Sunday, April 29, 2007

Shooter's Bounce April




Yung gusto kong gawing post ay hindi pa napapanahon... sapagkat maaga pa. di pa hinog kumbaga. makakapaghintay pa yun ng ilang araw... para matamis. haha.


Tutal hindi ko naman kayo ka-iskulmates lahat e naisipan kong ibahagi na lamang ang aking column para sa April issue ng aming skulpaper na, ironically, sa May lalabas. Sa May pa lalabas dahil may mga salik na hindi maiiwasan lalo na't skulpaper lang kami at walang sariling pondo kung tutuusin...kaya minsan ay nagigipit naooverride upang maiwasan ang conflict.


Special offer ito dahil hindi pa narerelease ang dyaryo. Dito nyo lang unang makikita. Mauuna pa kayo sa iba. Ayun... Eto na.

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Immiscibility

“Democracy consists of choosing your dictators after they’ve told you what they think you want to hear.” –Alan Coren

Once again, crime rates are down in the whole country as Manny Pacquiao traded blows in a ring thousands of miles away from home. It seemed that for a while, people were glued to their seats watching delayed telecasts, some knowing what already happened at the eighth round while others still clueless to whether Pacquiao won or lost. Crime rates were down because people were too busy watching boxing to do anything else.

Oil and water do not really mix, but if you shake the mixture hard enough, they seem to do so for a while. To have such influence to unite a country divided by opposing political views is a feat often denied to most athletes. Athletes walk to their respective arenas bringing with them a sense of identity about where they came from, but only a few of them get noticed that much. If these athletes lost in their games, we will not even give them half a mind.

I remember Lito Sisnorio, who would have been another unknown athlete who lost if he did not die in Thailand. I remember a sports commentator saying that it’s time we realize that Pacquiao is not the only athlete in the Philippines, and start supporting other Filipino athletes who bear our country’s flag with every fight.

I think he is right. We need not wait for another athlete to die just to open our eyes to a problem that is staring right at our faces. We also need to realize that student athletes carry their school’s flag with them in every game as well. Our support to them is just as needed.

* * * * * * * *

I could never get used to the political advertisements that are currently frequenting our television airtimes. I could barely watch television, with school being as hectic as it usually is and the summer vacation barely fit to be called one because of its brevity, that it is torture to waste my time watching their gimmicks again and again. If I had to watch these political ads forever (knocks on wood), I will die of intense boredom and severe depression every single time, no matter how many lives you give me.

For me, most politicians look 80% more pretentious and 95% more foolish in those television commercials than they would have been, if they just placed posters and stickers on the walls. I wonder if those dance steps, dramatic confessions, obnoxious jingles, loathsome catchphrases and obviously impossible promises ever convince anyone that they are better politicians or that they should be voted for in the upcoming elections. If they were endorsing products and not themselves, I will never buy any of the products they were endorsing, thank you very much.

All I have noticed with these commercials is that these politicians have a lot of money. A television commercial is not cheap; one primetime TV commercial costs enough money to pay for one Mapuan’s tuition for not less than three years.

Someday, if I ever get rich enough, I’ll buy myself a television network or even establish one. I think I’ll get richer either way without even needing to become a politician. Such is the predicament our country faces. To win an election, a politician does not need to be competent, he needs to be famous. If he is not a famous person, he needs a lot of money to make himself one.

* * * * * * *

Do not get me wrong, I am not against all politicians who are famous or who have a lot of money, considering that some of them can turn out to be good politicians, if they only so desired. I just believe that fame and money should neither be prerequisites to competence nor be prerequisites in order to become public servants.

I believe Manny Pacquiao is a great athlete. I can even say that he is undeniably one of our best athletes today. But being a good athlete does not really make one a good congressman, because like oil and water, sports and politics generally do not mix. Sports and politics exhibit immiscibility. I am not underestimating Pacquiao’s abilities but I am questioning his reasons.

If he really wants to help people, he can do so without the need to become a congressman. If he really wants to become a politician, he needs experience. He should have run for a lower office first. You cannot just decide to become a congressman without really understanding what you will do once you get elected. Sure, anyone can learn, but it will be better for all of us if the candidates already know beforehand what they will do in their respected positions once they win.

We may not be able to dissuade the candidates but we can decide who gets to be elected. We can choose our own officials. In the coming elections, let us evaluate these candidates and make sure that they are fit for their positions. We should not vote for people who run because they can win, but instead vote for people who run because they can do something once they win. Please. We already have enough incompetent politicians to last us a lifetime.

* * * * * * *

The MapĂșa Track and Field team has won another championship trophy this year. It is our fifth trophy in seven years and our 26th trophy in the seniors division since 1953. We are still the team to beat in the Track and Field scene. Sure, we let other schools have the trophy once in a while, but we always make sure we take it back away from them.

Congratulations to our athletes who did a great job and made us proud again. Applause should also be given to the Athletics Department, especially to Tracksters head coach Joseph Sy for honing our athletes to be at their best during the competitions. Hopefully, all our athletes will receive the support they need and the just compensation that they rightly deserve.

_______

For comments, suggestions, reactions and the like, you can email me at feddie_perez@yahoo.com. Vote responsibly. You owe our country that much.

16 comments:

  1. naku ninong, wag mo lang-langin ang schoolpaper nyo, kahit schoolpaper yan, watchdog pa rin yan at maraming estudyanteng umaasa, nag-aabang sa mga sinusulat nyo.:)

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  2. If happiness is a choice.. why not peace?

    A Winning athlete like Manny Pacquiao brought a day of peace for the political battles..and just what yur saying we need not to wait for another victory of pacquiao or any athlete just to bring peace on our country.. its our choice.... it is everyones choice.. then why not make it a habit?

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  3. @ keljuan... oo naman... hindi ko nilala-lang-lang lang(?) ang aming skulpaper. :D mahal ko ito. minsan lang ay "nagigipit" kami ng itaas...

    @peter... people like to fight. whether they need to or not.

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  4. hahaha.. sabi ng aking lolo makikipagpustuhan daw sia na mananalo si manny pacquiao... somehow, ang mga tao, maulanan lang daw kasi ng kaunting balato, nababago na ang perception.. hahaha...

    tsk.. still, i don't believe na magiging ok siyang congressman. i doubt it

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  5. baka maging "puppet" lang si pacquiao, alam mo naman, yung mga tao sa likod niya ang nagtulak sa kanya para tumakbo.

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  6. akala ata ng ibang locals, parang mayor lang ang congressman.. wahaha, anung batas kaya ang ipapasa ni pacquiao? 3 knock down rule?

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  7. Manny thinks that intention is everything...It's not. And hay naku, I've been saying that since forever. The nation is concentrating on Pacman so much that the other well-deserving athletes are being ignored. 'Nuff said.

    Nice artik, btw. Political ads make me sick. But then, they're better than hearing some of those trapos actually TALK. Goodness!

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  8. ninong, bakit hindi mo nilagay yung hidden names mo sa column dividers...hahaha...para masaya...
    dapat mag pabayad ka sa mga bumasa ng column mo dito sa blog mo...hahaha!!!

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  9. hay grabe.. kung sasabihin kong well said tiyak kong hindi ka maniniwalang binasa ko ang article na to.. di ko tuloy alam sasabihin ko hehehe... nasa school paper ka pala.. galing mo talaga! Binasa ko talaga kahit walang kwenta comment ko hahaha...

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  10. May tama ka! dpat po mag-umpisa muna si Pacquiao sa pnakamababa! Hindi ganoon kadali ang pumasok sa pulitika lalo pa't wala syang alam, malamang kuntrolin lang sya! Hay!!! Makipagboxingan na lang siya! Me narinig ako an news kahapon na may gusto daw pumatay kay pacquiao at ang itinuturo nilang suspek ay ung kalaban nya! Syempre mariing itinanggi ng kanyang kalaban ang kanilang ibinibintang! Hay! malay!

    sa skul paper nyo pla yan - well, ang saya nyan kami pla una! Masaya maging editor! o journalist! nakz!

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  11. binura ko yung nauna kong comment kasi may mali... nagbasa kasi ako ng profile mo...

    wow! EIC ka pala ng school publication nyo,ah... *clap* patapon na talaga ang Mapua... hehehe... joke! ang galing! grabe! lufet mo, ninong! =)

    i think manny pacquiao will win... i'm just waiting for his next fight after his oath-taking(?) and to be introduced as "congressman manny "pacman" pacquiao...."

    kung kumandidato sya, sana, hindi sa congress... hindi talaga dapat doon... and I believe that you don't have to be in politics for you to help others...

    haaay...

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  12. nice article. Galing sa ingles ahh! hehe

    anyhow.. you are right politics and sports dont mix just like oil and water.

    but if a person has the will and drive to SERVE the country and the people... SINCERELY (I doubt anyone is sincere in politics already...) kahit saan pa man xa galing.. be it sports, showbiz, business world.. he can prolly do good... ooh well..

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  13. weeeeee....salamat sa comments... :D

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  14. bkt wla aq kopya ng builders? lungkot nman.

    tama! dpat ngcmula muna c pacquiao sa mababang posisyon.. tipong barngy cptain. haha. tingin ko hnd mgndng mgng isa ciang politician. loko na nga ang gobyerno nten, drgdgan p nla. mgboxing nln cia at un ang pgtuunan ng pncn. wg n cia mgpauto sa mga ibang tao. tsk. utu2 c pacquiao.

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  15. waw sabaw! :) naaalala ko tuloy high school ko - ako layout artist namin nun. wahaha!

    yabang rin ng column ha. mahuuuusay ninong!

    :D daan...

    ano meaning ng immiscibility? ang lalim eh. ahehe

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  16. @Peter, sinasabi mo ba na dapat palaging lumaban sa Estados Unidos si Pacquiao?

    @utakgago, immiscibility - hindi pwede paghaluin

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