How desperate is Bistek?

Just how desperate is Mayor Herbert Bautista, a.k.a. Bistek, and what could be fueling his desperation?

The current “father” of Quezon City recently announced that he is pushing for a local ordinance or legislation that will allow “Same Sex Marriage” in Quezon City and that he intends to give the piece of legislation as his gift to the lesbians and homosexuals in his city.

So the question is why the very public and very controversial pronouncement knowing very well that Quezon City has the largest number of Catholics relative to land area as well as the fact that the Iglesia Ni Cristo central church is located in the city. Such a public pronouncement is also an affront if not challenge to religious groups who hold marriage as a sacred sacrament not to be toyed with. While some make a joke of it by saying that “Bistek” might suddenly come out of the closet after the ordinance is passed, the truth is most people have not realized that they need to take Bistek’s Mistek as in serious mistake very seriously.

More than just another gimmick, the legislation if passed will officially establish “same sex marriage” not only in Quezon City but opens the floodgates for such to be legalized by politicians and lobby groups all over the Philippines. Once passed it will be ten times if not a hundred times harder to rescind, withdraw or otherwise nullify such an ordinance because interest groups and publicity hounds will surely jump into the wagon especially with the elections coming in a year’s time.

Before our gay and homosexual brothers and sisters get taken for a ride, My Dutch wife who comes from a country where they have “same sex marriage” suggests that someone ought to investigate if a “local” marriage facilitated by a local ordinance will actually be recognized in the rest of the Philippines where “same sex marriage” is not legal. Will the partners in such marriage have the same rights of a spouse to inheritance, SSS, Pag-IBIG, GSIS, BIR, health coverage? Even in developed countries these things are still being sorted out and Bistek’s gift might actually be a Trojan horse.

So why is Bistek suddenly becoming publicity driven? As Mayor of Quezon City, he is either widely accepted or generally tolerated by his constituents. But with the clock ticking down to 2016, it might be possible that all of Bistek’s publicity stunts such as the unbelievable, if not manufactured, romance with a TV celebrity, then the made for prime time news clip of him slapping an arrested Chinese drug dealer that made him look like a “Duterte wannabe” are all intended to boost his popularity not just to get elected but to make sure that people won’t even consider other possible candidates, such as the return of the more senior and politically powerful Sonny Belmonte. There is also the other Belmonte to reckon with, namely the current Vice Mayor of Quezon City Joy Belmonte, who like Bistek has politely and patiently stayed at the wings but could already be ripe and ready for 2016.

Mayor Bautista must be having nightmares knowing his popularity is not the issue but the fact that either of the two Belmontes have more to offer in terms of competence, maturity as well as political clout. The Big Mistek of Bistek is to be part of or to engage in publicity and gimmickry because it exposes him as someone who fails to think things through especially in terms of repercussions. His rumored romance was so unbelievable but hurtful for his family. Slapping a drug dealer while seemingly popular and great for TV nearly got his ass hauled by the Commission on Human Rights to the Office of the Ombudsman.

His recent public endorsement for “same sex marriage” may not have immediately exploded in his face but yesterday, Sunday, it was clear that priests and pastors were talking about the heretic in Quezon City and have started to call for prayers for the lost and confused sinner named Mayor Herbert Bautista. People are asking if the people of Quezon City truly support “same sex marriage” which presumably benefits a very tiny percentage of Quezon City residents. Does Quezon City even have an accurate population or count of gays and lesbians for whom the legislation is designed or is this another ungodly act of heathen politicians being shoved down the throats of the people of Quezon City? Did Bistek and his minions consider the possibility that just like other cities that have earned monikers such as “Gambling capital” or “Sin City,” Quezon City may eventually earn embarrassing if not demeaning titles? At the very least, The Mayor of Quezon City should have had the courtesy of asking his constituents about their opinion on the matter.

Personally and biblically speaking, Mayor Bautista and the residents of Quezon City may not have realized that such acts of disobedience to biblical precepts and to God have very serious repercussions not just for individuals but even for the city and its people. Denying God causes the denial of God’s favor and blessing upon a city and its people. God ultimately letting people do whatever foolishness their hearts desire until sooner or later people turn on each other and the whole place simply crumbles, divides or falls apart.

Just drive around Metro Manila or some of the known red light districts or sin cities and you will find many cities and places that used to be the center of economic and cultural growth where leaders allowed prostitution, clubs, gambling and the likes. Those places slowly died almost unnoticed until shops closed down and people moved away while the leaders who allowed it lived long enough to see their empires fall apart, their families cursed while they were or are now being investigated or accused of crimes.  The fight is not about gay rights but about God’s will or God’s wrath. You either want to be blessed or to be cursed.