Ricky Razon to upgrade Rizal Memorial stadium

Business tycoon Enrique “Ricky” Razon Jr. has offered to redevelop the 82-year-old Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, noting that the historic sports landmark now “stands derelict” and is a sad reminder of the country’s old glory days in sports. Those familiar with the RMSC say the facilities need a lot of improvement, especially the quarters for the athletes as well as the training areas that have become unsuitable and obviously not up to par with modern standards.

Under Ricky’s proposal, the 10-hectare complex will undergo a massive “urban renewal” complete with modern facilities that would be suitable for training athletes and holding big sports competitions. Knowing the historical value of the RSMC to Filipinos, the plan calls for the preservation and fortification of the RMSC façade. Aside from a sports museum, modern office buildings and commercial areas will also be constructed, with green open spaces also incorporated in the design.

Of course, Ricky is a La Sallite through and true, having obtained his business administration degree from De La Salle University. Obviously, he is familiar with the iconic Rizal stadium where many basketball games between Ateneo and La Salle were held. Everyone is familiar with the intense rivalry between the Green Archers and the Blue Eagles that started during the NCAA days when Ateneo had its campus in Padre Faura.

Over the years, the rivalry has escalated, especially during the 1970s when “rumbles” or fights would also erupt between students from the two all-boys schools – during and after a game. In fact, organizers had to separate the areas for the blue and green teams. There were also times when basketball team members had to be herded out under protection for fear they might be attacked by fans of the losing school. The competition reached such intense proportions to the point that cars would get vandalized and broken, causing parents to get alarmed.

Of course, the competition between La Salle and Ateneo is still as strong as ever, although without the rumbles of old.  Many say that the fistfights and the physical tension scaled down after the schools became co-ed – because the boys became more concerned with looking good and impressing the girls. Nowadays, the games have become more enjoyable with less friction after a game, with both teams and their supporters becoming more friendly than they ever were in the past.

Bong Go: Closest confidante

Senator Leila de Lima’s accusation that it was Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go who ordered the reinstatement of Police Superintendent Marvin Marcos as chief of Region 8 Crime Investigation and Detection Group has since been debunked by President Rodrigo Duterte, who said he was the one who ordered the reinstatement of Marcos.

Bong Go – head of the Presidential Management Staff in Malacañang – has been with the president for almost two decades, having started in 1998 when the then-Davao City mayor found himself in need of a personal assistant. Those familiar with Bong Go say he is one guy who is totally and completely devoted and loyal, which is why he has become the most trusted and closest confidante of the president. For sure, he will not do anything without express instructions or approval from the president.

Bong’s management degree from La Salle certainly serves him in good stead because he is tasked with handling both the personal and official business of the president, virtually with his boss 24/7 to the point that some editors even dubbed him the “national photobomber” during the campaign period because he was always seen beside or behind the president.

In fact, when I first met the president during the May presidential elections, he asked every one to leave the room except Bong Go.  Nowadays, all Cabinet Secretaries go through Bong Go because the president never carries a cellphone, it’s only Bong who has a phone.

Bong is such an efficient multi-tasker that he can be talking on one phone, reading messages from another while writing notes all at the same time. No wonder the president has come to rely on him so much all these years.

Rubout

The findings of the National Bureau of Investigation that the killing of Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa was not a firefight but a rubout is something that many Filipinos have suspected all along. That conclusion is obvious considering the suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident – from the deposition which served as basis for the search warrant, to the “pre-emptive” call to scene of the crime operatives, the missing CCTV footage and the photos showing two versions of the crime scene.

The president has been saying that many of these drug-related killings are either due to warring drug gangs who want to eliminate each other, or the handiwork of scalawag policemen who use police operations to rub out any potential witness who can implicate them – which seems to be the case with the slaying of Espinosa.

* * *

Email: [email protected]