By Alex P. Vidal
“I value my reputation. I work hard to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.”
—Richard Hanna
ILOILO City Hall officials, especially the city councilors, implicated in the brand new pick-up trucks brouhaha have nothing to gain but will have everything to lose in terms of public opinion and delicadeza.
Speaking of delicadeza, they can always feign innocence as what other obnoxious public officials are wont to do; after all, our brand of politicians nowadays are far cry from the politicians 40 to 50 years ago where they embraced the virtues of simplicity and humility as a way of life as long as they drew salaries from the taxpayers.
Nobody has gone to jail for being a kapalmuks in public office after all.
Weeks after the scandal was brought to public attention and the media in Iloilo thunderously admonishing them, those who accepted the vehicles, worth a total of P14.4 million from the 2020 capital outlay under the mayor’s office, remained unmoved.
They even had the gall to defend and justify why they “deserved” it—in the middle of the pandemic!
We suspect many of them don’t really understand what delicadeza is.
The issue simply is indefensible by hook or by crook and by any stretch of imagination.
It can’t be justified now that people are reeling from severe economic hardships and are losing both their hope, sanity and livelihood.
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And speaking of public opinion, this is the most lethal part.
Since public office is a public trust, they may soon find their way being chastised and ribbed by derogatory remarks by the same people who put them in office: the voting public.
This can be a cruel scenario as the election is barely 12 months away.
Any scandal that involves a misuse of public funds or anything that is bereft of proper conduct and decency is a potential killer punch against anyone attached to it during the campaign season.
No public official has survived the assault of a censure based on impropriety, arrogance and opulence during the election.
There was this story of Niobe who illustrated the favorite Greek theme that the gods were quick to take vengeance (nemesis) on human pride and arrogance (hubris).
Pride and arrogance.
That’s how, in a nutshell, the actuations of city officials who cavorted with the brand new pick-up trucks can be best described.
Niobe was the subject of lost tragedies by both Aeschylus and Sophocles, and Ovid told her story in his Metamorphoses.
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As human beings, we have certain basic needs. We must have food, water, air, and shelter to survive.
Humans cannot survive If any one of these basic needs is not met. Before past explorers set off to find new lands and conquer new worlds, they had to make sure that their basic needs were met.
In other words, in this age it’s now a “survival of the healthiest” when we refer to the inhabitants in today’s generation who will continue to live beyond the specter of coronavirus.
HAPPINESS DRINK. A study involving more than 1,000 Japanese people age 70 or over found that those who drank at least four cups of green tea a day enjoyed better moods than those drinking a cup or less. The uplifting ingredient is theanine, the researchers believe.
ROAD TO FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. Balance diet. Green tea. Vitamin D and fish oil. Good sleep. Laugh regularly (it is “the best medicine”). Control the temper (avoid getting mad, if necessary). Smile a lot. Daily exercise (walking is best and most natural).
THE SUN IS OUR SKIN’S NO. 1 ENEMY. We should always make sun protection a priority. Let us use a sunscreen formulated for our skin along with our moisturizer. Much of the evidence of aging; rough skin, wrinkles, age spots, etc. are really the result of too much sun.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)
