Old Nokias

For reasons that will become apparent soon enough, my attention was drawn to a lesser story on the front page of The Philippines STAR than the one it bannered on Monday, November 5, nor to the other stories it offered on page one. To me, personally, I found the report that Senator Gringo Honasan still uses a Nokia 3210 a more compelling read.

Actually, it was not because Honasan still uses a "jurassic" phone that made the story merit page one but the disclosure by Senate president Tito Sotto that the last-termer senator might be headed to the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

It was the seeming irony of a person rooted in the past soon about to acquire a job that dealt with the future that gave the story the kick deserving of no less than the front page of the country's leading daily broadsheet. The story brings forth a number of questions all of which can be answered positively or negatively as far as the matter of Honasan and his phone goes.

I myself will tend to declare an emphatic "SO WHAT?" in favor of Honasan. I do not think a person can be fairly judged on the basis of what type of phone he uses, not even if he is thrust into a job that immerses him in an environment that involves high technology.

The technical aspects of a job can be delegated to underlings with far superior knowhow but with far less executive authority to make important policy decisions. Honasan may not be a user of highly advanced phones but that does not mean he is incapable of understanding how to make a marriage between technology and public policy work.

Okay, so why am I sold on the idea of Honasan heading the DICT, or more precisely why I am not opposed to an idea that others may find out of sync with realistic expectations? The reason, to be honest, is simply because I myself am a user of an old Nokia phone --- not as old as Honasan's but definitely a long way off from being the smartphone even little kids have.

But I have a thing going with my Nokia --- I do not know what model it is --- that makes me feel it far superior than all the new and highly-advanced smart phones, whatever the make or brand. And that is because I once misplaced my Nokia and found it only 30 minutes later, lights flashing like crazy, underwater in a canal after my wife tried calling my number.

I snatched my Nokia from the murky depths of the canal and, mindful of the stories told by others, quickly opened it, took out the battery, dried everything and jabbed the contraption into a pile of uncooked rice where it stayed for more than a day. When I put the darn phone together again and switched it on, it did. More remarkably, it never lost a single function.