I CAN SENSE that there is no love lost between new Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and his predecessor, Atty. Victor Rodriguez, based on his direct answers to questions thrown at him by journalists. Grapevine stories are rife but let’s not go there lest we be accused of rumor mongering.
Rodriguez said in a news story published Wednesday afternoon, “I have been ridiculed, maligned, and subjected to baseless and unfair commentaries on all conceivable platforms (I must agree with the guy!), but I take solace in the legal aphorism, ‘Men in public life may suffer under a hostile or unjust accusation; the wound can be assuaged with the balm of a clear conscience (How lawyerly, I must applaud him for that!)’.”
As a practicing communicator and a disinterested spectator, I knew from way back that Rodriguez worked his darn best for the present president to be elected. He probably worked harder than anyone else and with singular focus at that because they lost in May 2016 and didn’t want the same debacle to happen in May 2022! And then Rodriguez’s candidate won and it’s time for rewards. Alas, the reward was short-lived because he had to be removed from his post. It’s typical “laglagan.” It really happens whether you like it or not.
The first time it happens, it stings, knocks you off your feet, but the impact of a similar sting is significantly reduced in forthcoming parallel experiences. So, one can utterly say, I’ve “been there, done that.”
I think Rodriguez is pragmatic. Serving a politician, he knows that some bosses will defend you – and that’s good, but some won’t especially if a pack of hounds is ready to eat you alive, so to speak. The boss will let you go rather than risking division among his wolves and ultimately devouring him in the process. It’s too early in the day to be sucked in the squabbles right below your post. (Think “House of the Dragon”) It’s not only distasteful, but also disastrous and lacking in leadership. And his former boss is manifesting the lack this early.
On his silence about his resignation, “Rodriguez explained that his communications with the President were ‘absolutely privileged’.” So, that’s that.
***
I am curiously following the story of this popular and wealthy couple who probably has it all, and yet is about to lose their partnership – read: marriage. Methinks the woman is depressed after a failed pregnancy, and she probably needs sufficient time to heal just like any woman does. Alas, instead of properly grieving, she buries herself in work thus, losing her soul in the process.
Some would say, anyway, to find something to focus on when one is depressed but I want to argue that. I believe that when one is grieving, one’s soul is wounded. Healing should start with the soul. Immersing in work to distract you from your heartache is not helpful because it doesn’t heal the soul. I believe that a healing period is needed with loving support from friends and family. Of course, not everyone understands that. They think that just because you are laughing and smiling today, everything is okay with you. How idiotic! There is always a time for everything including grieving.
Just like this woman in our story. She smiles and laughs but deep down, I think she is heartbroken. I agree with her decision to seek a place and a space to heal. It’s important for her well-being. However, I am curious about how her partner feels about her healing journey. Isn’t he a part of it?
For now, it’s all bits and pieces, and cryptic messages which tend to be the vogue these days.
I’m not a hopeless romantic – a sentimental fool, yes – but I understand pain, grief, and heartache, so I will just wait and see for the next chapter of this riveting story to unfold.
***
For my Mum:
October 4, 2021 is my mother’s – Rosalinda Calope Lungay Sales, PhD – 21st death anniversary while October 5th is her birthday. She would have been eighty-one now. Mama was born to Pateria Calope and Crescencio Lungay in Balilihan, Bohol, the eldest among six siblings. She was an educator all her life having served at the University of Bohol and the Department of Education-Division of Bohol for nearly thirty years.
She had class, elegance, appreciation for music, culture, and the arts, a sharp eye for orderliness, administration, and organizing, a strong belief in delicadeza, and a great fashion sense. Most of all, she loved the Lord and helping others.
***
Writer can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie./PN
