Since I retired from government service following the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic, I lost track of what is happening in and out of the City Capitol of San Pablo. I merely rely on the information being fed to me by our President Sandy Belarmino and some Maritess on the loose. Now that one of our reliable columnists Boyet ‘Talbos Tubo’ Marcelo is back from the USA hopefully for good, you can be assured of juicy information affecting the city whether positively or negatively. He is a no-nonsense writer always open to debates with candor and understanding of what he wrote. Just like me and the rest of our group, we avoid barking at the wrong tree.
I miss the good old days when all of us were still young and physically fit to roam around and look for spicy inside stories that would arouse the interest of the reading public. I miss the colorful ‘Sabukot’ who would tweet funny, sweet and sometimes nasty activities of shameless characters in the various offices of the city hall. I miss those hilarious moments we shared together beneath the historical Balete tree during our regular brainstorming while one of us was playing the part of a devil’s advocate.
For the past two years, the pandemic has prevented us from doing what we are supposed to do as journalists, hence, the ‘termites’ in the local government had their unabated scheme to feed their purses with the use of whatever means. I heard someone from the so-called Big Five has allegedly amassed millions for personal gains along with the rest of the SOBs. This put the interest of the people in peril. Now that the pandemic is almost waning if not over, we can at least call the attention of the power that be to stop them.
Salus populi est suprema lex. The welfare of the people is the supreme law and it behooves upon us to expose the malfeasance, nonfeasance and misfeasance of those who are tasked to serve the people after all, they are receiving salaries from the taxpayers’ money. The people, regardless of their station in life, must be served with kindness and understanding and should not be treated like a burden or in rare cases, like a beggar. Even the poorest of the poor have dignity and pride that need to be respected. These coming days, you will see many of us in the local media together again beneath the Balete tree to observe what’s going on around the capitol site and to report what we have seen and observed. This way, we can at least assist the local government in calibrating the greed of those who are using their position for personal interests. We will once again open the dormant space of “Sabukot” and every Pabluy is invited to share their not-so-good personal experience subject of course to the keen screening of the Editor. See ya!
Melinda Bagsic Evangelista
I was born to write and I believe that’s my calling. I love writing because it brings me to the realm exclusively of mine. It is also my opinion that “immortality” can be achieved not by searching for the Holy Grail and drinking from it but by living your life worth-writing or writing something worth-reading. Since I cannot promise you a life worth-writing, I keep myself busy writing something worth-reading. I am thankful to God for giving me the talent and skill to see life in different perspectives not seen by many and the courage to share it to my readers. This first ever Tutubi Digital News Magazine is a perfect avenue to bring you the many facets of life that you can ponder upon in this time of the pandemic. Enjoy reading all the articles.
