THE banker attended Martha Stewart’s lecture (at R35,000 a pop for the best seats), but the selfie he took was with Mayor Isko Moreno. Six ladies dined around a table, four of them from Makati and two from Quezon City, with no one to represent Manila; they confessed to being fans of Isko.
“I like him,” confessed the chairman of the group. She described how the newest rock star on the national scene charmed the people in the building as soon as the two of them stepped out of the elevator: “Every two steps was interrupted by fans asking for a photo op.” Not to be outdone in the charm department, the lady – she who pays her personal and corporate taxes to Mayor Abigail Binay – asked how she could help Yorme (that’s mayor pronounced backward) in the greening of Manila.
For that is where Isko is now. Repainting the scene green to remove the gray of steel, cement, and carbon fumes. Whenever I pass Arroceros Park (or Forest?), I am amazed that through the car window I can see a part of the park clearly, where long ago it had been completely covered by the gray and grime of merchandise hawked by ambulant vendors. Suddenly there’s a breath of green in the air – trees and grass, a metal gate, a fence with slender metal bars that allowed a see-through view of the park (or forest?).
And it’s just meters away from City Hall.
On the pretext of doing research, I woke up early last Monday to check out Divisoria. As expected, the trip going there was lighter, easier with few road obstructions (except for an excavation that’s been going on since forever on Legarda street). Once on Recto, lo and behold, it was a whole new world, or almost, before my eyes. Except for tricycles – would removing them be a sign of an anti-poor mayor? – and one or two stubborn vehicles parked (overnight?) on Masangkay, the traffic flowed.
Going out of 168 was a breeze, where before it took 15 minutes to wriggle out to Recto. At 1:30 p.m. the all-clear, no-traffic was neither a joke nor an illusion. Boysie Villavicencio, you and your amigas may now safely schedule your picnic to Divi. There’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s unarmed and about to disarm you.
