Catriona Gray, the most beautiful of the four

Over the weekend, Filipinos woke up to realize that the return of the Balangiga bells has become a reality, not just a politicians dream, and this incident has taught Filipinos valuable lessons in learning to govern ourselves in our own land. Hence, 2018 will forever be remembered as the year that the Americans returned the Balangiga bells which they took as a prize and a memorial to the American soldiers who fought in what Americans would call the “Philippine Insurrection.” But history has taught us that it wasn’t a Filipino insurrection but rather a confusing time when Filipinos were finally getting rid of over 300 years of Spanish rule when the Americans came into the scene.

Now that the Americans have returned the Balangiga bells, I say that former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. should also return the P124-million Priority Development Assistance Fund as ordered by the Sandiganbayan. Former deputy speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada expressed disbelief over Revilla’s acquittal, noting that the evidence provided by the Anti-Money Laundering Council “is damning.”

“It is with great disbelief that the Sandiganbayan acquitted Bong Revilla despite demanding that he return the P124 million in his bank accounts… It is with greater suspicion that he refuses to return what has proven to be stolen funds. That proves his intent to gain from his pork barrel funds. He is guilty.” So now the nation should demand for the return of this money!

Now after that historic weekend, the Philippines’ Miss Universe candidate Catriona Gray made all Filipinos proud when she won the title of Miss Universe in a fierce competition in Bangkok, Thailand. Gray succeeds the 2017 winner, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa. With her victory, the Bicolana beauty queen now joins the four Filipina Miss Universe titleholders; Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973, and Pia Wurtzbach who won in 2015.

I spent last night watching how she won this highly-coveted title, but in the end, she bested all the five finalists in beauty, and edged out the other contestants with her “Lava Walk” and her slow twirl! Her response to her final question taught her to “look in the beauty of the children” and be grateful even in the slums of Tondo, Manila. She added, “And I will bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with a silver lining and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson. And this I think if I can teach people to be grateful, we can have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster and children will have smile on their faces.”

I’ve examined all the three other Filipina Miss Universe winners and let me tell you that Catriona Gray is the most beautiful, most sexy, and walked with grace under pressure. In my eyes, Catriona Gray was already a winner even before the Miss Universe pageant even started. We Filipinos are so lucky this year!

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I read a report that says that President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte still wants peace with the reds. Of course, who doesn’t want peace? Unfortunately, it is the old Communist Party of the Philippines officials who refuse to talk peace simply because they want to have a part of the Philippine government if they cannot get all of it. But there really is no point in talking peace with the Communists if all the forces under its command are ready for peace and unfortunately for us Filipinos this isn’t going to happen. So let the reds sue for peace if this is what they really want!

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I read another report that said that the business groups doing businesses in Boracay see cruise ships as a nuisance rather than an opportunity for more business. Apparently the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force was enforcing a regulation since Boracay reopened two months ago to limit the number of tourists into the island to 6,405 daily. Meanwhile the Department of Tourism has accredited a total of 268 establishments offering a total of 9,637 rooms in the island of Boracay. Indeed, Boracay doesn’t need cruise ships as they have more than enough hotel rooms!

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