Sacrilege

A week ago, I saw a picture of Manny Pacquiao plastered on the inside pages of Libre. His photo's publication was not unusual since the whole Philippines has become accustomed, even annoyed, to seeing his face - on billboards, on the boobtube endorsing a long list of products (what will he promote next? feminine wash?), and on newspapers. What made my blood boil was the very sick joke that they wanted to deliver.
Being a poor man who has constantly caressed currencies of the lower denomination, I instantly recognized how they superimposed Manny's rugged features on Emilio Aguinaldo's dignified face on the old five-peso bill! Whoever made that picture should be flogged for desecrating a hero's memory!
I am not a fan of Emilio Aguinaldo since Andres Bonifacio occupies the highest rung in my personal pantheon of heroes (a notch below the Katipunan Supremo lies Wolverine of the X-Men), but he had a fair share of battles, fought the Spanish and Americans, raised the Philippine flag to proclaim our independence and became the first President, so he deserve tons of respect and eternal gratitude.
Manny will never surpass what Emilio Aguinaldo did to our country, and if he is the man (hero is a very lofty word for him) that his handlers are touting him to be, then he should apologize to the country and to Aguinaldo's descendants for the slander and go beat up the joker who made that picture.