Persona Non Grata? Really?

So some of you might have already heard of the news about Ramon Bautista here in Davao. I wasn't there, but apparently, he made a remark about the people in Davao being like hipon. For the clueless, it's an expression used to refer to people who have great bodies but not-so-desirable faces.

It is a derogatory remark, for sure, and I must admit it's quite offending to call someone, much more a group of people, "hipon." But I wasn't there. I'm not even sure whether he was really referring to the people or to the actual seafood hehe. However, I do understand that the joke was not tactfully delivered and RB ended up looking just rude.

But let's give the poor guy a break. I know how he must feel because there had been several times in my life when a rude remark went out of my mouth, different from what I intended to say! My motive was innocent but I ended up offending a person. That's life. We're all people. We're not perfect. I'm sure RB didn't intend to offend Davaoenos that night because, hello, what good would come out of it? He just was not thinking.

Image: inquirer.net

According to news, he already apologized to the crowd during that night. Apparently, it was not enough for people continued to lambast him. And then last night, I saw this on RB's Instagram:

And you know what? After reading that post, I no longer felt offended. In fact, I gained a new respect for the UP professor and comedian not only because of the repeat apology but also because he did not attempt to defend himself. He offered no explanation for his tactless "joke" but instead, just humbled himself and said sorry. Even when he already did say sorry. Even if he still got attacked and bullied. For me, that's courage.

I thought everything was going to be alright. However, just today, I read this news about Ramon Bautista being declared persona non grata in my city. Wait, what?! If you ask me, I think that's just unfair. He didn't commit a crime! Yes, what he did was rude and offensive, but that alone doesn't warrant a punishment as serious as not allowing a fellow Filipino enter a Philippine city. Even the mastermind of the Maguindanao massacre who infamously grinned like the Cheshire cat, before he was imprisoned, wasn't declared persona non grata!

But that's just me. I don't know anything about the law. I don't know anything about politics or how defending women's rights are is supposed to work, at least according to them.

But I know compassion and forgiveness and grace and showing them to people who least deserve them. RB was certainly not faultless, but then again, neither are we. Neither are our leaders. However, we strive to continue to show compassion, forgiveness, and grace. In my heart as a Christian, as a mother, and as a woman, that's the mark of true leadership.

I hate to see my beloved city be known as a hardhearted city that can't forgive.

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

False-Alarm Kidnapping, Firing Yaya, and Other Stories

The past weekend was Kadayawan weekend and we originally planned it to be a weekend of mindless mall-hopping and (window) shopping. But more things happened that made a supposed uneventful weekend, well, eventful!

I'll start with the regular, steady stuff before I tell you about the juicy stories, ah-key?

1. My Only Kadayawan Find

There must be something wrong with me because I am no longer excited by sales. Mas excited pa ako for book sales and garage sales hehe. So despite the many sales all over the city, unsurprisingly, this was the only thing I bought:

Montessori Letter Work

I first discovered this book in my internerd-blackhole, bookdepository.com (you're welcome), and it's unique because it uses the Montessori concepts of textured letters (Google sandpaper letters) and teaching children not letter names but letter sounds. I subscribe to these philosophies so I knew I had to get it.

In the website, it costs $11, free shipping, or around P473. It's quite pricey for a board book, and while I'm willing to invest in it, I just had to shop around. That led me to local bookstore chain, Fully Booked, that sells it for only P398! Almost P100 less! Yay!

So yesterday, first thing we did was go to Fully Booked in Abreeza and when I finally found it, I never let go. Haha!

But the best thing was that when I was paying for it, the cashier told me it was on sale, so it was now just P318! Perfect! Based on the original $11 price, I saved... do the math!

2. The "Stores" I've Been Waiting for are Finally Here!

My Kadayawan Sunday

Kadayawan's over, but I guess it's never too late to say "Happy Kadayawan," right? After all, Kadayawan means happiness. So it's, like, "Happy Happiness"? (Ano daw?)

My friends from outside Davao asked me how I spent Kadayawan weekend. Well, sad to say, I spent Friday working and keeping Yuri's feeding utensils that we don't use anymore. I spent Saturday working (my sister did get to have a VIP pass for the Coke Ambassadors show, featuring Julia Montes, Kathyrn Bernardo, Enchong Dee, and someone names Joseph Marco).

That left me with Sunday. I don't want to attend artista shows because it's so crowded and loud. Yuri hates both. We went to the what-seemed-to-be the quietest mall in the city: SM Lanang Premier. As usual. :D

So what did I do last Sunday? Let the photos do the telling.

See

Upon entering the mall, we immediately saw lines of shiny, vintage cars! At first, there were only a few people around. When we were taking photos na, biglang dumami ang tao!

Caught in the act. Good thing my mom supports my blogging - even if she doesn't know my blog! :D

Photobombed!

My favorite car! Apparently, it's everyone else's favorite car, too, so I never had a proper photo of it. :D