Perlas ng Silanganan

Kabanata 1 : Bangkay

"And that sums up our monthly report."

The board of directors applauded but some of our stakeholders threw me their calculating gazes. I kept my composure and greeted them back with my cold stare.

"Mr. Cojuangco."

Unti-unting humina ang palakpakan at ang ilan sa kanila'y napatingin din kay Mr. Cojuangco. Umiling-iling ito at kahit hindi nito sabihin ay alam ko ang gusto nitong iparating.

"I don't—"

"I know." I countered. "And I intentionally included that in my report."

"Then you must also know what we are losing if it happens that we neglect their offer."

"Accepting their offer means we're risking our employees, Mr. Cojuangco." I firmly said. I leaned my hands on the table and slightly moved forward. "It's a no."

He shook his head in disbelief and flashed an annoyed smirk. "Do you really believe that we can force our employees to join that movement?"

"And seriously," Mrs. Chan, another stakeholder who has Chinese blood, chimed in, but I didn't shift my gaze, "do you believe the government can do that to its own people?"

"Correction: The government does not own the Filipino citizens, Mrs. Chan." I said. "We're the ones who pushed those leaders at their positions, not the other way around."

"Whatever it is, what we want is to close the deal with our foreign investors. We're losing billions here."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Everyone inside the room went into silence. I felt they're waiting for my response but just like earlier, I refused, gently shaking my head.

"You're ridiculous." Mr. Cojuangco remarked. "'Wag mong sabihing nagpapadala ka talaga sa mga sabi-sabi? The foreigners are here for business and not for those weaponized humans!"

"And if a hidden agenda even exists, what's the issue then?"

Pareho nang nagsisitaasan ang boses nina Mr. Conjuangco and Mrs. Chan. I slammed the table so hard that most of them clutched their chest in surprise.

"Do you want to know the real issue?" I asked with a warning in my voice. Mrs. Chan raised her left eyebrow while Mr. Cojuangco began fidgeting.

"My resources say that some standalone entrepreneurs here in the Philippines are used by that Russian company to convince larger business owners to sell their properties, especially the lots where their establishments are built."

"And the reason?" One of the board of directors queried.

"Business expansion," I noted while spreading my hands. "Of course, our country is currently on the top in terms of research, science, and technology, and we all know that the evidence is those weaponized humans. And also, we know that Russia is currently in the third spot. With the USA taking the second one, Russia wants to elevate its current rank. By doing transactions inside this nation, they can either earn better or act like a spy to fish for information about our advanced technology."