This week started well. Manny Pacquiao made history by being the first boxer to win in seven weight divisions. He was, in fact, dubbed as "The Greatest Fighter of The Era". A Filipino! The Greatest! The pride and the surge of nationalism that this man has given our starved country is well beyond words. Intrigues aside, he truly deserves the accolades bestowed upon him.
And then there was Efren Penaflorida, who bested nine finalists and more than 8,000 nominees in this year's search for CNN's Hero of the Year. A Filipino! Hero of the Year! His victory, and above all, his project, reminded me of what the Emperor in "Mulan" said: "A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man can be the difference." In a way, he also united the Philippines. It was through online voting that he won, which shows that when Filipinos rally together, we are victorious. And I voted for him, so yay! I feel that I won too, because my vote helped him, even if it was such a small way.
We were on a roll, I thought. And then, on a bus to work, I saw on TV a news report saying that the son of an Undersecretary was shot dead by a man driving a car with diplomatic plates. Now, that can't be right. Having a gun doesn't always mean you have to fire it every time you want to. Being a diplomat, or related to a diplomat doesn't mean you can shoot people out of rage. Although I do agree with the Inquirer's editorial "Road Rage", I cannot help but feel protective over the victim. I don't want to see any pardons bestowed upon this vicious suspect, who was also involved in another road incident back in 2004, resulting to the death of one government official. I want to see how the police and the government will act, because, well, we all know how we suck up to foreigners. We all know how nicer and more forgiving we tend to get when they are around. The DFA says that the suspect has no diplomatic immunity, so I want to see how this will end. May justice be served rightfully.
And the most gruesome news of all: the massacre in Maguindanao. All because of politics. There is a line between greed and just being downright monstrous, and I believe the person behind all this just crossed the line. How can they, the mastermind and the pawns, sleep at night, knowing that they killed 46 people? And what for? A title? Money? Power? You can't take them to your grave when you die. You can't bring them to the afterlife (surely not heaven for all of you). What will surely remain are your blood-stained hands and your terribly grave sin, which will be passed down to your children and your children's children.
