Que Je Pense...Une Nuit dans Le Cirque

What I Think… A night in Le Cirque

For someone as small as her, no offense, she really does know how to push the nation’s buttons, doesn’t she? You do know who I’m talking about, right? Well, for some of you, who takes longer to get what I’m trying to say, let me give you a little more clue; she got lucky the first time she got the job she has now, basically because it was SOP that she took the position of the loser she succeeded; she tried to boost her career by a live television appearance, where she basically licked her own wounds, lifted her own chair, and apologized for it. Oh yeah, and she has COMELEC officials on speed dial. Now, does it ring any bell? I thought so.

Just this past week, news of her latest trip to the U.S has been the primary headline of the nation’s newspapers and tabloids. It’s not actually a surprise, is it? I mean, she is after all the President, it’s just normal to have her trip covered by the news; It is just really laughable, to say the least, she knows that her trip would be documented in some way, and any stunt that she would pull would be critiqued. But no, she just didn’t pull up a stunt, she did it in style. Dining at the far- famed Le Cirque French Restaurant, she knew how to defame herself well; years in office might really have made a number on her; it taught her well.

For someone who can afford to dine in such an opulent establishment, one should really be successful in their professions, or if not, then probably they are heirs and heiresses to the different business tycoons that have their own little kingdoms and empires. Sure, she’s the president of the Philippines, but she’s no Oprah, the salary she gets in one month, is just about the same price as one bottle of the Krug champagne they splurged on that night, and they had 11 bottles. Amazing, right? NOT! It’s outrageous.

And it is not even comforting to know that it was just a ‘gift’ or a ‘treat’ from a fellow Filipino, how could she have enjoyed all the French dishes the menu had, while her people, who she promised to take good care of, are back in the Philippines, parched and starving, and oh, didn’t I mention, at about the same time she was sipping that sweet, crisp and clean, mellow taste of her champagne, the Philippines were still mourning over the loss of an important figure of the country. She sent her condolences, alright, while sitting at a plush couch somewhere in Atlanta. It is really embarrassing to be associated with such a hypocrite. She just can’t let a perfectly good opportunity to bump elbows with Donald Trump, didn’t she? She had to take a chance, probably she’ll see The Donald in the restaurant, and they can compare notes as to whose ego is bigger.

And probably she sits at her office, perfectly contented at what happened that night; did she even remember her promise? “I took office with a mandate to carry out a plan for the nation, since that time, I’ve focused in making the tough but necessary decisions to make up for years of economic neglect.”

Hate to take her words against her, but really? Was she able to carry this out? IS she concerned solely on the economic aspect of the country? Is that why she reiterates it as much as she can? Maybe she thinks just because she made the economy of the country her priority, doesn’t mean she can mess up and slack off in everything else.

If she did make tough and necessary decisions; I know, probably dining in a luxurious restaurant, won’t be a tough one, hell, if anyone would have had that chance, we all know that the offer wouldn’t have stood long. But then, was it necessary? For someone to accept a $20000 dinner, boy, that’s not a joke, even if it was a ‘gift’ or a ‘treat’ of a fellow Filipino, it is still not an excuse. While she savored Wild Golden Osetra Caviar, that costs about $285 an oz, didn’t she think of how many Filipino families could benefit that amount of money that can buy about 2 months worth of food and real necessities; So, they are laughing and talking about what crap they bring to society, talking about what ‘developments’ they are trying to accomplish, and while enjoying her appetizers of Wild Burgundy Escargot or Torchon of Foie Gras, did she even try to remember that while her plate costs about $50, a good amount of her countrymen back in the Philippines, would give anything and everything they have, if they would be able to get a hold of even 50 Php. But even those thoughts wouldn’t have stopped her, would it?

For her it’s just a simple gathering, a night where she can enjoy the company of her ‘so called friends’ which is better known as her ‘suck-up minions’. Geez, she’s not even worth it. People actually look up to her as some kind of an angel incarnate, just because she relieved us of a corrupt administration, but look where it brought us? It’s true, what they say, that; “small is terrible”. And she is one perfect example of that.

Well, it’s a good thing though that not all politicians are blind-sided in this whole debacle, some of them are sensible enough to realize how pompous and mercenary this whole thing is. So, she should really have enjoyed her Paupiette of Black Cod, or her Dover Sole, because, she’s really going to need to remember the taste of that one, rather than the taste, the people are going to offer her. That one’s not going to be mild, and gentle to swallow, everyone knows that this controversy would take months before mellowing down.

We all just hope that she really learns a lesson from all the stunts that she pulls, because the next time she gets a COMELEC official on speed dial, I don’t know if the Filipinos would be as forgiving. I know, that her colleagues in office are not as patient, and she has more than 3 impeachment attempts to prove that, she might want to consider that, just because she had suck up ambitious politicians who had joined her in her extravagant dinner, that’s not really an assurance that they would back her up in her sticky situations, what would she do then? Bribe them with Crème Brulee Le Cirque and Lemon Meringue Pie?

Geez, give yourselves a break Filipinos!

Don’t just sit there and let these people manipulate your country! Man up!

And in the next elections, let’s do ourselves a favor and actually vote for someone who is well deserving of that role.

JMags 08-12-09