The President Pimps His Ride

Hey peeps!

As the weekend comes upon us, I thought of blogging about my thoughts on a recent news article about something noteworthy, at least to Filipinos who’ve taken a liking to keeping in tabs with what our beloved Philippine President has been doing as of late.

I have put a decent title to it: “The President Pimps His Ride.”

Yes folks, our dear president recently bought a white, entry-level, “third-hand” 2007 Porsche valued at around 4.5 million in local currency (that means pesos to our foreign friends).

The first time I read it, I thought it was cool for him to do that. Being an eligible bachelor, I felt that his “pogi points” (kinda like brownie points fellas) went way up…of course in terms of getting noticed by the opposite sex.

As if being president doesn’t get him much attention already! Hahaha.

But several days after the news came out, there have been different opinions about the “morality” of the Porsche purchase. I thought about the strong and weak points of these opinions, and putting my own take on the matter, here are my thoughts on why President Noy’s ride pimpin’ is cool and at the same time, un-cool.

As a civilian, he’s entitled to change rides when he wants it, how he wants it. Just like any car owner, he came to realize that his riding lifestyle needed change. So he sold his “old” BMW, checked what’s available on the market, probably got word that there’s a nice deal for a vroom vroom that would satisfy his need for speed and prestige…boom! Noynoy, meet Por-shuh.

Simple as that. I think.

I mean, that’s the usual cycle that we get into when we upgrade cars. Or even gadgets. Or houses (if you’re not into building it). Even pets. You name it. It’s the same cycle.

Also, it’s his money, and he can do whatever he wants with it. He sold his old unit and upgraded. He applied for a personal loan to cover the remaining cost.

End of story.

I am Noy, and I have a Porsche!

He gave a gift to himself, which i might say, is well-deserved. He was happy with his choice and he got what he truly wanted.

However, it cannot be denied that there is another spectrum devoid of the feel-good nature that seems to come with this purchase.

The un-cool part.

I picked up on a comment that while P-Noy’s Porsche-binge was done in good faith, it lacked sensitivity in the light of the country’s Third World status.

The comment has merit. Because he is not an ordinary civilian.

He is the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Every move he makes IS news.

He is a president to a a third-world country. Poor people counted by the millions.

Add the fact that our country has the legislated Republic Act 6713 that explicitly states the norms of conduct of government officials…the purchase allows itself to have more fodder for discussion.

“Civil servants should avoid flaunting wealth for it may hurt the sensibilities of those around who cannot afford these.”

I cannot afford a Porsche. However, It doesn’t hurt me at all knowing that my president has a Porsche.

But I cannot speak for the marginalized sector of our society. Maybe they’re hurt. Maybe they’re not. Maybe we can ask SWS to conduct a survey if their sensibilities were hurt or not.

So, how do make sense of what the president did?

Does it make sense to us when President P-Noy buys a sports car in the wake of fuel and transport price increases that will greatly affect the mass population? This, considering that our countrymen in Samar, Leyte, and Bicol are still suffering from massive floods?

Do we let this one slide because his trust and approval ratings are still high? To think that his ratings were still strong even after the hostage-taking incident and the various legal issues that surrounded his earlier mandates.

Have your own take on the matter. As for me, let me just say this:

My dear President Noy, I do hope that as you drive and steer you way towards discovering the potential of that awesome machine you have, either on the streets of Manila (or Quezon City), the expressways of the north and south, or even at the racetracks of Clark freeport, putting your pedal to the metal to experience a high like you’ve never experienced before…

Remember that you’re also steering the plight of the millions of Filipinos who are aching for so long to have lives that want to experience a high like they never did before.

Before you, we had a “BMW” for a president.

Now (and until 2016), we have a “Porsche.”

Take us along for a ride on the road to freedom, Mr. President!

Or else we’ll upgrade to a Bugatti.