NO one could accuse this local government official of lacking delicadeza. He waited a good two years after his wife’s death to re-marry. So tongues should not be wagging.
But contrary to what the official hoped, the grapevine is abuzz with news of the official’s second trip down the aisle: 1) because people love to talk about public figures and just about anybody with more interesting lives; 2) because the official kept it secret until now, even though the wedding took place a few months before the May 2013 elections, where the politician got elected into a new post; 3) because he married a former subordinate very much younger than him.
Of course, there are talks that the official and his new wife have been having a relationship even while the man’s wife was still alive.
Off air, off the record
A spokesperson of a government agency has resigned, severing ties with a department she has worked with for many years.
Some people speculated that the spokesperson found a better-paying job somewhere. But someone told the Bzzzzz that she has grown tired of echoing her superiors’ explanation on why and how assistance to calamity-hit areas took forever to reach beneficiaries.
Can take heat
Cebu is thousands of miles away from the US where the National Basketball Association 2014 finals are being held. But the distance can’t stop Cebuanos, and many Filipinos for that matter, from being interested in the match championship battle between Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.
A local government executive in Cebu expressed his interest by putting up a P30,000-bet on his favorite team during the first game. His colleagues expressed the same enthusiasm. As the finals follow the best-of-seven scheme, one can only speculate how big the bets would become during the last game.
Fiscal management
A taxi driver caught in a traffic jam lamented how congested the roads get on paydays that fall on Fridays. He noted that traffic is heaviest on roads leading to malls.
“Mora og nagkabuang ang mga tawo og gasto sa ilang sweldo (People are in a frenzy to spend their wages),” he said, adding that malls know exactly how to take advantage of the situation by having a sale.
“Ugma, wa nay kwarta so di na kaayo daghan taw sa mall. Ang moadto nalang kay katong daghan jud kaayo’g kwarta (Tomorrow, their money will be gone so fewer people will be at the mall. The remaining few are those who are truly wealthy),” the outspoken cab driver said.
The cabbie, obviously, is not very familiar with credit cards, which enable people to purchase stuff even if they have no cash.