“You need to impress me, outwit me, compete with me? Go ahead, knock yourself out, I have no problem with that at all.”
—Daniel Craig
By Alex P. Vidal
TWO months ago, I received a private message from a media colleague in the Philippines warning me “to beware of Choy Guevarra (not his real name).”
“I know you have a good heart, but be careful,” he warned. “Don’t trust him. Don’t give him assistance or you will regret it. He is a notorious person. You better believe me because I am once his victim.”
When people send disparaging messages against someone, I immediately ignore them if I can’t delete the messages immediately. I abscond from a Marites session when I smell one, and I don’t swallow hook, line, and sinker derogatory accusations against anyone by any punk unless my next meal is at stake.
And besides, Choy Guevarra, whatever crime he supposed to have committed against humanity and the animal kingdom, is not my enemy; I am not at odds with him.
And if by chance he will approach me for “assistance,” who am I to turn my back from him or ignore someone “in need” especially if he is a friend?
-o0o-
According to the media colleague who alerted me, Choy Guevarra is the “enemy No. 1” not only in Iloilo City, but in the entire Philippines. I don’t know and I don’t care.
I don’t understand either, but I have no beef with Choy Guevarra and we never crossed paths in hostile circumstances when I was a media practitioner in Iloilo.
The media colleague further alleged that Choy Guevarra is considered as a “living dead” in the Philippines “because of the many lives that have been lost and many reputations that have been shattered as a result of his false imputations.”
Choy Guevarra’s enemies had supposedly alerted Canada “not to accommodate” him whatever that means.
What they didn’t know was Choy Guevarra, maybe a smart aleck, tricked and outwitted them by employing decoys, deception tactics like the US’s B-2 bomber strikes in Iran’s nuclear plants, making them hope and believe he was in Canada, but in truth and reality he is now actually allegedly in the United States “safe and sound.”
They barked at the wrong tree while Choy Guevarra was having the last laugh?
It’s my nature not to ask others for help since I never want to intrude on other people’s busy lives; I am the type of person who is always adamant and afraid of bothering others with my petty concerns.
-o0o-
But, like any Tom, Dick, and Harry in our benighted society, I am sometimes quick to live my life, showing my stressed-out self to a trusted person who will listen.
Thus, if Choy Guevarra did approach me for whatever “help” I could provide, there’s a 99 percent chance I would lend a helping hand in whatever capacity and circumstance as a Christian.
It is okay to ask for help, it is okay to share our inmost feelings, and it is okay to accept help. In fact, if Jesus did it, then it is more than okay; it is the best way.
What is not okay is to kick someone who is already down on all four. It’s not okay to convince others to hate, ignore, or abandon someone who doesn’t even pose a clear, present, and real danger.
-o0o-
The fentanyl crisis in the United States is unprecedented, with overdoses remaining the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 44, reported the US Department of State.
More than 40 percent of Americans reportedly know someone who has died from an opioid overdose, and in 2024 the United States averaged over 220 overdose deaths daily.
“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy under section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that will apply to family members and close personal and business associates of individuals sanctioned under Executive Order 14059 Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade (E.O. 14059),” State Secretary Marco Rubio announced.
The action reportedly expands upon existing tools, including sanctions pursuant to E.O. 14059 and visa ineligibilities pursuant to section 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for controlled substance traffickers.
Imposing visa restrictions on drug traffickers, their family members, and close personal and business associates will not only prevent them from entering the United States, but it will serve as a deterrent for continued illicit activities.
The U.S. Department of State said it would use all necessary tools to deter and dismantle the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs from entering the United States and harming U.S. citizens.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)
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