A Zuellig in Monaco

DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin has appointed a new honorary consul general in Monaco. David Zuellig recently took his oath of office before Ambassador Teresa Lazaro in Paris.

His father, Dr. Stephen Zuellig, was the Philippine honorary consul general in Monaco in the late 1970s and was appointed by then foreign affairs secretary Carlos P. Romulo. Dr. Zuellig held that position for nearly 40 years.

Like his father, David was born in Manila. He holds the following positions: director of Harbor Holdings; chairman of FPG Insurance (Philippines and region), Z Healthcare Asia Holdings and Centre Medicale Internationale. He is also a trustee of the Zuellig Family Foundation; a member of the Asia Philanthropy Circle and a member of the Credit Suisse (Asia-Pacific) Impact Advisory Board.

Like his father, he will be a worthy representative of the Philippines.

Lockdown rant

The WHO has warned of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. The stress levels from the fear of getting the disease, and the isolation and impact of the lockdown on our lives can play havoc on the psyche.

Here at home, the economy is tanking. We have little idea of the infection trajectory and cannot even see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are dependent on a vaccine for deliverance, but we don’t know when we will get it. Even if one succeeds in getting one’s mind off COVID-19, other news offer no relief – just more anger and frustration.

Here at home, we have the spectacle of congressmen unashamedly squabbling over who gets the spoils. Incumbent Speaker Alan Cayetano had accepted a gentlemen’s agreement (an oxymoron when referring to Congress) brokered by President Duterte to share the term of the speakership with his erstwhile rival Lord Alan Velasco.

Cayetano was supposed to hand over the speakership at the end of 15 months, which falls on Oct. 14, but it seems he had other ideas. As the incumbent, he had the opportunity to build a sizable number of allies who would have a stake in him remaining Speaker. That stake would even become more valuable because Cayetano is said to be harboring presidential ambitions, and remaining in such a visible pulpit would further that ambition. His supporters have contrived a situation where they can say Velasco was first to break the agreement by staging an alleged coup and that, therefore, it was no longer valid.

I am staying away from the controversy about who among the two may be fitter to lead the House; it is neither of these two. In the end, who eventually emerges as the Speaker will rest on the real Lord of the Realm, brooding in his Palace by the murky Pasig as it makes its way to “Dolomite Beach.” With the infinite wisdom ascribed to him by the 91 percent approval rating of his adoring subjects despite the disease that lays waste to his kingdom – it seems he can do no wrong. Whatever the outcome, Congress has not covered itself in glory, but rather reinforced the public perception that they are there for themselves rather than the people.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific, Americans are four weeks away from electing their president. They and the world were treated to a spectacle of two grumpy septuagenarians hurling insults at each other. The incumbent Trump was at his nasty, alternate-reality, twitter best, while his opponent Joe Biden lost his calm amidst the relentless personal assault. Not a proud moment for America and democracy. Now, by a karmic twist, Trump has been afflicted by the virus he dismissed as a hoax, yet he continues to downplay its danger despite the death toll surpassing the number of Americans who died from the past five flu seasons combined.

In the face of this glaring demonstration of selfishness and irresponsibility, it would seem that one Trump term is all that most Americans and probably most of the rest of the world – can stomach. But this is a divided America and a country with a peculiar electoral college system. In a repeat of the Bush-Gore contest, 2016 saw Trump lose the popular vote, but still win enough electoral votes to secure the presidency. The possibility of that repeating is not out of the equation.

Maybe burying our heads in dolomite sand and staying away from the news might be a sensible thing to do if we want to keep our wits intact. We just might be better off watching Netflix movies which sometimes have a happy ending.