STAR SUNDAY LIFE: WHY P-NOY'S PORSCHE IS NOT AN EXTRAVAGANCE
MANILA, JANUARY 16, 2011 (SUNDAY STAR) By Wilson Lee Flores (Illustration by Rey Rivera MANILA, Philippines)
When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio. If all the stations are rock and roll, there's a good chance the transmission is shot. -- Larry Lujack
My apologies to critics of Presi-?dent Noynoy C. Aquino on his ?buying of a Porsche, but most ?of them are either mistaken or just hypocrites because I believe all of us even those who have never bought a luxury car, like this writer love or admire beautiful cars the way guys in ancient times loved their horses.
My late dad was a car lover all his life and he even had a special car license plate for decades, but he had a rich dad so he could afford to buy and drive the best cars, but those of us who have not yet bought one shouldn't begrudge those like P-Noy who didn't steal his personal money to buy a second-hand Porsche! Let us stop being hypocrites.
By the way, I wish to stress that I am not an apologist for P-Noy and I shall criticize his leadership the way responsible media should do if he is remiss in his public duties, such as his not holding regular (at least monthly if not weekly) Cabinet meetings in the past, his not yet pushing for Charter change now to do away with the antiquated economic provisions of our Constitution, or his allowing his nincompoop buddies at the DILG to unforgivably bungle the bloody Hong Kong hostage crisis.
Three reasons why P-Noy is right in buying a Porsche
Despite the numerous brickbats and even criticisms of extravagance thrown at President Noynoy C. Aquino for his recently acquiring a Porsche, I personally congratulate him for three reasons.
First, P-Noy has been very forthright and honest about his love of cars. He did not try to hide this indulgence, unlike that of a populist former president who hid unsuccessfully his prediction for luxury mansions and all-night gambling. More than the sin of extravagance, I believe the public in general hates liars. As shown in this case, honest is the best policy!
Second, Noynoy has openly admitted that he used to own a BMW and now a Porsche. This is better than not a few of our other political leaders who immorally and illegally collect mistresses!
By the way, I am not kidding: my paternal ancestors in the early 20th century sawmill business in Manila were among the earliest owners of the first American cars ever built. I was pleasantly shocked to hear old timers recount that once one of my forebears couldn't decide if he would buy another new car or acquire another concubine. Polygamy was legal for even overseas Chinese like my ancestors before Mao Zedong's 1949 Communist revolution.
Third, President Noynoy made a financially wise move by buying a pre-owned or second-hand car, which I strongly believe should be emulated by others. I believe buying pre-owned cars is the most financially smart move, especially in the case of luxury cars, which depreciate in value quickly and are definitely a poor investment. P-Noy reportedly spent P4.5 million on his Porsche.
The only problem with buying pre-owned cars in the Philippines is the government's utter failure to ensure our roads are not substandard and that traffic is not chaotic, so your purchase whatever the brand ends up looking as badly battered as a World War II or Afghanistan War veteran after only a few years of use.
WHY we should give P-Noy a new car
Up to now, my two drivers still say they prefer that I buy a brand-new Toyota vehicle rather than my plan before to buy a pre-owned Volvo or Mercedes Benz primarily for safety purposes. Why? My drivers say our uneven and poorly constructed Metro Manila roads plus traffic jams cause so much wear and tear on cars, they do not trust the reliability of pre-owned cars here. Indeed, pre-owned cars in the United States, Europe or even in China are in better physical shape and condition than the veterans of our Metro Manila roads!
Paging car lover President Noynoy C. Aquino: Please declare martial law in our Metro Manila streets to decongest the chaotic traffic jams, to also ensure good-quality road construction or mete out the death penalty to corrupt officials who allow substandard roads.
Let me argue that there are some people like me who look upon Mercedes Benz, Volvo and even Porsche cars not as extravagances or status symbols, but as a logical, analytical choice, knowing that these luxury vehicles are structurally safer in vehicular accidents. How many real-life stories have we read or heard about people driving a Volvo, a Porsche or Mercedes Benz and surviving horrific car crashes?
In the 19th century, one of the nephews of my paternal great-great-grandfather Dy Han Kia, the lumber tycoon of Manila, was nicknamed Lao-ah-si (I'm still verifying in the genealogical book what his formal name was). This spoiled brat great-grand-uncle of mine was truly extravagant, reportedly owning one of three carriages in colonial Manila pulled by four horses; the two others were supposedly owned by the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines and the Spanish Archbishop of Manila. Unlike other guys with extravagances who are talented, powerful or good earners, this great-grand-uncle gambled away a huge chunk of the family wealth and escaped to Macao.
If President Noynoy C. Aquino can be a successful leader of the Philippines to cleanse our society of excessive corruption and lead us towards socio-economic progress, I would even ask the business community to donate money to reward him with a brand-new Mercedes Benz, an Audi or even a Bugatti, Lamborghini or Ferrari in the same way Napoleon the Great of France, Alexander the Great of Macedonia or General Yue Fei of ancient China had the best thoroughbred horses for their personal use!
Why P-Noy's Porsche and Imelda's 3,000 pairs of shoes are okay
The Agence France Presse (AFP) recently released to worldwide media this report: "Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Thursday he had splurged on a luxury Porsche sports car, sparking criticism in a country where a third of the population live on less than a dollar a day."
AFP continued: "It appeared to be out of character. He had campaigned against luxury cars and here he is buying a Porsche," Milo Tanchuling, secretary general of the activist group Freedom from Debt Coalition, told AFP. "There is a danger that it will be viewed by many as a sign of extravagance and an unnecessary flaunting of wealth amid massive poverty."
The question of extravagance is debatable, because P-Noy's Porsche is a pre-owned car and he said he sold his BMW to pay for this vehicle. He also stressed that he had used a loan before to buy that BMW car.
I think the public should forgive or allow President Noynoy this indulgence in sports cars, the same way I believe most Filipinos do not begrudge former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos when it was discovered after the 1986 EDSA uprising that she had 3,000 pairs of shoes in her closets. Why? I believe most guys even those rebels and activists in the ideological left or people who are poor love cars the way guys in ancient times loved their horses.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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