Roderick ayaw tantanan ng mga kalaban sa politika; pilit sinisira

ENOUGH of the consoling messages addressed to Roderick Paulate, we’re not about to rub in the emotional pain caused by the loss of his sister Amelia.

Kahit naman kasi can relate to what the QC alderman is going through, salubungin ba naman ng kanyang pamilya ang 2019—not with a collective optimism—kundi ng napakalungkot na pangyayari?

Without the divine intervention, Kuya Dick would have probably wanted that his sis go on with her life kesa makitang magkaroon ng katuparan ang kanyang political dream.

He’s seeking a vice mayoral seat sa darating na eleksiyon. And as we all know—and has been reported—kinasuhan si Roderick on charges of hiring ghost employees.

As though hindi pa ito ang ganap na makapagpapasaya sa kanyang mga kalaban out to destroy him, lumulutang din ang balitang may halagang kapalit umano ang kanyang pag-atras.

Kuya Dick’s long-standing friendship with Vilma Santos may provide an outright NO answer sa mga alegasyong ito.

Without a scintilla of doubt, nagsilbing inspirasyon sa kanyang politikal na ambisyon si Ate Vi kay Roderick. A role model that Ate Vi has been, maging ang magandang record na naitala nito—bereft of any trace of corruption—ang motivating factor ng Konsehal ng QC.

Kung sana man lang ay maituturing na so-so actor si Dick, we’d be inclined to think na wala siyang ibang fallback kundi pumasok sa politika.

Had Dick also been a showbiz celebrity na walang “something” sa pagitan ng kanyang dalawang tenga, isa pa kami marahil ang mag-uudyok na sige, may karir sa politika.

Real talk lang. Getting into politics seems to be a convenient career path para sa ilang artista whose showbiz stars have dimmed or are starting to lose brightness.

Hindi kabilang dito si Roderick who has a lot going sa kanyang showbiz career. At kahit—for the sake of argument—ay ginamit niyang pantawid ang pagiging Konsehal, pinatunayan niya—kundi man iniangat ang imahe ng mga artistang sa pulitika rin lang pala babagsak.

Ewan, pero there’s something about Roderick Paulate that has drawn him to us. Dahil pareho ba kami ng birth month? Dahil ba hindi kami nagkakalayo ng edad?

Or simply tahimik lang kaming tagahanga niya? The latter is more like it.

Harapan o talikuran, our strong admiration goes out to this day, noon pang “maliit” (lumaki ba?) pa siya, as a child actor.

“Alkitran Dugo” (based on the novel The Lord of the Flies) pa, sa direksyon ni Lupita Concio, kung saan isang kasumpa-sumpang survivor siya sa plane crash, namin hinangaan si Roderick.

Ang paghangang ‘yon had later spilled over in a good number of his gay portrayals on the big screen (ang pinakahuli yata ay sa Dead Na Si Lolo directed by the late Soxy Topacio).

Bilang host, matalino rin kasi si Roderick. Isang well-rounded na tao who we would always have wanted to make even casual tsikahan with, but there’s hardly any chance.

Still in mourning over the loss of his sister, we pray that Roderick will wake up one morning na sisilay muli ang ngiti sa kanyang buhay with a great deal of optimism.

He deserves it, after all.