Pagkasarap-sarap ng pininyahang manok sa dinner pagkatapos ng Piña Festival Queen Parade and Grand Derby 2022 nitong Hunyo 26, 2022, Linggo, sa Ormoc City. Pero hindi pa rin tumikim niyon ang incoming mayor ng Ormoc na si Lucy Torres-Gomez.
Magmula nang dumami ang mga alaga nilang hayop sa kanilang bahay, hindi na nakakain ng chicken si Lucy.
“Hindi na ako kumakain ng manok talaga. Kasi, naging kaibigan ko talaga silang lahat,” sabi ng butihing maybahay ni outgoing Ormoc City Mayor Richard “Goma” Gomez.
“Yung during the pandemic, when I would be in isolation like when I arrived from…”
Kinakausap niya yung mga manok?
Natawang pagtanggi ni Lucy, “No naman. No naman! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! No naman. Not that level.
“But if you see kasi our house, it’s like an animal kingdom. It started with two turtles.
“And when Richard became mayor in 2016, we had two turtles. Andiyan lang sila, anlalaki nila, wala lang silang pangalan.
“Sila lang yung walang pangalan. Dapat pangalanan na yung dalawang turtles na yun. Pero naging tatlo sila.”
Nagkaanak?
“Hindi. Binigay, puro binigay 'yan,” paglilinaw ni Lucy.
WHEN HAMLET MEETS ALEXANDER
Bilang congresswoman, nakabase sa Manila si Lucy. Umuuwi-uwi siya sa Ormoc kung saan namamalagi si Goma.
Pagpapatuloy ni Lucy, “And then, pag-uwi ko next, meron na siyang mga gansa. So, nadagdagan, di ba? And then after the gansa, merong mga turkey.
“Tapos, yung isang turkey, akala niya, gansa siya because he or she or it grew up with the gansa.
“So, siya lang yung turkey na katropa ng mga gansa. Yung ibang mga turkey, tropa-tropa.
“And one November day, Hamlet arrives. May kumikiay-kiay dun sa sidewalk namin. ‘Ma’am, may nagbigay ng baboy.’
“Si Hamlet, pot belly pig. Cute.”
May pangalan na agad noong iregalo sa kanila ang babaeng baboy?
“Wala pa siyang pangalan. Basta, may nagbigay ng baboy. And then, cute yung baboy, kasi pot belly pig siya, e,” natatawang lahad ni Lucy.
“And then, sabi ni Richard, kailangang magkasundo lahat. So, in-introduce niya si Hamlet kay Alexander.”
Si Alexander ang alaga nilang aso.
“In our animal kingdom, Alexander is the king. So, like, pinagtagpo talaga niya yung dalawa.
“Parang tao talaga yung kausap niya, ‘Alexander, this is Hamlet. Friends kayo, ha?’ So, nag-away for a while, and then after a few minutes, friends na sila.”
ST. BENEDICT MEDAL
Paano napangalanang Hamlet ang babaeng baboy?
“That night, when Juliana arrived, her friends were visiting, somebody asked what’s the name of our pig.
“So, may bagong laruan, kinakarga-karga yung pig, ambango ni Hamlet. Siguro, bago pa siya sa mundo ba.
“‘Anong pangalan nito? What do we call? What do we call this pig?’ sabi nila. ‘Tita, Hamlet.’
“So, she became Hamlet. So, Hamlet na. And then, nadagdagan pa yung mga hayop.
“Ahh, my first pandemic project was… andaming mga hayop, di ba, pero friends sila. So, pinagawan ko sila ng mga bahay.
“So, nag-Google. What colors do pigs like? Kasi, they have to be able to go to their home.”
Ay! Hindi siya plantita?
“Hindi. Friend ako ng mga hayop,” mabilis na tugon ni Lucy.
“The pigs, they like anything red, pink. Yun ang mga color na gusto nila.
“Hamlet has a little red house. And then, yung chickens naman, ginawa kong red and blue. Sa gansa, peach.
“So, si Hamlet, she grew so big. Noong nagka-African swine flu, natakot ako. Kasi, baka madisgrasya si Hamlet.
“Puwede daw kahit luto yung food, pag nakain ni Hamlet, puwedeng maano.
“So, kailangan ko ng prayers naman. Kumuha ako ng St. Benedict medal.”
Nakapalibot sa margin ng devotional medal ni St. Benedict ang Vade Retro Satana initials na VRSNSMV para sa “Vade Retro Satana, Nonquam Suade Mihi Vana” (“Begone Satan, do not suggest to me thy vanities”).
May space iyon kapagkuwan, kasunod ang initials na SMQLIVB na nangangahulugang “Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas” (Evil are the things thou profferest, drink thou thine own poison”).
Kuwento pa ni Lucy, “So, si Hamlet until now, may St. Benedict medal. It took us a day.
“Si Hamlet at si Alexander, may St. Benedict medal sila.”
HAMLET LOVES BOBBY
Magpapalit ng puwesto si Mayor Goma at Congresswoman Lucy.
Pag-umpisa ng duties ni Goma bilang congressman ay nakabase na ito sa Manila. Si Lucy, sa Ormoc siyempre mag-i-stay bilang bagong mayor.
She will take care of their animal kingdom. Hindi sila pabigat para kay Lucy.
“Si Hamlet, she would even sleep at the foot of our stairs leading to the room. Dun natutulog,” sambit ni Lucy.
“But one day, Bobby came. Boyfriend siya ni Hamlet.
“Maliit siya, and then, sabi namin, ‘What do we call this new baboy?’ Kasi, friends na friends sila ni Hamlet. ‘Anong ipapangalan natin sa baboy na ‘to? Anong pangalan ng bagong baboy?’
“And then Richard says, ‘The bagong baboy, we will call Bobby.’ Ha! Ha! Ha! So, they’re friends now. They all get along.
“Kahit magtagpu-tagpo sila, they’re all friends. They can all live together.
“The chickens are there. They play with the gansa.”
Napagkaisa nila ang mga hayop. Ganun din ang mga Ormocanon.
“I see naman na ano, parang… like, sa naabutan ni Richard na situation in Ormoc, na sad to say, it was really ran like a mob-rule situation,” seryosong pahayag ni Lucy.
“Yung kung mas kilala ka, kung mas malapit ka sa mayor, you get certain things to have.
“How do you fix a situation that’s buhul-buhol? The simplest way is really just to follow the law because it evens the playing field, and it makes it fair for everyone.”