Having prayed for our dead, we must now fight to save the living

The terrorists and doomsayers didn’t get their way last Friday.

We went to Paco to pray at our family crypt, and everybody was there. We went to Manila South cemetery to pray for our beloved dead on my wife’s side, and the place was as jampacked with people as ever before.

Our reporters called in that all the cemeteries in the Metro area were full of family members commemorating their loved ones who’ve "gone on ahead" – although, they noted the crowds at the upper-class memorial parks were sparser.

In other "Latin" countries, the Dia de los Muertos is observed in very much the same way. We Filipinos, on the other hand, don’t honor our dead on "All Souls’ Day", but rather on Todos los Santos or All Saints’ Day. This shows we’re confident that all of our loved ones are in the company of the saints in heaven.

Fear of bombing or the dire warnings circulated didn’t dampen the observance of Halloween on Thursday either. Everywhere I went, there were hordes of kids underfoot wearing devil’s masks, or with satanic horns sticking up from their pointy heads, or dressed in black as vampires or witches, or in Chinese Mandarin costumes with painted moustachios (How did the Chinese look become a scary item? We’re scared only of Dick Gordon’s anticipated hordes of Chinese infiltrators disguised as "tourists". Reminds me of the old joke: ‘Most men smoke, but Fu Manchu.’ If you don’t get that, you’re younger than 50).

The little boys and girls were "trick or treating" all over the place, even in the Megamall which teemed with last-minute shoppers Thursday. (The malls were closed on Friday.) In our "village" in San Juan, endless groups of kids attacked our front porch, cheerfully calling out "trick or treat". They tramped all over the subdivison in battalion strength – everybody had fun.

There is, of course, a great deal of poverty and tragedy in Metro Manila, and, even more so, all over the rural countryside. But it’s the Filipino’s strength, for all our other weaknesses and disappointments, that he endures. Endures? He smiles through danger, sorrow, failure, setback, and adversity. He prays. He has faith in God and His mercy. As a reporter, I’ve been to many places, including those visited by great carnage, treachery, and heartbreak on this planet. I’ve marveled at the bravery, the patient courage, the gallantry of people elsewhere, even though ravaged by fate. But there’s nothing like the Filipino smile (which irritates, I know, critics, detractors, and doomsayers, as well as the sympathetic who’re frustrated because it’s inexplicable). Filipinos, men and women, smile through their tears.

This is why I’m confident we’ll win. Nothing can defeat us, not even ourselves – although many of us are trying very hard to become failures. As I’ve repeated ad nauseam, the Filipino is like Ivory Soap; he floats.

* * *

I wonder why President GMA has agreed to launch the PIATCO Terminal 3 by presiding over its "soft opening" this coming December 15. Surely, she knows that no international airline, not to mention Philippine Airlines or any of our own air carriers, has signed up to use that terminal. Surely she knows the double-crossed German firm of Fraport AG, which is owned by the German government (particularly the State of Hesse), is planning to sue her government and their erstwhile PIATCO "partners" here – a court suit which, if pursued, will create a scandalous stink in the entire European Union.

By cooperating with the Chengs and their PIATCO bunch, then, the President is endorsing them – what other message can the public get?

Does she know that, already, big bucks are being paid just to get in line to ensure a "concession" in the projected PIATCO Terminal 3 building? Aha, that’s the profitable name of the game. Not a centavo of this seems to be going to the government. (Unless the deal is "cured", on the other hand, the government may end up paying for everything.)

For instance, there is this very influential guy – not to be confused with the mysterious "Alfonso Liongson" of Bacolor, Pampanga, who’s completely disappeared with the more than a hundred million smackeroos he got "paid" for "consultancy" – who’s been circulating lately. His first name is "Emmanuel", you can guess the rest. He’s let it be known far and wide that he’s the pointman of the big shots calling the shots (did I say bagman?) when it comes to allocating space for would-be concessionaires in the prospective NAIA Terminal 3. For the past six months, everytime some company or individual inquired, including those now holding concessions in NAIA 1 and 2, they were referred to Manny Baby.

This fellow is a smart dresser, addicted to expensive shoes and fancy cars. (From where else does he come? From the old Arrneow.) He doesn’t exactly subscribe, it appears, to the Ateneo slogan of "a man for others", unless the others are girls, since he frequents classy night spots in Makati, Libis and Adriatico. His modus operandi in meeting potential concessionaires is to rent a function room in 5-star hotels like Makati Shangri-La or EDSA Plaza, or the Manila Pen, and other de luxe places. He used to hang out in the Via Mare in Tektite, too, but when the Senate hearings on PIATCO and Terminal 3 began to heat up, he stopped even answering his cellphone. Yet, Alikabok confirms, he’s still very much in operation – but more discreetly.

* * *

What’s fascinating is that the aspiring concessionaires have allegedly been paying him "goodwill money" in amazing amounts – from P1 million to P5 million, even without a "guarantee" that they’ll get a slot, and they don’t even receive a receipt. If there are over 100 slots available in Terminal 3, can you imagine how much "cash" Manny Baby may already have accumulated? Yet, no "contracts" or receipts were given. According to those who paid "goodwill money", they had no choice but to cough up – or else get left out in the cold. Is Manny involved in a scam, or has he the blessing of those in charge?

It’s no secret that among those aspiring for concession space are quite prominent enterprises, such as Rustan’s, Via Mare, Starbucks, Figaro, Hariraya, Bo’s coffee club, Italianni’s, Max's Chicken, Tinderbox, Thailand Souvenir, National Bookstore, Manila Cigar, Tabacalera, Gloria Maris, Don Henrico’s, St. Cinnamon, Travelers, to mention a few. I’m not saying that these were among those who paid goodwill deposits, but from this tentative listing you can get the picture. Who makes the final decision? There’s a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.

One major department store was supposed to get the entire fourth floor, by the way, but somehow this plan was derailed.

Is it true that megabucks were deposited in the name of the wife of this Lucky Guy? If the amount deposited surpassed P50 million – which is way over the P4 million limit (for disclosure) set by the anti-money laundering law – did the bank concerned "report" it to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Anti-Money Laundering Committee? If so, it would already have come out in the wash.

Susmariosep. This entire soap-opera is beginning to look like a Hollywood movie. One thing already seems obvious. There won’t be a Hollywood-ending for the government.

* * *

No sooner did the President unpack her bags on her return from APEC in Mexico and her political hegira in California than she had to pack again for her flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia today.

According to the International Herald Tribune, Pochentong airport has been fitted out with a brand new VIP lounge for the arriving leaders of the 14 countries expected to participate in the Monday-Tuesday summit of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).

Legions of street-sweepers are tidying up the area. Huge billboards will welcome GMA and other leaders, Reuters reveals, "depicting smiling prosperous Cambodians chatting into the latest mobile phones" (Globe or Smart? Or Docomo? Or what?). "…Against a backdrop of dwindling foreign investment," the same report avers, the optimistic mantra will be touted: "Cambodia – Your Investment Destination."

Alas, the IHT said: Cambodia remains "one of the poorest countries in Asia, with more than a third of its nearly 13 million people living on less than 30 US cents a day."

Don’t laugh. We may be headed in that direction. Happy trip, GMA! But don’t forget: Travel is fine, summits can be educational – but the hard work remains here at home. This is where the battle must be fought – and won.