EDITORIAL - Cebuanos shamed more than Binay

Vice President Jejomar Binay was greeted by a smattering of boos when he stood on stage to greet Cebuanos at the end of the Sinulog Mass at Abellana last Sunday. Some said the boos were too few for even Binay himself to hear. Still, it is not a question of how many or how loud. The fact that he was booed at all does not speak well of Cebuanos and the Sinulog.

Binay stands accused of many things and is being criticized and vilified in practically every medium and in whatever platform or forum elsewhere because of that. But at the Sinulog stage, right after the Mass that Sunday, Binay, for the briefest moment in his current political life, was not on trial. He was a guest of the Sinulog. He was a guest of the Cebuanos. Like millions of others, he was supposed to be welcome in our home.

If people do not like Binay, there is a decent and proper way to express that dislike -- do not vote for him in the May 2016 elections. But if, in addition to rejecting him in the polls, some still feel the need to shame him, then they have all the time to do so until May, in  whatever form and by whatever means. Doing it on the Sinulog stage, which was meant to showcase the best of the festival, and right after a Mass, was inappropriate and only succeeded in shaming the Cebuanos instead.

How God must have felt betrayed that just minutes before, during the Mass, those who booed had all asked to be forgiven their sins, listened to His word and nodded to others in greetings of peace, partook of the eucharist in union with His spirit, received His final blessings to go cleansed in His love, and then, on seeing Binay, completely lost all sense of their newfound piety and started booing.

The Sinulog is not just about fun and revelry. It is a time of welcome. It is fiesta day of the Santo Niño. Visitors from other places, even perhaps more than our own, are supposed to receive the best of our warmth and hospitality. Even in the presence of those whom we loathe, our sense of politeness and human decency are expected to prevail, if for this one day alone.

Besides, Binay is still the vice president and it is bad manners not to acknowledge his presence, if only for the sake of his office. He may have come with a political motive, even if by his presence alone he did not have to say anything. We all know what all politicians are up to this time of the political season. But that should have challenged us to rise above the situation. Instead, a few failed to rise above their own petty selves and dragged everyone of us down.

What a waste of opportunity to showcase not just the Sinulog but the Cebuano character. It would have cost nothing to be polite. Basic human courtesy will not send Binay to the presidency. And if Binay loses, he might even remember the Cebuanos for the decency with which they introduced themselves in that very brief meeting even if they went the other way in the polls.