The persuasive is unbelievable

A good friend of mine sent me a message few days ago while I was watching the interview of Speaker of the House of Representatives Alan Peter Cayetano on ABS-CBN. I was shocked to read it as “Can I trust u.....” It took my full attention away from what Cayetano was saying. My answer to my friend didn’t come as quickly as it normally would each time we exchange texts. Was there anything I, in all decades of our friendship, did that could be considered as a betrayal of his trust? In deeds, action, or words? I had to read back the message hoping that I simply misread it or that the question wasn’t there in the first place. Then, I noticed there was no interrogatory mark at the end of the message. It wasn’t a question, after all. There were several dots instead indicating that he was not assailing the bedrock of our friendship. Rather, it was an unfinished sentence that had nothing to do with mutual treatment. What a relief!

Having regained my equanimity, I replied: “what do u mean?” making clear my objective by putting the question mark. My friend shocked me even more when his reply came: “tune in to teleradyo & u will find out.”

We were both watching the Cayetano interview and we exchanged side commentaries to Cayetano’s declarations long after his television appearance. Candidly, our language about the speaker can be viewed in two general frames of thought. His persuasive power and credibility.

Here is how we illustrate the legislator’s profound way of persuading people to his side of any issue. Doubtless, he is most convincing. His impeccable choice of words to explain even an extremely difficult point while looking straight into a person’s eyes is smothering. Take this dramatization: If I were to meet him in person, (and this will really be a first time), and ask for his name, he can answer me that he is President Donald Trump. At that very precise moment, I can tell him that he isn’t telling the truth. But, that will not end the story. If I give him 30 minutes to produce evidence or present arguments to prove his point, I am most inclined to believe that at the end of his discourse, I will believe that he is Trump. That’s how persuasive a person Cayetano obviously is. That is why he is the speaker!

Ironically, against his persuasiveness, Cayetano, to me, has zero credibility. It is very sad because there was a time in the past that his sense of truthfulness was, in my mind, unassailable. I didn’t doubt anything he said. But he has completely turned his believability around. My perception of his credibility plummeted to its lowest when he made several declarations that conveyed perceptively flawed positions. His latest position on the ABS-CBN issue is classic. I called his pronouncements on the fate of the giant network as “moro-moro”. So, here is how I dramatize his character of zero credibility. If I were also to meet him in person and he would tell me that he, as the Speaker of the House, is sincere, I can, at the end of his 30-minute presentation remain unconvinced. To the congressman, can I trust you?