october 1, 2003 "he gave me ..."

Time really flies so fast. I have almost forgotten this column until I decided to rid my incoming tray of junk. Sayang. There were “interesting” goings-on that I failed to write about in the past three months: the F4 phenomenon and chi-novela invasion of local TV; the Jose Pidal controversy; the Kris-Joey fallout. Not that these events have become stale. On the contrary, they still offer—the latter specially—a form of escape after a hard day’s work punctuated by traffic jams and flooded streets. (Why Kris had to reveal she got STD from Joey is still beyond my comprehension). As this shocking saga of star-crossed lovers had kept the whole nation—some say even the world—glued to the TV set, it is no longer a good idea to make “sawsaw” in the issue. Sa totoo lang, nakakasuka na ‘to. After all, Kris has gone back to her regular shows, wearing her usual pa-tsarming smile.

But before leaving this issue altogether, I should say that the one thing probably that has irked me the most about this hullabaloo was the insistence by some people that Kris was a hero, as her father was a hero. One columnist even said that Kris’ revelation proved that finally, her “Aquino blood” had shown. Excuse me. In a sense, that is good for the Cojuangco side of her family. I guess they are relieved that Kris’ coming out was not being branded as a “Cojuangco” trait. If you ask me, the only blood that was evident in Kris’ expose was that of her dancing (remember the impeachment days?) aunt, Tessie Aquino-Oreta.

I also have misgivings about Cory’s outburst that had Ninoy been alive, Joey would surely be dead by now. Sure, Joey would earn Ninoy’s ire, but so would Kris. (How often had we heard people say, before this controversy broke out, that Ninoy might have turned in his grave when his bunsoy got entangled with married men). So I guess it’s not entirely accurate to say that “patay si Joey pag nagkataon!” For me, the better expression for Ninoy’s wrath had he been alive today to witness her favorite daughter’s latest scandal would be: “Patay kang bata ka!”