HE WAS and still is dubbed as the (supreme) photo-bomber. But in the life of President Rodrigo Duterte he is more than what anybody could imagine he is. Heads of states as well as the ordinary hoi polloi who want to talk to or seek the former mayor of Davao City and now President of the Philippines has to first talk to Christopher T. Go before getting to his boss.
Short wonder why he gets the enviable privilege to have selfies with heads of states. In first encounters they would always recall the name of Bong Go, the President's all around man... private secretary, runner, sub-memory data bank, the gate keeper and everything.
Bong, as we all call him, fits his job to the T. The most intimate person to the President but nary a hint would one hear him take pride of that enviable post. His lips is almost perpetually zipped when it comes to matters involving the President, politics and his own role as Presidential Assistant (with a rank of secretary) and head of the Presidential Management Staff. The only time he bares himself is when he dons his basketball uniform. Bong is a mean basketball player.
But don't mistake Bong's extremely reserve mien for anything less than what he is. He is a graduate of Business Management from La Salle University. That should explain why he systematically imbibes and manages the voluminous data which he could dish out on the spot when Duterte asks one.
How he handles calls and SMS from more than 6,000 daily callers and texters is a wondrous mystery.
In less than two years on his present job he has travelled to all nooks and crannies of the country than any of the incumbent senators. And like his boss he has been in places where most of the senators fear to trek. He learned his lessons in politics the hard way and yes you can bet ... he learned this hands on.
He is neither a movie star nor a son of a famous name. But his name Bong Go resonates with Digong Duterte. Maybe just the only thing he hasn't learned is the litany of expletives that his boss is quite famous with.
But I have known Bong up close. Simple, extremely polite and, like his boss, he is a very compassionate man.
I have gone this length writing about Bong's persona. I have to admit I was beaten into it by the rabid opposition and Rappler's Pia Ranada who thought that placing the most intimate man to the President in the senate grand inquisition to answer questions about his alleged involvement in the frigate deal would earn them a slam dunk. Bong only spoke of the truth and he was unflinching. He became extra famous. From then on Bong became his own man. His boss, the President, is really proud of him and so are we.
Stranger Things
With apologies to the Netflix hit series bearing the same title, I present the strange times we are living in.
A criminal walks free, even if he has confessed of his wrong of selling drugs. This is called due process.
A young activist integrating with farmers in Negros is arrested by soldiers and paraded to media (and social media) as an NPA. Paraffin tests revealed she did not fire a single shot from the rifle displayed by the soldiers beside her. This is called peace and order.
A 13 year old boy in Tondo was shot by a hooded man. The boy died. A police admitted to the crime but said the gun went off by accident. Life is no accident. This state is no accident as its believers cheered this war.
Meanwhile, a Lumad school teacher in Trento was forced by soldiers to join farmers to appear on video, and say they have surrendered as NPA and are grateful for the soldiers saving them. We must wonder now about this recent parade of surrenderees and their meals at Malacanang is really a parade of sorts with no truth.
Eight other teachers and 12 students in Talaingod preparing for their moving up event were detained by soldiers and the paramilitary this Monday, reports the Save Our Schools Network. Their bags were searched, their faces photographed. Is this tokhang Lumad style?
A TV station fancies Baganis as a work of fiction. The government accuses around 20 indigenous peoples leaders in Mindanao and in Cordillera as CPP terrorists.
These times are stranger than fiction, when the wicked run free because the good people are being chased out.
tyvelez@gmail.com