Presidentiable Etiquette

As any so-called midcareer Filipino journalist, we get swamped by press releases from Roxas and Villar. So it is no surprise when I got this from my inbox. Villar: Latest maritime accident undermines competence of Filipino seafarers.

Hmm. Brave words. The rest of the story follows:

Senate President Manny Villar today said the latest maritime accident involving a ferry with more than 700 passengers is not good for the image of Filipino seamen, whose reputation is now widely known as one of the trusted in the world.

“Since most of the seafarers worldwide came from the Philippines, accidents in RP waters send a bad message against the competence of more than 300,000 Filipino seamen. Second to our ultimate goal to protect lives, this is one of the reasons why we should not allow the list of these deadly sea accidents to continue,” Villar said.

Villar, who is now in Europe, said he is echoing the concern of Filipino seafarers he met there after news of the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars reached them...

Ay ganoon. He is in Europe while taking on the Pinoy sailors. There is something wrong here. A great number of people died. I am still grieving over that young girl using the photo of her kuya as her hankie as she sheepishly wept. The country is in a deep funk. Villar, come home then start blaming. I see no difference between you and PGMA right now.