{"id":4237,"date":"2016-03-05T19:15:24","date_gmt":"2016-03-05T19:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=4237"},"modified":"2016-03-05T19:15:24","modified_gmt":"2016-03-05T19:15:24","slug":"some-politicians-are-like-balut-by-perry-diaz-in-perryscope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=4237","title":{"rendered":"Some politicians are like balut by Perry Diaz in PerryScope"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBalut\u201d is a popular delicacy in many Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines.\u00a0In particular, the Philippines is arguably one country where people not only love balut, they live it!\u00a0 Call it balut mentality or balut syndrome, eating balut is healthy for the body and mind. As many Filipino men would attest, it\u2019s an aphrodisiac! The male balut lovers call them \u201cmacho food\u201d because they\u2019re believed to boost virility and libido.\u00a0Yes, balut is indeed the Philippines\u2019 \u201cmuch loved delicacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

With all the good things that balut lovers get from eating those fertilized duck eggs \u2014 it is no wonder that many Filipinos would eat balut every night.\u00a0And for those who have extra money to spend, eating half a dozen balut \u2014 or more \u2014 would make them stronger and ready for action!\u00a0 Indeed, many believe that balut is radioactive, which may be the source of the eater\u2019s strength and stamina.<\/p>\n

But before you try eating balut, you need to know a little about it.\u00a0It is produced by fertilizing duck eggs under the sun and then storing in baskets to keep them warm.\u00a0After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to see the outline of the embryo inside.\u00a0About eight days later, the fertilized eggs are ready to be cooked just like cooking hard-boiled chicken eggs.<\/p>\n

The vendors then put the cooked balut in buckets of sand to retain the warmth.\u00a0They go around neighborhoods at sundown and shout \u201cbah looot\u2026 bah looot\u2026\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019re sold with small packets of salt and they\u2019re eaten best while still warm.<\/p>\n

Kinds of balut:<\/strong> There are three kinds of balut, two of which are okay. The fertilized balut<\/em> and the unfertilized penoy<\/em>.\u00a0The ideal fertilized balut is 17 days old.\u00a0It is called \u201cbalot sa puti\u201d<\/em> (\u201cwrapped in white\u201d).\u00a0After 18 days, it becomes recognizable, complete with a beak, head, claws, body, and bones. However, after a few more days it becomes too old and you\u2019d see feathers on the chick, which many people don\u2019t like eating.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if after nine to 12 days old the chick has remained unfertilized, it is called penoy<\/em> and it looks, smells, and tastes just like a regular hard-boiled chicken egg, albeit a little more expensive.<\/p>\n

But the third kind is very bad. It\u2019s the undeveloped duck egg called \u201cabnoy\u201d <\/em>or \u201cbugok,\u201d<\/em> which means, rotten.\u00a0When you crack a balut and it smells awful, don\u2019t eat it!<\/p>\n

But in Pateros, Rizal where the production of balut is the town\u2019s main industry, the people have a way of putting an abnoy to good use.\u00a0They use abnoy to make \u201cbibingkang abnoy.\u201d<\/em> And just like the smelly abnoy where it\u2019s made from, bibingkang abnoy smells and tastes awful. It\u2019s cooked like a fried egg torta <\/em>and dipped in spicy vinegar.\u00a0But take it with a grain of salt when you hear abnoy lovers say, \u201cIt smells like hell but tastes like heaven!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019re adventurous enough (this is a challenge to CNN\u2019s Anthony Bourdain of the \u201cParts Unknown\u201d series) and wouldn\u2019t want to miss the experience of eating bibingkang abnoy, here\u2019s some suggestions to follow: \u201cDon’t breath, cover your nose, grab a small slice of the bibingka, dip it in vinegar to enhance its taste, bite it, don’t puke, feel the exotic taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Source: <\/em>ivanlakwatsero.com<\/em><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

How to eat balut: <\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Crack a small hole on the rounded part of the shell.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Chip away pieces of the shell until the hole is the size of a bottle cap.<\/p>\n

Pierce the membrane and suck the broth-like liquid (albumen of the fetus).<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Make the opening bigger.\u00a0Sprinkle the inside with \u201crough sea salt,\u201d which<\/p>\n

is provided by the balut vendor.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Enlarge the opening so you can bite off the yolk (yellow part).<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Eat the chick. The hardened white lump is edible but most people don\u2019t<\/p>\n

eat it.<\/p>\n

Balut syndrome: <\/strong> Some people are like balut.\u00a0 While they might love balut for any perceived benefits, some people live their lives like balut, especially the politicians.\u00a0And just like the three kinds of balut (balut, penoy, and abnoy), politicians are categorized in the same manner.\u00a0The penoy politician is someone who is new in politics: a novice.\u00a0Like a penoy, they\u2019re cooked but unfertilized. They\u2019re new in the political game so they haven\u2019t been exposed to corruption yet.\u00a0But after being exposed to corruption or \u201cfertilized,\u201d the penoy<\/em> politician transforms into a balut <\/em>politician \u2014 corrupt and greedy. However, just like a duck egg that didn\u2019t develop properly, that politician might turn out to be an abnoy <\/em>\u2014 rotten to the core!<\/p>\n

But regardless of whether these politicians are penoy, balut or abnoy, the people keep on electing them from the president down to the barangay captains.\u00a0 It\u2019s a phenomenon particularly in Philippine politics where people look up to their politicians as their benefactors. A lot of times politicians are asked to be the godfather (ninong)<\/em> of people getting married or baptized.\u00a0 And when someone dies, the politicians are there to give financial aid to the bereaved.\u00a0Indeed, it is not uncommon for politicians to dole out or give small amounts of money to their constituents in time of need.\u00a0And for these acts of charity from their benefactors,<\/em> the constituents would be forever grateful and will vote for them come election time, which begs the question: Where does the politicians\u2019 \u201ccharity fund\u201d come from?<\/p>\n

The beneficiaries (constituents) know where the \u201ccharity fund\u201d originated.\u00a0 They come from the padrinos\u2019 ill-gotten wealth that was generated through corruption. In order to keep the flow of \u201cdirty money\u201d coming in, the politicians use bribes and kickbacks to grease corrupt government officials and functionaries.\u00a0It\u2019s a vicious cycle that keeps the politicians in power and, sadly, the people in perpetual bondage. Yes, the politicians are just like bibingkang abnoy<\/em>: Their corrupt practices smell like hell, but their dirty money tastes like heaven.\u00a0That in essence is the politics of balut.<\/p>\n

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBalut\u201d is a popular delicacy in many Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines.\u00a0In particular, the Philippines is arguably one country where people not only love balut, they live it!\u00a0 Call it balut mentality or balut syndrome, eating balut is healthy for the body and mind. As many Filipino men […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,54],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}