Working daily and full time at Manila City Hall can be so enriching if one is an avid and inveterate observer of human nature. At this writing, I had just received a call. A young female voice which I had never before heard said she wanted to talk to me about a fantastic project for the City of Manila. That opening gambit never fails to intrigue me, so I was all ears.
She proposed, in behalf of a public relations firm, that Manila honor iconic Filipinos as well as icons or symbols of various professions. I could not imagine what she had in mind so I kept asking questions until she said that we (Manila) should indicate a spot where they can erect a monument to Manny Pacquiao.
To Manny Pacquiao? You can?t do that! She began to repeat her spiel about celebrating iconic Filipinos and each time, I doggedly reiterated that it cannot be done and when she finally asked why, I simply said because Manny Pacquiao is still alive. There are no monuments to the living.
Suddenly, I remembered that gigantic head of Ferdinand Marcos, and Saddam Hussein, but I did not tell her for fear of fanning her flames. Relentlessly, she insisted that Pacquiao?s effigy would be surrounded by that of a nurse, farmer, soldier, laborer so the monument will not be his exclusively, but for all those who take Alaxan. Aha!
I put an end to our ludicrous conversation by saying the National Historical Institute (now Commission) would never allow it. Is there such a thing? She was referring to the NHC of which she had never heard. She probably thought I invented it to thwart her proposal.
