‘For one moment, the hope of this troubled nation had shifted from the lavish gathering of leaders of the Republic at the grand Batasang Pambansa before a President declaring the good he has done for his still suffering people to a sparse sports arena in Tokyo.’
IT was a dismal afternoon made drearier by the very disappointing SONA of President Duterte. The main theme would have been a nationwide recovery plan from the pandemic and intensified government efforts against the Delta variant.
We would think the President instead was locked in a “bubble” as he rambled on in the longest and, thankfully, his last SONA shielded from the reality of death and doom. His own close ally, Sen. Koko Pimentel, bristled with seeming disgust over Duterte virtually ignoring the economic and financial condition of the country no one seemed able to lift us up from.
Atty. Lorna Kapunan was absolutely right when she posted on FB: “Hidilyn Diaz did not just lift the 127kg at the Tokyo Olympics. She lifted up the entire nation!” Suddenly, the whole nation was up on its feet, rejoicing and, if only the health protocols had permitted, out in the streets.
For one moment, the hope of this troubled nation had shifted from the lavish gathering of leaders of the Republic at the grand Batasang Pambansa before a President declaring the good he has done for his still suffering people to a sparse sports arena in Tokyo. There, singlehandedly, a 30-year-old sergeant of the Philippine Air Force mustered “everything” she’s got to give our nation its historic and much-coveted place in Olympic and world history — a deep renewal indeed to bestow our enduring trust on the virtues of the ordinary Filipino instead of on the wealth and fortunes of those who have so much but give little to this country.
But Hidilyn must similarly rise to the noble fabric of her newly-found stately being at the height of this pandemic, and over and above her love for the sports she holds so dear, she must show and demonstrate her abundant support for the rest of her countrymen who mean much more to her and caught in the fierce battle against this deadly virus. We thank the Good Lord for creating that moment for her and her country, breaking the dark and doom.
