I

The
he fate that has befallen SDeaker Alan
fall of Icarus Cayetano has only himself to blame for the
I Peter Cayetano reminds me of the legend quagmire he has gotten himself into- He was
I ot Icarui in creek mythology. Icarus got gifted with two plum, powerful and high-pro-
I too eag"r to fly near the sun. His wings file posts that any other politician would envy
gotburned, and Icarus fell into the sea. as platforms for bolstering one's chances in a
Cayetano likewise reminds me of "The presidential run. But cayetano was not con-
story of the moti" as narrated to the young tent. He craved for more. He wanted to pre-
Jose Rizal by his mother. A young moth got side over and ensnare the extensive publicity
too aftracted to the burning light of the oil that would accompany our country's hosting
lamp, despite warnings not to get too close to' of the SEA Games. Others insinuate opPortu-
the fire. lts wings did catch fire, and the moth nities for corruption to fatten a war chest.
burned and died. As foreign secretary, he took cotrtrol of
The sun and the fire that have scorched FLil]'lA$llH 0t 10il$ the P7.s-billion budget allotted for the SEA
Cayetano's wings represent his buming ob- JOEL RUIZBUTUYAN cames, even if his depaftment had nothing to
session for the presidenry. Cayetano got too do with sports. when he moved up the ladder
eager to get an edge over his rivals for Presi- behind the plot. Unfortunately for him, any of power as speaker, he persisted in ctinging
dent Duterte's seat in 2022. He got burned so authentic investigation to search for account- to a position of control over the handling of
seriously, his smoldering wings will smell all ability will lead to his doorstep. tlle SEA Games by getting himself to head the
the way to the next presidential election. In- lfthere's conspiracy, then ttre foreign ath- Philippine South€ast Asian Games orgaliz-
stead of gaining front-runner stattts, he is .letes of Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Sin- ing Committee (PNsgoc) Foundacion, a pri-
now at the tail-end of everyone's list of po- gapore and Timor-Leste who complained of vate foundation that, for all intents and puI-
tential candidates for the presidency. their food, hotel and transportation misfor- poses, had full control of the billions ofpublic
It also iemains to be seen if Cayetano. will tunes are conspirators. Contractors who were tunds intended for the SEA Games.
retain the speakership. For sure, his foes are delayed in completing some of the sports Cayetano deflects all cdticisms by assert-
furiously sharpening their daggers and wait- venues are conspirators as well. Even a then- ing that he will not earn a single centavo from
ing for the perfect time to thrust them into dying National Artist for architecture, Frar- the games, and that he's willing to take a lie
Cayetano's back, in order to wTest control of cisco Manosa,wouldbe a conspirator for sup- detector test to dispel suspicions. He may
the House leadership. posedly submitting a P5o-million cauldron be speaking the trutb but the extensive media
Cayetano has been pointing accusatory design that reflects unflatteringly on his mileage he stands to earn is a more valuable
fingers in.all directions, blaming the media, creative reputation. cunency coveted by politicians. For a politi-
opposition personalities and the senate for But critici$ms against Cayetano have not cian wjth an eye on the presidency, high-pro-
the barrage of criticisms he has been getting only come from the usual suspects of detrac. file publicity is more valuable than gold.
because of the terrible mistiaps in the prepa- tors. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Sen. will Cayetano trartsform himself from a fall-
rations for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Bong Go, Senate Presi- en Icarus to a phoenb(, the mythical bird tlEt ris-
Insinuating that there's a conspiracy to un- dent Tito Sotto, and Foreign Secretary es from the ashes? He will now need heaps and
dermine him and put the Duterte administra- Teodoro Locsin Jr., have all made varying loads of real currency to spawn his own rebirtll ,

tion in a bad light, he has threatened to do decibels of denunciation. Are all ofthem con-
an investigation to expose the personalities splritoit *efff , ,a"- ents to fleamarketofideas@smail'com
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