Going to the Games

You've got to admit it, Malacañang's boys are truly experts in interpreting events in a way that is most favorable to them. When a survey came out with results showing that 58 percent of Filipinos want the President to resign, spokesman Ignacio Bunye also comes out saying there is now no way to go but up for his boss. When others made fun of the misspelling of GMA's name in the new P100 bills, it was quickly announced that the bills are going to be collectors' items.

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Now that Virgilio Garcillano of Hello Garci fame is about to come and take a bow, after hiding himself for about four suspenseful months, the two factions have different interpretations. The Opposition group is exulting that this will bolster their claims of cheating, lying and stealing having taken place in the May 2004 elections. Malacañang, on the other hand, looks at it as an opportunity to clear the President's name, and smear those of her opponents.

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Well, those are good examples to use when studying communication, where, it is often said, the medium is the message. Another example of how communication can cause even diplomatic problems was the way a statement of an official of the Vietnam delegation to the Southeast Asian Games was reportedly garbled in translation. Before the games started, a news item came out quoting the official as saying that the Philippines was going to win the championship because everything had already been arranged with the other contenders.

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The reaction was that the sports official was almost declared persona non grata by knee-jerking officials here. One even tried to have an order issued preventing his entry into the country. Now it has been explained, that what was reported was entirely different, and that the meaning of the statement must have been given differently by the interpreter. That is why those of us who may meet or get in contact with our foreign visitors must be careful not to over-read or misinterpret what they say. They may be speaking in English as literally translated from their own language, you know.

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I went to the football game between the Philippines and Thailand yesterday at the Panaad Park and Stadium. It was a slow crawl for vehicles and even when we got near the entrance, we could no longer drive in because of the traffic, despite the fact that it was more than halfway through the game already. Anyway, it was just a few meters' walk and the cops were quite polite, so we got off and crept through the "cellar" doors.

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I had some misgivings about watching the games, since I know next to nothing about football (for shame), but Buddai Piccio, a rabid sports fan, but who admits more familiarity with basketball, advised, "Never mind, when one of our team kicks the ball, we shout, if they kick it into the goal, we scream." I did not know that she would jump up and dance when the ball got almost near our goal, but all had a good laugh when she discovered later that she was cheering for the wrong team. It was Cesar Estrebillo, another sports fanatic, who had to coach her that the ones in blue were the Filipinos and almost-Filipinos, while the ones in red were the Thais.

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Ah, but it was exhilarating to see the vast number of people, Negrenses, Bacoleños, and even foreign nationals in the province and city, filling up the stands and cheering for the players. I discovered that the two people beside me were both Thais, but their expressions were quite stolid, despite the fact that they were winning. One could see businessmen, socialites, civic club leaders and members, students, office workers, housewives, government officials, it seemed as if everybody had gone to the games yesterday. And it looked as if they were all good sports, too, anyway, our boys did play very well, they didn't allow their opponent to go beyond one goal.

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For us, the highlight of the game was meeting Cambodian Prince Norodom Budhapong, who, we heard has been drawing a lot of fans among the teenagers. Indeed, the Prince is a very charming fellow, very young and likable. I was told the girls all wanted to have their photos taken with him (we did, too). He told us that Prince Ranarridh was also coming soon. When I told him that I had gone to his country and liked it very much, he gave me a gold pin showing the famous Angkor Vat and the SEAG symbol. Guess what other team I'll be rooting for next.*

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