The King is dead: Postscript

From the Philippine Star, December 16, 2004

EDITORIAL – Decency
The Philippine Star 12/16/2004

In the movies he consistently played the hero, and the image stuck. Fernando Poe Jr., "Da King" of Philippine movies, is getting a hero’s farewell from the millions who idolized him. There was more to Poe, however, than a mere screen image. Those who have known him swear by the genuine decency of the man. Off-screen, Ronald Allan Kelley Poe was a true hero to many, friend and stranger alike. Colleagues in the movies speak of his readiness to help, of his philanthropy where the main requirement was that he remained anonymous. He elicited fierce loyalty from those whose lives he had touched. While beloved of the masses, Poe failed to translate that affection into votes – although he was still contesting the election results at the time of his death. It is said that he died of heartbreak due to his ill-fated venture into politics, but the nation will ne-ver know. Always intensely private, Poe kept to himself throughout his campaign. The privacy enhanced his myth in the silver screen, but it was disastrous for a politician. In the aftermath of the elections he withdrew even further into himself. If he harbored ill feelings toward anyone, the public will never know. Poe did not speak ill of either friend or foe; the rare times that he criticized his main rival for the presidential race, it came off with great reluctance. By many accounts Poe had tried to inject something new in Philippine politics. It was said that if he ever won, he wanted to be beholden to as few individuals or interest groups as possible, so he could go-vern unencumbered by political debts. There were reports that he initially preferred to spend his own money for his campaign, turning down many proffered donations. When an entrenched system of patronage politics proved too much for him, Poe bowed out of the political limelight with grace. Always the decent gentleman, he refused to indulge those agitating him to lead street protests, preferring to take his case to the courts. He had fought the good fight and that was enough.

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This is the editorial from the Philippine Star (www.philstar.com), a Philippine newspaper, dated December 16, 2004

The King is dead.

FPJ, Fernando Poe Jr., is dead. He was 65. He was "Da King" to many Filipinos. A hero worshipped by the poor and downtrodden.

FPJ always played the role of the hero of humble origins. The heroes'names changed but the roles never did. FPJ's characters almost never swore, was always respectful, was always hard-working. And always poor. His foes never changed too. They were always powerful, always rich and always throroughly corrupt and evil. FPJ was the Filipino Hercules in celluloid mythology.

I guess he felt that he had to carry that burden, that mythology with him. His run for the Philippine presidency was mostly because he felt he had to "save" the nation. I never felt that he was duplicious during the campaigning, only that he was duped by his handlers and his "best friend". If sincerity alone can save the nation, then I believe the Philippines would have become a superpower under his presidency.

There were times I despised him, specially during the last presidential elections. I hated him for having the charisma to command the loyalty of simple folk but lacked the vision to really lead. He was the one being led, I'm afraid, to an end I can only suspect.

My sadness about FPJ and the Filipino people is that they, both of them, never saw the truth of his, FPJ's, movies. The truth in his movies is that any man can be a hero. The movie-goers only saw the superhumaness of FPJ's character, the unmatched fighting skills. FPJ never played a lesser hero, one who can be physically beaten by his foes yet emerges victorious by determination, highlighting the determination required to be truely victorious. In this way, the Filipino psyche was made poorer. The Filipino psyche never matured enough to see that the hero never came from the outside, never saw that the hero came from within. That one man became a hero by his choice. Therefore any and every man (and woman) becomes a hero by choosing to be heroic.

The sadness caused by his death is infectious and I am touched by it despite never being a fan of FPJ. I never saw FPJ as an idol with feet of clay. I saw him as a jar of clay filled with the same pneuma in all of us. Now that clay jar is broken and the pneuma is set free. The King is dead but FPJ is set free.

I find comfort in that.

Christmas? Bah, humbug!

It's a wonder to me why total strangers would suddenly ask you for a Christmas gift. It's part of the local custom here.

Just yesterday, a customer at my shop suddenly asked for his Christmas gift. I could only smile and jokingly say "we're Muslims", which obviously we're not. This is a person I've never met outside of a business relationship through the shop. Granted it is local custom here to give customers calendars or knick-knacks for Christmas, but shouldn't they wait for it to be offered first?

Purchasers from other companies have been sending or faxing notes requesting that you contribute to their Christmas party in cash or kind. As Christmas gets closer and closer, messengers and delivery men start asking for their Christmas gift or tips.

Sometimes I feel that these requests are actually disguised extortion. I really hate the hypocricy of Christmas.

Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too.