TALAGANG KA Freddie Aguilar would go around the law, maipilit lang niya ang kanilang pagpapakasal ng kanyang 16 year-old girlfriend (the girl turns 17 on November 29, still short of one year before she’s allowed to marry under Philippine laws).
The legendary folk singer has resorted to conversion from a Born-Again Christian to an Islam, kung saan sa ilalim ng Presidential Decree 1083 o Muslim Family Code of the Philippines ay maaaring ikasal ang sinumang lalaki na kinse anyos ang gulang.
Any female Muslim naman who reaches the age of puberty ay pinahihintulutan ding maikasal basta’t walang balakid. Sa edad na kinse o pataas, the law presumes that the girl has already reached her age of puberty.
Palusot pa ni Ka Freddie, bago pa raw siya nagdesisyong magpa-convert ay pumasok na sa kanyang isip to embrace another faith. May pasintabi naman ang principal sponsor sa kanilang pag-iisang-dibdib na naganap sa Maguindanao nitong Biyernes ng hapon, November 22, na si Governor Toto Mangudadatu kung sakaling isinangkalan lang daw ni Ka Freddie ang bagong relihiyon, “Mananagot siya kay Allah.”
At 60, Ka Freddie should know better. Nabunyag lang naman ang lahat ng ‘yan when he got interviewed during the PMPC Star Awards for Music kung saan karay-karay niya ang kanyang dyowa.
At first blush, the girl wouldn’t look 16, mukha siyang nasa early 20s na. Ka Freddie could have been a little dishonest with his girlfriend’s age, ‘di sana’y nalibre pa siya sa mga batikos that segued to a qualified seduction case.
But now that it’s all over, maanong hinintay na lang ni Ka Freddie na tumuntong ng disiotso ang dyowa niya, which is a little over a year from now?
Sa totoo lang, we doubt Ka Freddie’s sincerity in his conversion. Gamitin ba ang relihiyon as his last recourse?
MAAGA PA lang ay nagpadala na ng group text message ang isang staff ng Corporate Communications ng ABS-CBN para ipaalam na kanselado ang party this year para sa entertainment press na nakasanayan na nitong idaos taun-taon.
Ayon sa mensahe ni Kane, sa halip daw na magpa-party ay ilalaan na lang nila ang pondo bilang kontribusyon sa Sagip Kapamilya Calamity Fund earmarked for the victims of super typhoon Yolanda.
Kung tutuusin, now is not the right time for such lavish parties—mapa-TV network-hosted o anupaman—as a gesture of both empathy and sympathy given the horrible situation that befell our kababayans.
So far, of the three major TV networks ay ang ABS-CBN pa lang ang naglabas ng abiso para sa press. If GMA and TV5 opt to do the same, for sure, mauunawaan din ito ng karamihan sa aming hanay.
Pepperoni
by Ronnie Carrasco III
