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BY OSCAR CRUZ
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Saturday, January 21, 2017
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“MABUHAY!” does not only mean have a long life, enjoy life, celebrate life. Much less it is only intended as a courtesy greeting to foreign visitors and guests.
Yes, it also means have a long happy blessed life. But joyfully shouted specially among Filipinos themselves, it also means “congratulations” for a work well done, for a mandate well-executed, for a mission well-fulfilled.
Hence, here goes: Mabuhay! to public officials concerned for having prepared and duly instructed their subordinates concerned. Mabuhay! to the policemen and other lawmen for having accomplished their commitment admirably well. Mabuhay! to the medical teams for their ready and quick response to a good number of individuals who needed immediate healing and caring attention! And a special Mabuhay! to those in-charge of keeping lives safe from downright killers!
All the above acclamations have reference to the recently concluded annual feast – its intricate preparation, its complicated arrangement and elaborate precautions – of the very famous Feast of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo.
The mere mention of the annual celebration immediately brings to mind the millions of Filipinos who will not allow practically anything to stop them from joining the occasion – all advisories to the contrary notwithstanding. Never mind if they sweat it out much, if they get hurt one way or another, if they experience some hunger and thirst in the course of the “Translacion” – the transfer of the Image from one specific place to its Quiapo home. What is important is for them to remain alive in order to once again join the event next year.
This year, the celebration had a marked – ominous, odious, treacherous – danger: deadly triggered bombs. Where are they? How many are they? How mortal are they? No one knew.
There was, however, one thought and belief that seems credible enough, viz., that the said bombs could in fact be implanted here and there by terrorists – be these home-grown or somehow imported.
So it was that the said “Translacion” became identified one way or another with death for those who took part therein. In fact, it was precisely on account of the said death threat through bomb explosions that cell-phone signals – that covered a rather big area in Metro Manila – were in fact done away with for some time, in view of the yearly celebration. Thank God the day safely begun, safely celebrated, safely ended.
Now, one rather significant, quite complicated and already determined event comes to mind. This: The forthcoming “Miss Universe” event to be soon held in the country – with its celebratory episodes scheduled to be held in the country to entertain the candidates and to inform the world, not to mention another angle of the event, viz., to advertise the Philippines.
So it is that the concerned and competent public officials are once again called upon and duly assigned to secure everybody concerned and everything relevant to the said forthcoming episode with big universal implications.
The mere mention of the word “Universe” in one way or another means just that, viz., the world will be watching how the Philippines does the job. So it is that the public security people have no choice but to do their job well – very well. Otherwise, even if but one serious if not mortal episode takes place, the Philippines as a whole could be censured if not damned the world over./PN
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