Mizuno Run 2: Doing It Right This Time...Almost

As Nadal and Federer advanced at Wimbeldon, Spain finally beat Germany to emerge as Euro 2008 Champions and Pacquiao knocked out David Diaz in Las Vegas, I ran 15K at the Mizuno Rush to Infinity Part 2 at the Fort. OK, this run isn't exactly in that same league, but you get the drift.

Mizuno decided to hold this second fun run to make up for the disastrous one held last March where most runners ended up dehydrated. This one was seamlessly organized, except perhaps for the long queue at the Finish line. Water was plentiful, in fact mineral water and Rush were generously given out to the runners, not just some water taken from buckets.

My main complaint is that some runners had the audacity to take short cuts. I saw several cross the greens at the Heritage Park while others didn't bother entering the Park at all; some didn't turn right towards the treacherous McKinley hill which has the infamous 45-degree incline at the turn-around. Why bother signing up for the 15k if you have no intention of completing the route?

My "training" generated some dividends, I didn't feel as tired out as before, and I didn't feel the need to walk at some of the more sloping stretches. I didn't bother looking at the time, I always had problems with speed, I may have endurance but I do not have the speed.

And so my legs now look like a construction worker's. Jun called from Iloilo to inquire about the Mizuno Run. He ended by saying that their two bitches at home seem to be copulating. I told him the dogs might be lesbians.

China's Growing Might

I think that the general economic boom experienced by the BRIC economies led by China partly caused the current mayhem in oil and commodity prices. When China finally saw the light and embraced industrialization via the capitalist model, you have 1.3 billion people pursuing that objective. Even if only 20% of the population were really productive, that is still a massive 260 million people. China, I believe, is a US$4 trillion economy (in purchasing power parity terms) and it has registered an average 10% annual growth over the past years-- which is an additional US$400 billion added to the gross domestic output every year-- almost the size of the entire Philippine economy.

The sheer size of the Chinese labor force plus rising productivity levels have caused demand for just about everything-- from oil to food stuffs-- to spike drastically, putting pressure on supply stocks everywhere. The huge oil and steel requirements of the Chinese, for example, have crowded out other smaller countries' requirements. Frodo says that he doesn't have enough roofing material supplies for his clients because everything has been gobbled up by the Chinese. The end result is rising prices because of supply constraints: production capacities are just not enough to service China's massive requirements.

This is just China. Add Brazil, Russia and India into the picture. China's boon is the rest of the world's bane.

Suman Fit

It's a just a few more days before the 15K Mizuno run at the Fort. I've been "training" the past few days, running a full hour at the Marikina track & field oval. I planned to run two hours but I couldn't get past the one-hour mark, it's difficult especially when you're running around in circles, at some point you'd want to just drop and lie down on the verdant soccer field. A lot of runners sporting uniforms from various races (Adidas, La Salle, Sta. Lucia, among others) were probably training for the longish run this Sunday as well.

When I got my race singlet last Friday, the organizers already ran out of medium sizes. The "large" ones were just too large for my frame, so I decided to get the smallest size. The fabric happens to be stretchable, so I can still force-fit myself into the uniform-- by inhaling deeply and holding my breath for like, forever. I probably looked like suman but I figured I could still lose a few pounds from all this running anyway. It means there's a helluva lot good chance that I could fit snugly into the small-sized race shirt come Sunday.

Cinematic

On my way home after my early evening jog, I was walking along the pavement outside the Marikina Sports Centre when I saw a girl striding on the opposite direction bump into a light post. I know you'd say that I'm probably imagining these things but she was looking in my direction (maybe she can see hairs sticking out of my nose--Gross, oh snap!) I'm not kidding! If you prefer a pleasant imagery then imagine a Pond's TV commercial where the guy bumps into a post when a beautiful girl passes by, now switch the roles. (Friends, you may now hide under the covers).

Political Theatre

The day after Drilon and company were released, Sen. Loren Legarda was interviewed live on 24 Oras with Mike Enriquez and Mel Tiangco. She was clearly intent on hogging the limelight, always comparing Drilon's ordeal with Arlene de la Cruz's whom she claims, "napalaya ko." Obviously, she wants to make it appear that Drilon was released mostly through her efforts without paying a single cent to the Abus. She preceded Drilon upon stepping out of the plane and was always beside her during press conferences, wearing white to symbolize peace (she could've held a white dove in her lap as well, to be released a few minutes later).

Problem is, it has been clearly established that Drilon and her cameramen were not released through her efforts, no matter how well-meaning these may be, but through ransom payment. It only makes the lady Senator look stupid. Really. She's been ostensibly kept in the dark as to the real negotiations taking place. Her naivete led her to make statements that only lent credibility to the earlier claims of the government and the Isnajis.

To a certain extent, the Isnajis and the well-dressed lady Senator have something in common: they're all opportunists. The Isnajis saw the perfect opportunity to make some millions (whether or not the elder Isnaji was really the head of the bandits) while Legarda used the hostage situation to boost her career in politics.

Pathetic, no?

As for the Lady Vice Governor who acted as the Drilon family's negotiator, she had the good sense to have a picture of her and the Isnajis counting the bundles of cash taken and handed this over to the police. She claims she didn't want to be "double-crossed" later. In contrast to Legarda's political theatrics, that was a smart, tactical move.

Pan de Cielo

At the Market! Market! in Taguig, I stopped by a kiosk selling bread and pastry. An odd-looking, yellowing bread loaf caught my attention.

"What's the difference between this bread and the rest?" I asked the sales girl.

"That's an egg loaf, it's more delicious so you need not use a spread," she replied.

So I bought one and brought it home. I opened it and gingerly took a bite, expecting a heady rush and shouts of Hallelujah just like when I first tasted the über delicious 'pastel' from Camiguin.

It tasted exactly like...uhm, bread...sans the stars and the Hallelujahs.

Damn those sales people.

Twists and Turns

Suspicions of ransom payment have been confirmed. The "board & lodging" fee paid for the initial release of the assistant cameraman wasn't PhP100,000, but a whopping PhP5 million (according to police, only PhP2 million were given to the bandits, the rest were kept by the Isnajis). The ugly details of the negotiations are starting to come to light. Which means I was right when I speculated that the amount only served as a down payment, and that the two duffel bags seen being loaded onto a military pickup delivered par avion by a special SEA Air flight MOST LIKELY contained the balance of say, PhP10 million, leading to the release of the captives.

I guess the government had to allow Drilon's family (confirmed no less than Drilon's uncle, former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu) to pay the ransom despite its no-ransom policy because it is now giving the Abu Sayyaf bandits a dose of their own medicine. The government's response involves (1) detaining the Isnajis who the police claim were part of the abduction and (2) launching a full-scale military offensive and manhunt in Sulu.

It is less clear to me whether the Isnajis were involved in the planning of the abduction from the beginning or whether the elder Isnaji was really the bandits' leader all along, although Drilon herself wondered why the Isnajis were making decisions FOR the bandits during the negotiations. Both father and son may simply have seen an opportunity to make a fast buck, a kickback from the ransom payment. Whatever the case, the fact that the bandits trusted the Isnajis enough to designate them as their negotiators means that these Abus probably know the Isnajis very well. They may have worked together in the not-so-distant past.

Enter Misuari. He helped to identify the suspects from police sketches and he even provided the alias of the elder Isnaji, "Larin-larin", who according to the police, was the Abu Sayyaf leader's name. Misuari seems to be distancing himself from his former MNLF colleague who may have formed a loose, friendly alliance with the bandits. After all, the elder is the current Indanan Mayor where Abu Sayyaf elements obviously roam and operate freely. Misuari's information has pushed the Isnajis deeper in trouble.

The Isnajis actions' were clearly highly suspicious and not above-board at all. If it can be proven that they kept PhP3 million out of the PhP5 million initial ransom payment from Drilon's family for themselves, then this fact alone should seal their fate behind bars.