Tomorrow the end of the world? Hahaha!

If those bunch of religious fanatics in the United States are right on the nose, then call this the last column I would be writing because they say that tomorrow is Judgment Day, the day of the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore, for all intents and purposes, God forbid, it is the end of the world! But can we believe these religious fanatics?

 Yes, those religious fanatics are having a caravan around the United States to join the Christian Broadcasting Ministry’s Family Radio dubbed “Project Caravan” to tell the whole world of the various doomsday scenario that have come and gone… but that this time, it’s for real! They are asking people that if you only had three months to live, what would you do? Spend time with your loved ones? But then, we don’t have three months left, but only one more day to go, because the end of the world comes tomorrow!

 I got this story because it was featured in Cable Network News (CNN), but then again, CNN features all sorts of news items, from real live high-drama stories like the Japan tsunami all the way to the absurd. I’m only writing this to tell our readers that even our Lord Jesus Christ himself openly declared that only the Father knows when the world would end.

 Apparently, some Christians have a direct contact with God the Father himself, enough to spread this news of the end of the world. If by tomorrow you are reading this column, until midnight, then you already know what old PT Barnum used to say about certain people, “There’s a sucker born every minute!” Although history buffs say that PT Barnum never said this, but then that’s another story for another day…. Hopefully!

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 When the Aquino administration came into power, it overturned practically all that the previous administration did, citing all examples that they were not good for the country. One of them was the so-called “Holiday Economics” that then Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo espoused, wherein she would lump a national holiday closer to the weekend, so people can have a three-day vacation, giving them enough reasons to head back for a respite in the provinces where they lived.

 Now all of the sudden, there seems to be an about face coming from Tourism Sec. Alberto Lim, who now believes that there is no loss in productivity by moving a holiday that falls in the middle of the week and move it to either Friday or on Monday. He says, “You are actually enticing consumers to take trips and spend their money elsewhere.” What can I say? But now they finally got what Holiday Economics is all about?

 In a somewhat related story, Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, III is blaming opinion columnists (I’m not saying that I’m included in this bunch, although I submit that I’ve been critical of PNoy because the country isn’t moving forward, simply because we haven’t seen any reforms) for the sharp decline in his approval rating. There we go again, Pres. PNoy blaming the messenger instead of his own doing or should I say for not doing anything.

 I do not doubt the honesty of Pres. PNoy and I know that he won’t steal anything from the government coffers, although he still must publicly explain why his income rose to P39 million in just a year in office. How many of us ordinary folk had a phenomenal rise in our incomes in just a year? But then again, if we columnists demand an explanation from Pres. PNoy, we end up being blamed for the decline in his approval rating.

 This reminds me of the days in ancient times when a messenger carries a message to the Emperor and hopes that the message he carries isn’t a bad one. Because if he sends a good message and the Emperor is pleased, he is wined and dined. But messengers who give messages of a defeat in war are more often than not, instantly slain! Emperors and Presidents haven’t changed much, except that columnists who bear bad tidings for the President are the ones blamed for his unpopularity!

 For instance, those people who did not vote for PNoy are telling their friends that they were right in not voting for him because he was never a performer in the Senate or in Congress. If at all, the sharp decline comes from those who voted for him who are now disillusioned for believing in his “Kung Walang Corrupt” slogan, which has not produced any results.

 To add to his woes, even if the President is honest, he has shown his incompetence by surrounding himself with new people who have no experience in running Malacañang. For instance, Ernie Maceda said, Executive Sec. Jojo Ochoa brought with him to the palace some 20 young and inexperienced Ateneo lawyers who know next to nothing about governance and don’t know anything about the economy or business. No wonder we’re stuck in neutral!

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