Broken promises

By Alex P. Vidal

“A promise made is a debt unpaid.” – Robert W. Service

WE are not Einsteins, Mozarts or Newtons but we are good at remembering historical events, especially promises—including broken promises—made by famous characters in government.

We have been constantly reminded not to make promises if can’t keep them.

It’s always risky to make a promise in any situation because circumstances change and not all promises can be kept — not even in sickness and in health.

We must always remember life is unpredictable, circumstances change and we don’t know what the future holds. Making promises can give both ourselves and our loved ones a false sense of hope.

We can’t forget 39 years ago when the late Mrs. Corazon Aquino, the country’s first woman president, famously used the price of galunggong, considered the “poor man’s fish” in the Philippines, as a barometer of the country’s economic hardship under the previous Marcos Sr. regime.

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The price of the fish however increased dramatically after she took office in a bloodless EDSA People Power uprising, from around P6 per kilo after the 1986 revolution to as much as P20 per kilo during her administration.

The broken promise led to criticism that the mother of future President Noynoy Aquino had failed to address poverty and improve the common Filipino’s life. And we don’t forget until this moment.

Now comes President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr or BBM to his followers.

He and his laway (saliva) subalterns, the Remulla brothers —Jonvic and Jesus Crispin—made a promise to Filipinos to jail barracudas in the flood control project anomalies in the persons of senators, cabinet officials, congressmen, and even DPWH top honchos before Christmas day 2025.

We are now a whiff away from 2026 and all they could parade in public is the weakling Sarah Discaya and several DPWH rodents.

Jim Rohn once said, “For every promise, there is a price to pay. If the promise is clear, the price is easy.”

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The bedazzling saliva (laway) brothers lording over the Department of Justice and Office of the Ombudsman have become the president’s albatrosses, just in case many of us haven’t noticed it yet.

When Mr. Marcos Jr. lost (he let him ago) his administration’s most admired official in the person of former PNP chief and now Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Nicolas Torre in favor of DILG Secretary Jonvic (Jonvic and Torre had a silent rift), the president’s popularity started to decline.

No wonder Mr. Marcos Jr.’s popularity continued to nosedive based on the latest SWS survey.

Instead of promise, why not make agreements which are awesome? Two or more people agree on a set of rules and conditions in an agreement.

If the agreement is broken by one of the parties, then they take the blame, however if the agreement is broken by some outside force, it is no fault of either party.

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On December 28, 2011, I will visited cancer patient Lorna Tolentino (not the Pinay actress) at the Burnaby General Hospital in Burnaby City, British Columbia. She was dying of ovarian cancer. It was my three straight Christmas in Canada and third meeting with a cancer patient scheduled to join the Creator.

In December 2009, I visited a 27-year-old female caregiver at the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver and interviewed her before she died. In December 2010, I visited another 27-year-old male patient in the same hospital before he died. My Christmas in Canada has been always dedicated to dying cancer patients. Bless their souls, oh Lord.

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OUR ABILITY TO BUILD MUSCLES. Thirty grams of protein are needed to maximize our body’s ability to build muscles. University of Texas Medical Branch scientists found that eating 30 grams of protein at one meal helps muscle growth as much as taking in 90 grams does. Let’s try smaller meals (3 to 4 hours apart) for a more efficient approach to repairing our muscles.

WHAT SCARES THE AIR FORCE. A pair of binoculars and a cellular phone can threaten modern warplanes. In 1999, Serbian airplane spotters watched U.S. aircraft leave an airbase in Italy. The spies alerted anti air-missile battery crews in Serbia to aim their long-wavelength radar overhead, enabling the crews to destroy a stealth F-117A nighthawk.

ANTHROPOMIMETIC MACHINES. No matter how closely a robot resembles a human on the outside, if we crack it open, the jumble of wires is unlikely to bear much resemblance to our insides. A group of European researchers aims to bridge that gap–its robot prototype is anthropomimetic, meaning it mimics the human form.

WE AND OUR NEIGHBORS. Some of the main reasons why our relationship with our neighbors–rich or poor– has always been chaotic and hostile are:  A. Envy (both parties) B. They know our dark secrets (vice versa) C. Jealousy (both parties) D. Territorial dispute. Some people are always uncomfortable when they see their friends talking to their neighbors.

OUR TIMELINE. Some of our important choices have a time line. If we delay a decision (to get married, to work abroad, to transfer residence, to change career, etc) the opportunity is gone forever. Sometimes our doubts keep us from making a choice thus an opportunity may be missed. Let’s think, decide and move!

Christmas is a season of love and forgiveness. So even if we are not aware of it, holding a grudge against someone who has done wrong cripples us. Our energy is consumed by hatred and ill-feelings rather than being spent on worthwhile endeavors. Better to forgive but don’t forget. In my case, I WILL NEVER FORGET (including their names).

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)