Any entertainer worth his salt who has performed in Cebu will tell you that Cebuano audiences are the hardest to please. But when they fall in love with you, they become fiercely loyal.
Apparently no one told this to Rodolfo Noel Lozada, Jr., star witness of the Senate inquiry into the ZTE-NBN corruption scandal. So Jun Lozada came, he saw, and he fizzled out. There were no huge crowds, no confetti, no politico-like handshakes wherever he went, and the forum wherein he spoke was only a third full.
It’s not that Cebuanos are not politically conscious. They are against corruption as any patriotic Filipino. They are abreast of the Senate inquiry and are indignant over the broadband scandal. A majority, in fact, believe in Jun Lozada.
So why was there a measly turn-out on his visit? Cebuanos simply felt he didn’t have to come. They heard everything he had to say to the Senate. What could he say more that would compel Cebuanos to stop their daily routine and flock to hear him speak?
Yet, Jun Lozada could have made his visit worthwhile by patiently making his views known to forum participants, no matter how few they were, and lay the groundwork for a future visit. Instead, he insults Cebuano sensibilities by bad-mouthing their beloved and highly respected prelate, Cardinal Vidal, charging him of giving an order to priests in his archdiocese not to say Mass for Jun Lozada.
He called the Cebu archdiocese the "The Archdiocese of Malacañang." The Black and White Movement shortly followed this up by calling Vidal a "Congressman in Cossack."
When the truth came out that there was no such order, Lozada sheepishly dismissed his statement as a "joke," further alienating himself from Cebuanos. Many felt he should have apologized outright and shore up his image as a crusader of truth. You do not come into the turf of a deeply religious people and insult their spiritual leader and then hope to visit again proclaiming to be the harbinger of truth.
So, will this turn Cebuanos into non-believers of Jun Lozada? Not likely. For Cebuanos, what transpired was seen as a failed attempt of Manileños to foist their brand of politics on us. Perhaps, better luck next time … if there is a next time.
Oh, and an apology won’t hurt either.
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