Valentines of the Pope and Lolong

MONDAY was a surprise to everyone, the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity named “Lolong” died Sunday evening, and the news only broke out the next morning. And before the day ends in the Philippines, one of the world’s revered religious leaders, Pope Benedict XVI, announced his resignation, it was daytime in Vatican.

But still, it’s Valentine’s Day this February 14th.

The cause of death of Lolong is yet to be determined through necropsy, but some people have used its death as metaphor to the politicians and government officials whose reptilian greed for power and money is far more voracious than live crocodiles, and hoping they, too, would “die” in our system. It’s a wishful thinking, but it is still lightyears away from Earth so far.

Meanwhile, after the resignation of the Pope, there was chaos – especially in the world of conspiracy theorists and occult subcultures. It was said that after the Pope’s resignation, this so-called "Petrvs Romanvs," as predicted by St. Malachy, will be the last Pope to sit in Vatican because it's going to be the end of the world for the nth time. And so what? If it ends, it ends! It's not like we're going to live forever in this earth. Sometimes these doomsayers are becoming so annoying.

But before world annihilation begins, again, it will still be Valentine’s Day today. Teenagers and young adults are becoming uneasy if they can’t find a date or someone to make that day warm, and if my theory is right, there will be again a surge of childbirths this November as the seed of Valentine’s season.

I was born in November 1986. I don’t know if it’s because of Valentine’s or because of the euphoria of the people felt that time after the success of the first EDSA Revolution, the peaceful revolt that promised change in the name of yellow confetti and banners, still remains a promise that seems so elusive to achieve.

So here comes the election season again, because Valentine’s Day will just pass by like it usually does once a year, and Lolong and the rest of its crocodile species, was innocently used as symbol for corruption and malice in the government coffers and even corporate undoing.

At least, its death will give politicians and government officials a breather that they may not be likened anymore to that dead reptile that was once a country’s pride because it’s the world’s largest so far.

(Nef Luczon is a freelance journalist and a part-time communications faculty and trainer. He is also a film and art enthusiast. Read his blog at Nefoi.blogspot.com and send comments to nefluczon@gmai.com)