OF CHIZ AND HEART

Of the many personal advises to the benighted Chiz-Heart relationship that have been lately aired in the news, methinks that which had com from charlatan Senator  Miriam Defensor Santiago to Chiz was so far the most telling and practical:  "Mag-igib ka, magsibak ng kahoy.  Practice a little humility to your future in-laws.  'Yan ang kulturang Pinoy!"

Indeed, I cannot understand why an otherwise simple and very common problem among two people in love had to end up like this:  virtually not unlike that of Romeo's problem with Juliet's parents in Shakespeare's timeless novel?   'Yang manliligaw na inaayawan ng bibiyanin ay di ba't pangkaraniwan lamang naman?  But why a highly charismatic Senator with a strong potential to succeed PNoy after 2016 cannot solve or satisfactorily handle an otherwise very simple problem such as this one is truly dumbfounding.    Aba, eh, kung itong ganito kaliit na problema ng pamilya ay di kayang ma-solve ni Chiz Escudero, paano kaya niya maso-solve, kung sakali, ang higit na malalaking problema ng bayan?  'Mon Tulfo was comparing Chiz Escudero to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Robert Louie Stevenson's 1887 novel.  Hindi naman siguro ganoon katindi ang comparison,  because Mr. Hyde ay tunay na evil at kabaligtaran ng goodness ni Jekyll, although tila meron din ngang pagkaka-hawig.  Si Chiz, sa mata ng maraming Pinoy ay tunay ngang isang matalino at karismatikong politiko, subali't tila unti-unting lumalabas ang kanyang may pagka-aroganteng katauhan sa kanyang ipinakikitang behavior nitong nakaraang mga araw.  

Consider this.  Bago pa man lumabas at nag-tungayaw sa media ang mga magulang ni Heart Evangelista ay malaon nang open-secret sa publiko ang Chiz-Heart relationship.  Sinasabi ng mga magulang ni Chiz na sila ay nabastusan sa inasal ng Senador noong unang gabi na iuto ay ipakilala ni Heart sa kanila.  According to them, si Chiz ay dumating sa kanila na lango sa alak at sa halip na mag-bigay galang sa mga bibiyanin ay pasalampak na naupo lang sa sofa na no-pansin sila.    'First Impression is Lasting, the saying goes, so, hindi maiaalis sa mga parents ni Heart na magkaroon ng di magandang unang impresyon kay Chiz.  But I think we are all too old to not realize that "first impression is not totally indelible."  Subali't marami pa, sangayon sa dalawang matanda, ang nakita nilang di magandang ugali ni Chiz sa mga sumunod na raw.  Ang tanong ay ito:  Sa totoo o hindi ang umpisa ng di magandang impresyong ito, bakit ito hindi nagawan ng paraan ng Senador na mabago -- di ba 'yon ang unang-unang dapat asahan sa isang binatang manliligaw? -- ang impresyong ito bago lumala at sa bandang huli ay mapilitang ibulgar ng mga magulang ni Heart sa madla ang kanilang di pag-sangayon mapangasawa ng anak nila si Chiz.    Heart, on the other hand, being madly in love with Chiz, cannot be expected to side with her parents at this point in time, especially since it may be assumed that Heart's parents might also have something to do with Heart's split with her previous boyfriend, Jericho Rosales.  But Rosales, probably then in his late teens like Heart,  was too young to be expected to do what would normally be expected from a far more matured and responsible Senator like Chiz.  Heart revealed that her parents also did not approve of Jericho, but that nothing like that had ever been heard from the latter while Chiz continues to counter-denounce Heart's parents before the media is truly worthy of note in this regard.

I don't know about others, but for me, I will no longer  vote for Escudero simply because of this.  I know he would still be reelected with flying colors given his charisma and, I don't know if only, feigned, humbleness before the public.  At the very least, because of this, I had been compelled to research deeper into Escudero's credentials and performance as a lawmaker and member of both Congress and Senate.  It was truly a great frustration that I could not find any (I urge others to make their own research and prove me wrong) landmark legislation he had so far authored or had figured out as a principal sponsor of.  And so, I feel obliged to repeat:  If Chiz could not handle so simple a problem as a future in-laws' apparent disapproval -- the mere fact that Chiz is no longer in a position to give Heart a church wedding need not be taken for granted --  how very much less can one expect him to satisfactorily handle the country's more pressing problems?  At any rate, I still sincerely wish Chiz and Heart all the luck and blessings that Planet Earth can give them in their love affair.