Of Pacman, Marquez, Simbang Gabi and RH Bill

This would be not a typical post that some of you (well if I do have readers you know) may expect. In fact, I might say that this is a rant of sorts for the week that was and the week that will be.

See I already am out of sorts. Blame it on thesis defenses here and there, holiday rush, sports rush, bum rash, errr maybe not that one. I haven’t slept for like forever. A really good sleep and not just some two hour rush nap or what. I know this is one problem most writers have, sleepless nights. But I am bound to catch a virus and not function properly, brain or otherwise, when I don’t have sleep.

But what about Manny Pacquiao’s sweet, dreamless, two-minute nap? Boy was he caught good. I’m not going to ridicule him for it. Marquez caught him and caught him good. Kumbaga, sumuntok sa buwan itong si Marquez at pinalad ng husto at tumama, ayun, parang kahoy na tumumba si Pacman. I can’t deny Marquez even if he acted like a douchebag in trying to land fights with Pacman.

He’s good. He’s terribly good.

Watching Marquez is watching a boxing clinic a shade under probably the best there is in terms of skills in Floyd Mayweather Jr. I’m no fan of Floydie, but I sure am one big damn fan of that ungoldy reaction instincts, basic skills and killer timing. Sweet science as my good friend and fellow writer Christian Jacinto (go check out his post-PacMarquez fight here at Unblogged) says it. The guy came really prepared to take down Pacquiao without resorting to score cards. It was no lucky punch either even if I consider it still as a suntok sa buwan.

It was all calculated.

Just pure sweet science.

If there’s a positive to take away from it, well, Manny’s up and about and back to his old fiery self. That’s the Pacquiao I knew, we knew, the world knew and Mexicans feared. Only two Mexican warriors were skilled enough to pull a win from the Philippine Tornado (as I loved to call him for being a whirling dervish of fists) in the ring. Erik Morales (my all-time favorite Pacman opponent) and of course El Dinamita with a punch of a lifetime. But hey, he needed four fights to thoroughly study Pac and finally be able to beat him.

Whatever happens, there can only be Manny Pacquiao.

The man who conquered eight divisions. The man who held linear belts.

Our fighting pride, no matter what his religious views may be, which brings me to my next point.

***

Religion.

More specifically, now that the RH Bill has passed into the third reading, the hard liners are taking matters worse.

It’s one of the reasons I wrote this smorgasbord of thoughts at around 6 a.m., coming from the first day of Misa De Gallo. See, our little chapel was graced by the presence of Rev. Bishop Antonio R. Tobias of the Diocese of Novaliches, where I currently hole myself up.

All the hoopla surrounding a bishop saying mass for a little community are warranted. But hey, this “holy and venerable” man turned what was supposed to be the celebration of the third week of Advent into a political joint, promoting the circular he authored in preparation for tomorrow’s final reading on the RH Bill.

He ranted against homosexuals in his homilies.

He turned a law into a supposed “Battle between God and Satan.”

It really got under my skin. I woke early just so I could enjoy Misa de Gallo once more and this bigot instead wrecks it. One day you’ll turn to ash, bishop, one day.

How about this: “Those who will vote NO against the passing of the RH Bill will be remember by us catholics come election period, including all the good senators who will vote against it or will be absent. We will not forget you. Those who will vote YES, you’ll be all blacklisted.”

Those were his exact words.

Can you imagine the stupidity, idiocy and bigotry I had to suffer on the first day of Simbang Gabi at that? It was totally unnerving.

In essence, he was bribing the politicians, goading them, that if they want to stay in power, they must cooperate with the church. Wait, didn’t Jesus preach against bribing? Yeah? Touche’! So instead of scaring them with excommunication as the priests were wont to do back in the day, Tobias is now scaring them out of their seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Just when I thought the Philippines was progressing as a nation of free thinkers and rapidly growing (at least as I see it) economic standing, here’s a bigot standing in our way, being a huge ass and acting like a kid.

May you burn sir.

May you burn.

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