Kids under hostage
seemed not to worry about everything.

March 28, 2007, I had my eyes and ears stuck nearly permanently on the TV screen (I didn’t know how to until lately) when a flash report came in. Thirty two preschoolers and four teachers were in a hostage of, surprisingly, the owner of their school, Mr. Jun Ducat.

At first I thought, was he mentally disturbed? Another public show of republic disgrace to the unjust abuses of the high class? And oh, another hostage after the tragic forgettable other?

Perhaps I would nod on that. It was a play production of someone who might have been desperado in providing for other people.

The hostage drama was no like other. The bus venue was ingenious. The children being held captive was superb. The no-choice-but-to-cry-a-river teachers were slightly antagonistic. But it was not the innocence of the children nor the weeping of their parents or the career moves of our dirty policemen. But the motive, the demands,

Freer education and decent shelter for their families…

A whopping standing ovation.

The hostage drama was a jawdropper for me. It broke out the culture in me that most of our hostage takings here in the Philippines would be another personal distress similar to stereotypical Filipino action movies-personal redemption of honor, vengeance for being minisculed, money of some sorts, or simply foreplaying. As far as I know, hostage taking is more of personal reception.

But this time, he demands the benefits not for Ducat himself, but for the kids he staged as threat to be demised.

Why would a person, an apparently altruistic one such as Ducat, resort to a desperate move that would endanger his students, his employed faculty, and others within the premise of the scenario for ‘education and shelter’?

It’s because he knows that it would take 48 years or more for Malacanang to grant their promises.

Armando “Jun” Ducat Jr., as far as I know, built a school (ie. Day Care Center) using his own money. He provided appropriate school amenities using his own money. He spends thousands of pesos for the salary of his teachers using his own money. He buys clothes, school supplies, and other facilities and equipment for such small scale academic institution using his money. Later did I know that he has just undergone angioplasty so he might have run out of funds to suffice his future personal and interpersonal expenditures.

But it is definitely wrong. I cannot tolerate his courageous act of having these innocent kids to be traumatized by such criminal act.

However, I changed my mind since Ducat does not want to kill the children, successful or not, in the first place.

Ducat in detention with his wife and… a ghost?

No one in this country would dare puts himself in critical condition. Not even Mme. President nor Lito Atienza himself would showcase bravery and justice for those who’ve been deprived by what they should’ve been provided with for the past few years. Never.

Yes, it was a wrongful act of illegally apprehending innocent civilians to be under captivity and threat of annihilation.

But for those who consider that in this country people can only achieve the impossible by doing the impossible, I would not effort to ponder and waste so much calories in thinking and clasping my fingers. Is that what Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Lito Atienza call as ‘justice’? Or plain arrogance because some low profile Ducat blemished this blemishable country the Philippines?

Compare it to our present administration and its cohoots in the military and police, at least he did wrong for his instigation of righteousness. Not pretentiously doing right for the promotion of civil abuse and human rights violations.

——

Children of Parola, Manila cheering for the freedom of
their benefactor, Jun Ducat.

Even if Ducat is in prison, he was successful.

1. AMA promised to provide scholarships for all the kids, from elementary to college.

2. Parents of the former captives would praise him for his courageous act and would never care about what he did to their children.

3. DSWD and DOLE finally paved their negligent arses to the slum areas of Tondo to check the conditions of the families–to provide health and economic assistance (in short, employment).

4. Took attention of foreign press for his deed.

5. Slapped Arroyo et al on their faces for their micro societal negligence.

Pathetic it was when I heard one of Arroyo’s proctors in the field trip of the 26 captives in Malacañang saying that ‘they were doing such not because of Ducat but because of their eager agencies to provide services for those who need it’.

Sinong niloko niyo?

———

Politicking always finds a place to bug out of the blue, even at the harshest times.

Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. was there pala in the hostage crisis, my boobtube screamed at me. I thought there would be shrills of titillation but no. I was just disgusted. I thought I would be frustrated for not seeing Bong in his red-caped yellowish polyester fitted costume with a spanking big CB print/embroidery on his chest. Seizing the day, huh?

Ducat never called his attention, nor any celebrity in the world. The police would never/should never call his attention unless it is of dire need that a handsome yet potbellied action star turned politico is summoned by the hostage taker et al. But he managed to put up a show that Captain Barbell has just saved a feverish kid which in fact has just been lifted 2 meters from the bus doorstep and carried to a ’supposedly the proper authorized personnel’.

And then Chavit entered the scene when darkness crawled the venue. I was just confused. Ducat was calling for aide to provide children and their families because of government deprivation. Government deprivation is resulted from graft corruption. Chavit Singson looks like a corrupt. So why bother?

Singson was obviously a juggling jester who pretended to possess still his police prowess and saved the day by escorting Ducat outside to detention, held the no-boomer grenade and gun, waved his hands with his ugly-looking yellow lens filtered spectacles, and made kembot that he was invincible for 5 minutes. And the policemen allowed it.

Now that’s what we call ‘obvious politicking’.

—————-

In spite of my preparation to attend the formal/semi formal/pretending to be formal for good time’s sake Philippine Blog Awards night, I wasn’t able to collect money from you blog readers and friends whom I thought would sympathize to my poverty.. shoo! my mom for the transpo. Mom did have enough money, but huhuhuhu… Kuya Prince had no allowance for his hospital duty. Huhuhuhuhu..

Blatantly stolen from Jhed. Whatever. =_=;;

Huhuhuhuu…. Nah, why attend? I know I will not win. The raffle? Nah, even if I win, some blogger might block me at the exit, maul me to paralysis and then steal my little iPodee from my shack. Sourgraping.

Boo. I envy you guys.

SO-CALLED HIATUS

Geez. This was the first time I declared hiatus. Yet thinking about the blog hibernation bugs me everytime I open my PC here in Dasma.

You know, when I double click the Start Button, instead of looking directly at the “All Programs”, I gaze my vision rightward and then read “Connect To” with the puny little arrow on the right. Then temptation comes in. While my mouse tries to resist, my stupidity acts otherwise. Them after a few seconds, I see myself clicking the “Connect” button on the Connect to Speedtouch Connection dialog box. Then boom, the first page is my stupid blog.

I usually do that. I announce something publicly, whether I’m on the fatty flesh in front of an ugly audience or not, I am always perturbed by such announcement, feeling guilty that I have announced something that I might not actually fulfill it. And then I posted something just 2 days after the so-called “3-week hibernation”.

Which means I cannot pose as a politician on the next 10 years. Get it? Haha.

————-

SO-CALLED ‘GREAT OPPORTUNITY’ *UPDATED*

I’m not sure if posting about this would endanger my life. But I don’t care. Better if more people would be informed about it.

February 29, Thursday, some Eric Legazpi from the military, whom we and the residents of our subdivision rarely see, went to visit our house and asked my mom if there is some “Neil Brian” who lived here (insert complete address here, I know where or from whom he got it).

Mom got worried. This Eric Legazpi appeared to have been contacted by some bosses in Malacañang, provided my complete address and my slumbook details from my Multiply public profile. And GUESS WHAT? He claims that I did an application to enter the military school, and that I have a very lovely wife. Musta naman yun? (How’s that?)

Mom hastily denied such claim. Like, a big WHAT? Never would a kid like Neil attempt to join the army, now that he’s well informed about the military and its cohoots, Mom retorted. And a big HELLO? Si Neil? [Lampang batang iyon, Mom thought] Magmi-military?

My mom was crying when I called her on the phone about this.

This was simultaneous with the text messages I receive from a guy named Arman Garcia who so-called was a former PUP student who texted me that my ‘good writing’ will offer ‘great opportunities’.

I thought his makabayan language (makabayan, nationalistic in purely persuasive Tagalog tone) in his text messages points towards these people who’ve been so patient in insisting me to be ‘active’ again (as if I was active). So for days, I tried to make myself stupid. I just jerked around as if I have some textmate who would want to meet me in a ’secret place away from everybody’.

When this Eric Legazpi haphazardly interrogated my mom about my existence in the address, I texted this Arman. What a great coincidence, I told him. He called me and then told me his real motive–to enter the party cell of the CPP-NPA.

WHAT?! ME, A MEMBER OF THE CPP-NPA? HELLO?

I think he lost his sense of hearing when I shouted a big ‘what’ on my phone. Why the hell a sluggish looking army personnel approach my mom and ask if I live here in Dasma and that he confirms I have applied for the military? And what a good timing that he is super insistent to meet me in Manila.

My mom confronted this Eric Legazpi. To make her statements short, she just said this. “Hindi ako bobo.” (I’m not stupid) Later I knew that this Eric Legazpi was squeezing his convincing powers by telling my mom that the survey he was conducting was for me who will have an “on-the-job training” in AFP, because I am a 3rd year Mass Comm student.

Hahaha. SO much for reading my blogs, scumbags.

WHY I WAS GIVEN ‘GREAT OPPORTUNITIES?

1. I had good connections with Maria Teresa Pangilinan. She’s my friend. A former co-staffer in our school publication. Our former CSG President. Now, I have no news about her, but some say she’s working in GMA7 already.

2. I was active in The Gazette. They thought The Gazette is radical. No, they’re not. They were. Now, I don’t know what The Gazette really is since I self proclaimed to have left the pub for good.

3. I was an activist. Now, I’m a no-do-gooder student journalist.

In short, I am not insurgent.

I am not a communist.

I am not seditious.

I am not a rebel.

It’s just that I am not stupid. Student journalists are not stupid.