ManilaMailDC.Net - The three musketeers

The three musketeers

Pssst.....Someone who looked like the Manila Mail’s Bing Branigin on June 3 organized a get-together at her residence (maybe with the permission of Bill Branigin, her husband) for the departing three “musketeers” of the defense attache’s office in the Philippine embassy.
It was also an occasion to welcome new Defense Attache Brig. Gen. Roberto Sylim and to bid farewell to military attache Nestor Sadiarin. Also in attendance were Air Force Col. Romeo Prestoza and Navy Capt. Victor Martir. And, of course, there were also Tsismoso reporters around to record the affair.
Sadiarin is reportedly in line for command of an army brigade and a star, Prestoza is cutting short his three-year tour and returns home in August to become the chief spook of the air force and Martir weighs anchor in December. Look to those three to rise to the top in their respective services. From the looks of things, including of course their looks and demeanor, the three are upright officers who are proud of their uniform. “They will not follow the footsteps of Gen. Carlos Garcia and other top brass currently facing trial FOR corruption,” one Tsismoso said.
Some of the non-drinking guests swear the three are not going home to prepare for a possible coup or to prevent one from happening. And to ensure that no plots were being hatched, DCM Evan Garcia, wearing a dark, hooded jacket, slipped in almost unnoticed. “He (Garcia) probably was there to make sure the outgoing three musketeers had no dark designs against the embassy or the embattled Arroyo government,” whispered one guest.
“Remember us when you’re in paradise,” someone who shall remain nameless told Sadiarin while another embassy guest belted out the Pointer Sisters’ signature tune “I’m So Excited” in the background. No one knows what triggered the singer’s excitement.
A big hit of the evening was Mylin, the charming wife of the new defense attache and, according to some, his secret weapon. And the big letdown was reportedly an exchange among some of the guests.
Of course, like in any gathering where booze is often served like water, some become inebriated and allow their mouths to control their brains. The party was no exception.
So exuberant did the guests become as the evening progressed that some started exercising their vocal chords, or rather began singing their favorite songs. The only problem was that they were mostly out of tune. One guest said it was good the neighbors did not complain or call the police. The fear was that the police would come not because of the noise, but because of the falsetto voices deep in the night.
A sign of the times? At the Philippine Day fiesta on June 5 there were more military men in the parade than civilian embassy staffers. Marching shoulder to shoulder in their barong Tagalogs were BGen Sylim, his predecessor MGen. Delfin Lorenzana, now the Veterans Affairs head at the embassy and Navy Capt. Vic Martir.
“Pathetic,” said one bystander at the parade.
The peripatetic Amb. Albert del Rosario was MIA at the festival.(If you don’t know what MIA is, it is Missing in Action, tanga!). Probably confirming some Tsismosos’ perception that the Philippine embassy is rudderless, no one among the embassy’s top echelons, in the absence of MIA, apparently can decide if and when to hold the independence day reception.