MARITES – recently the most frequently mentioned name of a woman in all social circles, may these be among the country’s high society or those of the common folks.
It is however apparent that the name is an unfair way of attributing that particular woman’s name to personify one who is into gossip mongering or being official carrier of erroneous information. But here is one post in a social media platform which gave us some insights how MARITES evolved into a level of popularity given that these days are in an era of fake or distorted news.
According to a post shared to us by former Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chief Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana who says he is just one of those recipients of a shared post, MARITES is an acronym for Master of Arts in Relaying Information Through Exaggerated Storytelling.
Now we know that so far this is the only MARITES who has a common gender because there are as many men as there are women who could turn MARITES overnight if they happen to hear or see any incident worthy of sharing first and foremost through the tongue – Tsismis!
MARITES anyone?
********************
We have no idea if any one of us who were in our prime in the early 90s (or was it 80s?) is familiar with the line RUSTS NEVER SLEEP in one popular song during that time.
Yes of course, many of us who belong to that 80’s-90’s generation may not anymore be as familiar as we used to be when we frequently hear the song where the line “Rust Never Sleeps” was taken when this was played over the radio.
Rust, as most of us knew, comes from within the iron as cancer develops into life from within the human tissue. But even as we have no inkling that it can happen in our political system it did happen in previous administrations. There indeed are some elements from within those inside the system, or to say it in medical terms “septic” where the degree of its destruction comes in heavy for the system itself, especially those people running the government.
Say, the previous administration under former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, never made it to the headlines due to holding of profligate social affairs like birthday and Christmas celebrations. But somehow, the current one is falling to the temptation of getting into what the Malacanang tenant is trying to do his best to do away with.
Sad to say however, some persons known to be very close and is in fact walking with the President in the corridors of power are slowly coming out as the “rust” that will possibly destroy the foundation of the present administration in the nearest of future or sooner than expected.
We are referring to Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s elder sister who only very recently came to Davao City all the way from the capital region just to throw a lavish birthday party for her friends in the city and the whole of Davao Region.
She had a humongous number of guests in her list in that birthday “Bangladesh” which was held at the iconic Waterfront Insular Hotel in Sasa. The guests included provincial governors, city mayors, congressmen and congresswomen, political campaigners, known bigtime supporters and some regional heads of national government agencies in Southern Mindanao. On top of them of course are former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio.
But we are not entertaining even an iota of idea that the sister-senator of the President was spending public funds for her birthday bash. However, to throw such expensive party at this time when millions of Filipinos are suffering from the clutches of extreme poverty due to extreme high inflation is the highest form of immorality any high public official can heap on his/her country and to the Filipino people.
The lady senator may not know this. But her profligate way of probably paying some kind of “debts of gratitude” especially the support of most Davaoenos in making a Marcos comeback in Malacanang, could be the onset of the rust that will slowly gnaw the administration of her brother leading to its destruction.
