What if they had told Mr. Obama that…
Would’ve it helped had US President Barack Obama been informed what the main course—red dotted lapu-lapu—during the Philippine state dinner in his honor was honestly all about?
Wouldn’t the American chief of state be doubly delighted to know that the delicious seafood course took its name after the fearless Lapu-Lapu, who killed invader Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan?
Remarked Mr. Obama: “There is our mutual obsession with basketball. There is our mutual admiration for Manny Pacquiao, even if sometimes his fight against Americans doesn’t turn out the way we’d like.”
Was it, therefore, a result of honest oversight that Pacquiao, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, was not among the guests that also included a former President who had been jailed for plunder, and a serial coup plotter, together with his shameless immediate master?
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What stood out during Mr. Obama’s Philippine visit was his infectious stage presence.
The man is a sprightly performer, and two times a consummate speaker.
He’s a great stickler for details, offering to twist his tongue in order to come out with the correct pronunciation of his host’s name.
He amused by spicing his speeches with native terminology, like “kalooban”; while affirming his delight over adodo and lumpia, thanks to the expertise of a Filipino chef at the White House.
Mr. Obama undoubtedly did his homework.
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Naturally, he paid glowing tribute to the martyred Ninoy Aquino and People Power heroine Corazon Aquino, parents of his host, President Noynoy Aquino.
By the way, was President Obama ever informed that President Aquino himself had been seriously wounded in one bloody coup attempt against his mother, the beloved President Cory?
There were many other tales of Filipino heroism that would’ve warmed the heart of the US President.
Take for example that of swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, winner of the Philippines’ first Olympic medal (bronze, Amsterdam 1928), who was wounded and who died in the Japanese war as an officer of the Philippine Scouts.
Yldefonso showed the world what genuine Filipino gallantry was all about when he refused safe passage (from wounded incarceration) by preferring to keep close to his comrade-in-arms before dying of war wounds.
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As for true valor, it goes without saying President Aquino, maybe one of the hottest fighters among world leaders today, is engaged in a killing task on two fronts in his country: against corruption and poverty.
Wasn’t it President Aquino’s father, Ninoy, who said that, “The Filipino is worth dying for”?
Thanks to Ninoy Aquino, also to President Cory, now to President Noynoy.
President Obama has obviously realized in his brief visit here what they have been saying that, yes, the noble Filipino knows how to die.
