Better still the President for all his acid remarks on just about any subject remains committed to build a nation, united in spirit with our people’s hopes for a better life and fully engaged to raise hell with even more vigor against the evils of drugs, criminality and corruption.

That the crowd which witnessed and cheered Senator Manny Pacquaio to is well-earned victory in Kuala Lumpur gave an equally rousing chant for President Duterte who was in the Axiata Arena together with Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should be enough inspiration to carry on the task of building a better Philippines for all. I have no doubt the Malaysian leader who has himself spearheaded what pundits called the “Malaysian tsunami” for change will be able to whisper a thing or two about aspirations and governance, and about leadership highs and lows to his guest when they formally sit down for business tomorrow.

For now, let our people and President Duterte savor this latest boost to the nation’s pride as we all thank the Lord for our very own champ, Manny Pacquiao.

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