By Alex P. Vidal
“Scandals have impacted many politicians’ careers and aspirations. Some have survived, and others have fallen.”—Mercedes Schlapp
ILOILO City is luckier for having Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, who is family oriented and morally upright, at least in the eyes and knowledge of most Ilonggos.
Treñas’ family members—from his wife, Rosalie, to his children and grandchildren—are seen all over the social media from time to time, especially during important occasions like Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, birthdays, anniversaries, and even certainly this coming Valentine’s Day.
In other words, Treñas is epitome of a father figure, a loyal husband, and a loving father and grandfather. Ilonggos don’t need to look elsewhere for an almost perfect role model or a dedicated family man and public servant as inspiration.
Iloilo constituents will always be proud of their city mayor, who is also a deeply religious person and a leader with strong sets of family and moral values.
We can’t speak the same for Treñas’ counterpart in Bacolod City, Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez, who was recently “romantically” linked to a young Tiktok sensation Ivana Alawi.
-o0o-
We used the word “tryst” in the title of this article to refer to the alleged scandal Benitez and Alawi were in because the word means “a secret rendezvous” between two lovebirds.
If the rumors were true, then they may have already “consummated” that tryst. If not, forget about it.
We placed a quotation mark on the word “romantically” because romance or romantic love refers to, according to Collins Dictionary, “a relationship between two people who are in love with each other but who are not married to each other.”
Wikipedia has another explanation: Romance is “a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.”
-o0o-
With Alawi too young to be Benitez’s daughter, and the fact that the Bacolod mayor, who happens to be VIP, very rich (he’s a billionaire businessman) and influential, is legally married to Nikki, it’s inexorable even for the lousiest Marites and Maricon not to speculate and brand the “union” as plain and simple sexual peccadillo, with nary emotional attachment enumerated by Collins Dictionary and Wikipedia.
It’s also giving justice to the real and true meaning of romance or romantic love, often used or abused to camouflage a sexual indiscretion, a perversity that can be committed even by non-celebrities.
In our society, it’s a given norm that when a politician, a military officer, a famous person, or someone in Benitez’ stature is involved in sex scandal, it boils down to a bloggable question of exploitation, abuse, manipulation, cheating, machismo or a strong (and sometimes false) sense of masculine pride, power, wealth or money, influence (the mayor is owner and producer of Brightlight Productions).
And it normally involves sexy stars and older patrons with prurient appetites.
Alawi has already categorically denied any sexual liaison with playboy Albee. She admitted she is involved with a non-showbiz “respectable businessman” but not a politician. Fans should respect her words, true or not.
How about “playboy” Albee?
His relationship with the popular social media symbol is “professional”, he emphasized, but he and Nikki “have not been leaving together for several years.”
Playboy Albee’s claim had been contradicted by Nikki, who claimed in the news that they are “united” and are still living under the same roof for 31 years. El Condor Pasa.
-o0o-
HOW SEX CAN DO A BODY GOOD. It protects prostate. Catholic priests have an elevated chance of dying of prostate cancer, and studies point to celibacy as a factor. In 2003, research on middle-aged Australian men found that those who averaged at least four ejaculations a week had a one-third lower chance of developing prostate cancer than those who had fewer, says Dr. Regina Nuzzo.
LET’S TIME OUR NAP AFTER LUNCH. Research shows that naps, especially “power naps” of 20 to 30 minutes, help ward off fatigue. To maximize the benefits, let’s try taking a siesta after lunch, when our energy levels are particularly low. Let us limit rest to less than 30 minutes or stretch it out to 60 to 90 minutes to avoid grogginess that results from waking up in the middle of deep sleep. (Source: Prevention)
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
