(He refers to my earlier piece, “F Sionil Jose likens Duterte to Magsaysay, Philippine Opposition OFFENDED!”.)
For the information of Philippine Star writer Joel Pablo Salud, I’m not a blogger to begin with. I’m just a pundit. I don’t even think of myself as a good writer. But what do you call a Salud who claims to be a simpleton then bandies about his being a juror several times over in literary contests?
But just to tickle your dead toe nails, I’ve sat as juror at the Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, Nick Joaquin Awards, The F. Sionil Jose Writer’s Prize (read that again), and the MCC-NBDB National Book Awards, among others, for several years. I may not have won accolades, but I had the distinct pleasure and honor of handing over awards to the best writers in the country.
Insecurity is the word that comes to mind. Why break from a “good friend” if he dares to express a contrarian opinion? As Manong Frankie (Sionil Jose) clarified, he didn’t think Duterte was the best President yet. Maybe in the future. He also expressed how it is relatively safer to be walking the streets. That as is a reference to Metro Manila. Not the whole country. Agreeing to disagree is maturity. But what probably hit Salud hard was Jose’s description of communists which Salud didn’t dare address in his rejoinder.
The Communist Party was decriminalized by President Ramos, but no politician wants to proclaim himself a communist. So, the party has many front organizations. All should be identified. Communist parties exist in Western Europe, in Japan but these parties don’t have front organizations engaged in armed revolt. Thousands have died and billions lost in this protracted war that is now more than 50 years. It is time the response of the State must be conclusive.
Many have asked how do they survive when they don’t have a day job? What affords them that privilege when they are supposed to be for the poor? That is the elephant in the room. But in the Philippines, as one of my ex-girlfriends said, it is not what you know but whom you know which counts.
This is why we have the system where those benefiting from the largesse of patrons kowtow to them. This is an extension of the malaise plaguing the country where those who should know better can only look at the trees but not the forest. And if in my own little way, I contributed to an uptick in the sales of his books then well and good. It doesn’t look good for a real man to be ranting and wailing about his difficulties on social media. A real man takes action and is always responsible for the consequences of his actions.
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