UNFOLDING DRAMAS

Things are getting quite exciting in the country these days. Some interesting events are unfolding before our very eyes. First was the return of Atong Ang after several years of stay in the United States. Facing the same charges as those lodged against former President Estrada, reports say that Atong Ang has been placed in detention in a city jail. Then there was the arrest of fugitive Senator Honasan just the other day. After shrewdly eluding the Arroyo administration for almost a year, his luck has finally run out. The resources and machineries of the government have finally caught up with him. Last thing we heard is that he is at the moment confined in a hospital to undergo treatment for the injuries he sustained while attempting to escape from the police dragnet thrown against him. We are all in suspenseful animation as to what will happen next.

But these political dramas appear to pale in comparison with the forthcoming fight of what some of our countrymen have labeled as the newest Filipino hero, Manny Pacquiao. This coming November 18, 2006, he will once again enter the boxing ring to slug it out against his mortal nemesis, Morales. This is the third time that the two boxers will be facing each other. Their record stands about even, with both fighters scoring a win against the other. According to the promotional blurbs, this third fight will once and for all settle the nagging question as to who really is the better fighter between the two.

Certainly, most of Filipinos the world over will be rooting for the local icon. No doubt, though, there will still be Filipinos, who will be shouting their lungs out in support of Morales. But they will obviously be in the minority. I don't know but the number of Morales' fans might even diminish as the fight progresses on Sunday since they will be subject to the lynching of the more numerous pro-Pacquiao mob. Hehehe.

As for me, I must admit that I am all for Morales. Having declared my sentiment, I am at this early already preparing myself. I am leafing through books of karate to familiarize myself with some effective martial arts techniques that I could use to avoid or parry possible assault from rabid and overreacting Pacquiao supporters. Hehehe. Let me state for the record though that I am not being un-patriotic for throwing my support on Morales. True, he is not a countryman. But I simply have a soft heart for the underdog as what he is now in his fight with Pacquiao, where the odds are basically stacked against him.

That being said, I just want to share my observation regarding how television stations handle the broadcast of big-time fights such as the two previous encounters of Pacquiao and Morales. They unduly exploit these fights to the point that we are no longer watching a boxing fight but a marathon of product commercials. We understand that these stations need to recoup the big investments they make so that they can bring primetime fights to the reach of every household in the country. But this should not be enough reason to sacrifice the interests of the viewers. After all, we watch not because of the parade of commercials but because we want to see the fight being televised... including the fight of the Arroyo administration against Atong Ang and Senator Honasan, that is.