The handsome men of Abu Sayyaf

The illicit affair between suspected bomb expert Renierlo Dongon a.k.a. “Kudri” and PSupt. Christina Nobleza, deputy director of the Crime Laboratory in Davao region, has become the hottest topic in coffee houses all over the country.

This issue also makes us recall the recent spat between House Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez with his long-time friend, Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr., which was apparently caused by a quarrel between Emily Alvarez, the wife of Speaker Alvarez, and his girlfriend. Cathy Binag, Floirendo’s girlfriend, is close to the wife of Speaker Alvarez and tried to help her by talking with the House Speaker in Bacolod City during the Masskara Festival.

Now this spat has turned so sour that Speaker Alvarez sued Floirendo for graft over his family’s banana business deal with the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor). Of course, President Rodrigo Duterte did not want to get involved in that spat. After all, he too had affairs when he was still married.

What we are seeing in public are illicit relationships between government officials that often lead to troubles or problems. But what takes the cake is the affair between Dongon and Supt. Nobleza. Look at the age gap between the two. I understand that Supt. Nobleza is nearly 50 years old while Dongon is 29 years old. So is this really love or for the love of money? This brings us to the question: Are government officials entitled to have a bevy of mistresses at their beck and call? Perhaps certain public officials think that having a mistress is part and parcel of their entitlements.

Incidentally during last Tuesday’s 888 News Weekly Forum at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, some of those present came up with a comment that ASG sub-leader Muamar Askali alias Abu Rami, ASG local contact Joselito Melloria, and Dongon were all handsome men. The comment was based on photos of the three that made rounds on the social media.

But are the ASG really recruiting handsome men for their illicit purpose? Again we ask, is Nobleza really in love with Dongon or is he merely supplying her with the sex she has so badly missed and, of course, money believed to be sourced from kidnapping activities. Perhaps to paraphrase all this, let me quote part of the lyrics of the song titled “Never Been to Me” popularized by Charlene in 1977: “Sometimes I've been to cryin' for unborn children that might have made me complete. But I took the sweet life and never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet. I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that cost too much to be free. Hey lady, I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me.”

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At least, despite the unexpected slump in our tourism due to the Abu Sayyaf Group, Cebu once more hit the headlines with some good news with the British Council choosing Cebu from a list of cities in the country including Davao, Manila, Silay, Vigan, Paete and Liliw. Cebu will be the second leg of the British Council’s Creative Cities Tour in Southeast Asia. The first leg was in Bandung, Indonesia early in 2017.

According to our good friend, Jay Aldeguer, the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur Awardee and a member of the core group, which is forming the Creative Entrepreneurs Network, "Cebu was chosen as a creative hub for the Philippines because of its internationally prominent creative entrepreneurs or icons such as Kenneth Cobonpue and Monique Lhuillier. Aside from that, Cebu is really poised for it given our history of successes in the arts."

Indeed, Cebuanos have been known as the Parisians of the East because of our creativity. With this program, let us hope that we won’t anymore have negative issues that would plague Cebu when this program is launched March next year.

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