Of Fat Cells and Philippine Politics

"We all know that fat cells multiply when we eat more than we burn," my sister said as she began her pep talk over breakfast of soy milk shake mixed with bee pollen and flax seeds. On the other side of the table was our brother who was enjoying his pancakes with generous amount of butter and strawberry syrup, and a side of bacon.

"Now listen to this new theory," she said, moving on to her point. "According to recent Swedish research the number of fat cells our bodies contain is set in childhood and can not be changed later in life. As people gain or lose weight, their fat cells swell and shrink, but do not change in number." Hence, the need for liposuction, haha. (Will Taft.com)

Well, I could have ignored my sister's gospel truth about fats. After all, one of my objectives in flying back home on my vacation was to reorient my taste buds with no nonsense Filipino cuisine. However, after a couple of days of systematically going through 3 kilos of sineguelas, I needed to go to the gym.

I wiggled into a pair of gym shorts. My sister's other theory about wearing tight gears is that it shows you where your problem areas are. 

It only took a few minutes to drive through that stretch of road from Nichols interchange to Fitness First at the Fort.

"Oops! I forgot. They don't open until 8 am on Saturdays," she said. Of course, they do have a life outside the gym.

"Come, we have another hour to spare so let me take you to the organic market."  So off we drove to the other side of Edsa in Salcedo.

It looked like Union Square in New York City on a Saturday morning. The market showcased everything good to eat from organic tropical fruits like duhat to some typical Filipino delicacies like pastillas de leche made of carabao's milk, and suman with a healthy twist. (Filipinos are very trendy this way.)

"We use only the highest grade of sticky rice to make those," the vendor said about his suman. "And we make it with millet seed. I suggest you check out Ezekiel 4:9 of the Bible. It preached about its health benefits to the Jews as an essential ingredient of the leavened bread."

He gave me a slice to taste and sealed the deal. I walked out with a basketful, past the stall with a head of an organic suckling pig that just got out of the deep fryer. (I sort of realized how the RH Bill could be politically correct to some Filipinos, including PNoy.)

After a shot of this green concoction of wheat grass that was supposed to boost our energy, we headed on to the gym. I must admit that I have been so out of shape after hibernating in winter that I could only manage to walk on the treadmill. In front of us, outside the glass window of the gym, was a building under construction, one of the many sprouting like mushrooms in what they now call Global City, (I would not mind if the government gave all our tax money to Ayala to develop the whole country.)

"Just drop me off at my dentist and then you can drive my car back home," my sister said after we showered. "You can have a massage at home."  (Objective # 2, check.)

As soon as I got home, I found a copy of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in the living room. The headlines read, "Diokno suspension sought." Convicted of murder, former Governor Leviste is supposed to be languishing in jail. However, he has this "living out" arrangement at the New Bilibid Prison. He allegedly abused it.

I tell you, one thing good about the Philippines is the abundance of things to write about like this oxymoron, "living out" of prison.

The thing that got my acid going was this headline that read, "Ping's RH Bill to reward couples with two kids." Yeah, right. After fleeing and avoiding a warrant of arrest, Lacson is back in the Senate. I wonder what the technicalities were behind the quashing of the alleged murder case against him. It had so much probable cause that it made him run away and hide.

Wait a minute. Isn't running away as a fugitive a crime in itself?  Then why is he given a chance to pass laws that he allegedly broke several times before?  He would make good company to former Gov. Leviste, at least to keep him inside.
 
After reading all this nonsense, I was not surprised to read "Chinese mining firms skirt PH laws." The author wrote, "China has put on its menu thousands of hectares of mineral-rich in the Philippines to feed its appetite for metals but with barely a regard for the environment or for Philippine laws, according to a report by a multinational research firm."

You cannot blame the Chinese. They know that everything and everyone's for sale. They operate on the notion that, with money and power, they can get away with murder in the Philippines. I say it is only a matter of time before our country loses its sovereign state.

Finally after seeing "Wasn't just me, says bus driver in fatal crash" that killed journalist Chit Estella-Simbulan, I decided to put the paper down.

Dirty politics like fatty cells is here to stay. That is unless those erring government officials get sucked out of the system.