Noise cancelling

When I learned that my friend was watching an F1 race event, I did not want an autographed t-shirt from a driver or the usual team t-shirt that people bring home as souvenirs.

I did not even want a photo of a President in the VIP box. My ask was simple, practical and cheap. Ear plugs that people at the front of the racetrack use.

My buddy was relieved I did not ask for a jacket, but he was puzzled why I wanted race day ear plugs when I could have sent money to buy the latest electronic noise cancelling device.

I assumed and then discovered that ear plugs and the subsequent collection I acquired are unbelievable at literally giving you peace. Peace from the noise of the city, the traffic, horns and dogs as well as people snoring during a trip!!!

It takes a few times to get used to them but when you notice that the air conditioner hum no longer bothers you, when you can sit and read a book or take a nap undisturbed by ambient noise and you can even share a room with a snorer out of town, you have now discovered how to block out the unwelcome noise!

You might be puzzled why I am writing about “ear plugs” in today’s column. The key word is F1, and the trigger were reports that President Bongbong Marcos dropped by at the Singapore F1 event.

The ear plugs are designed to protect your hearing and block the noise, while the actual races are excessively loud it triggers your smart watch to warn you of health risks due to excessive noise levels.

Perhaps PBBM simply wants to block out the howling haunting cries of desperate Filipinos demanding justice, truth and a government that serves the people, not PBBM’s party or his personal whims.

PBBM is not the first president that has undergone hard times and harsh times. Several past presidents took to golf, the casino, the firing range, test driving a Porsche or trips abroad. Most of these were done low key or with the hope of not being noticed, and never so public or controversial.

It seems that PBBM received the expected amount of flak or criticism for accepting an invitation to watch the Formula One race in Singapore. Half of the hits were probably criticism for criticisms’ sake, but the other half were appropriate, given the bad state of affairs the Philippines is in, in terms of politics, economy and delivery of services.

The Bureau of Excuse Slips inside Malacañang claims that PBBM believes the trip may open doors to networking and possibly making deals. The last time I heard that excuse was from club goers at Euphoria or golfers saying it’s in the “green” where you find gold.

Between the Asian financial crisis and COVID-19, many of them lost their business, family and eventually found their graves. No, you can’t make serious deals at an F1 race because you are either going deaf or blocking out the roar with ear plugs!

Besides, social sporting events such as F1 or polo games with sultans are too informal for any serious CEO or investor to do business at. They are watching the cars, the horses or the ladies.

I have never been around the kind of company the President keeps, but one thing I do know about regional investors and tycoons is that deals are made in board rooms, haciendas, villas, private dinners – out of sight of media.

When it comes to deals and potential cooperation at the presidential level, you don’t just clamber up to the stands, shake hands and act like you’re all chummy. There is process, protocol, presentations and more protocols befitting presidents, prime ministers and CEOs before a single drop of ink marks a contract.

And talking about bad luck and unfortunate circumstance, no self-respecting government, CEO or group of investors would seriously venture and investment in a country where even the local business owners and corporations have stopped or slowed down any further investment due to major government corruption and severely depressed economy.

Businesses and investors won’t enter territories or countries that are so poor or corrupt unless they can rely on predictability of business and a guaranteed ROI or return on investment. But that is only half of PBBM’s woes.

After becoming the model of government corruption in the region due to the ghost flood control projects, our neighbors now see us as the preferred destination among criminal drug syndicates.

In the past week, Laotian authorities stopped an attempted air delivery of 521 kilos of meth or shabu allegedly for delivery to the Philippines.

Then there was the drug bust conducted by police in Thailand where they found a boatload of drugs totaling 1.5 tons allegedly intended for delivery or distribution in the Philippines.

On that basis, it seems that international or regional drug dealers are the only “investors” (criminal as they maybe) who acknowledge the Philippines as a re-emerging market post president Duterte’s drug war.

Even with logistic delays, losses are acceptable relative to “ease of doing business” and multimillion-dollar profits. Sadly, due to pressures from above, authorities are now forced to wear their F1 standard ear plugs, neither denying nor confirming the intended address for the drugs. God help us all.

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