Cesar Montano

Cesar Montano was featured last March in Motorcycle Diaries.  He talked about Bohol and showbiz, among other things.

That got me thinking about how perplexed I was back then when he ran for the senate.

Sure, he was a good philantrophist and a good actor. But being a good statesman, not to mention being a competent legislator, belongs to another arena all together. As much as I would have liked to refrain from judging another person's ability from a distance, I readily admitted then that Cesar Montano would make a poor senator if he won.

I guess my sentiment has a direct parallel to a scene I saw in Gray's Anatomy. It involved Dr. Owen Hunt and Dr. Cristina Yang arguing heatedly about Dr. Yang's ambition to become the next chief resident of the Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital:

Owen: “Chief Resident is more than just a resume boost. It’s managing schedules, overseeing interns, pushing papers, working within the system. That isn’t you. It’s never been you.
Cristina: “Fine. You know what, I’m protesting this, you are screwing with my career…” 

 Owen: “And it will kill you. You’re a surgeon. Anything that keeps you from being a surgeon will hurt you and it’ll make you crazy. We saw it today. You’re not built for this job. You will hate it and you will resent it. You will fight against it until you fail. So just, just be a surgeon. You know, it’s what you are. Just be excellent at what you are.”

Perhaps, I could say the same thing to Cesar Montano. Just be excellent at what you are and do not aspire to be what you are not. Do not dream of being the next Lito Lapid.