Sabah, Hugo Chavez and Willie Revillame

MANILA, Philippines - Social media operates in a strange cosmic way, piling Sabah, Hugo Chavez and Willie Revillame in the same news feed. And of late, the passing of Paul Bearer, who, when in kayfabe (adj. wrestling jargon for “in character, they are who they are in real life”), is the Undertaker’s personal caretaker.

To be totally honest, “Sabah” wouldn’t be in our heads if it weren’t for the mess that’s been going on down south. But what’s sad, even disturbing about it is that now that it is in our consciousness, nobody seems to be taking any action. Sabah, as far as city people are concerned, is only good for lip service. Don’t mind me if I quote myself in a post-Typhoon Pablo column, “gano’n talaga sila ro’n sa Mindanao.”

At best, the issue in Sabah has been a blame game: blame Sultan Kiram for acting so rash; blame the President for his ignorant and arrogant response; blame the President’s critics for harping on this issue “in their desperation and lack of valid issues” (does William Esposo even live in this planet?); and finally, blame the Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary for “losing (Sultan Kiram’s) letters to the bureaucratic maze.” When you think about it, it’s kind of funny in an effed-up Quentin Tarantino way.

But at worst, the conflict in Sabah has claimed more than two dozen lives. And that’s more than enough reason to start a war. In fact, the Philippine-American War “erupted” when two Filipino soldiers, walking in Sociego Street in Santa Mesa, Manila, were shot by Private William W. Greyson.

Before we jump to conclusions, nonetheless, it’s only right to put things into perspective. First of all, we have very little understanding of the goings-on in the Sultanate of Sulu. When Manileños have such vague ideas about what goes on in my own province of Agusan del Norte, what less do people here know of Filipinos living in Sabah and the culture they practice? And after examining their habits and rituals, and the continued othering of our compatriots, are we in any position to prescribe how they should live their lives, abandon Sabah and return to Tawi-Tawi (where they also get their goods from Sabah, not Manila) altogether?

While I’m not here to assert claims on who owns Sabah and who deserves to be tagged as “terrorists,” I can’t help but question how our leaders are handling this issue. If you try reading up on the conflict, you’ll only get lost in the deluge of everyone claiming their own patch of Sabah — even columnists who so rightly claim having known something nobody else seems to know. So if there’s anything we can take from this, it’s that there’s a need to bring to the fore the type of leaders we have.

 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez passed away early Wednesday morning, Philippine time. Many of us might not know of him, having no amour whatsoever for Valenzuela except in beauty pageants. Even now, in his death, Facebook doesn’t collate “posts about Hugo Chavez,” I suppose, in an attempt to keep us mindless of his contributions. But he was, in many ways, a real leader.

He made decisions only a few would have done in this neo-liberal capitalist world. While everyone in private corporations talks about owning a piece of the oil cartel and getting filthy rich, the Venezuelan government under Chavez’s guidance took control of Venezuela’s oil companies and made its people benefit from highly subsidized oil prices. Besides, doesn’t oil come from Venezuelan soil, not from the mouths of CEOs?

While everyone here is talking about “paying more for better education,” Chavez’s administration spends more than enough for its schools so that education remains free until college. Venezuela now reports one of the highest literacy rates in South America. The country also ranks ninth in the World Happy Planet Index. This is certainly no North Korean Photoshop trick.

On the other hand, we have Willie Revillame making waves once more and adding a meme to his name. On-air, he scolds Ethel Booba and Ate Gay and makes the typical “Wowowillie” outburst we’ve come to know so well. Simply put, he made a big fuss about people biting the hand that feeds them, saying, “You don’t do that to me.” While I have no love lost for Ethel Booba and Ate Gay, this was arrogance at its finest.

What we have here are two leaders in their own fields — one who serves and one who wants to be served. With the way our government is handling the Sabah issue now, labeling our fellow Filipinos as “terrorists,” it seems like our President’s serving Malaysia more than his own constituents. While I have no claim in this issue, I can’t even begin deciphering how our President can turn his back on his own countrymen.

You don’t do that to the people you govern. You just don’t. So if I may so politely ask the President, if you can’t serve your people, please resign.

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