pinoy politiks…

i consider myself a veteran of philippine elections. when i was still in my elementary years, i would often go with my dad and campaign for whoever it is that we support. it was also because my dad is a member/supporter/officer of one of the oldest/timeless political parties in the country. in short, i was raised living and breathing politics.

nah.

that’s overly exaggerating it. but hey, exaggerated or not, it’s true.

for almost twenty years, i’ve campaigned. been through a lot of posterings, caucuses, rallies, motorcades, special ops… name it, i’ve done it. i experienced things that i wouldn’t even thought of doing. i am maarte, i admit that, in a way. i don’t eat just anywhere. i prefer eating with spoon and fork on a plate and drink water in a glass. but during the times that i joined the campaign, my kaartehan is practically non-existent. imagine sharing a single aluminun can (the softdrinks-in-can minus the top, oops, i mean the top was cut out) with different people; imagine us girls eating on farflung carinderias where truck drivers dine; imagine us girls go house to house and ending up asking for water just the quench our thirst without even knowing if the water is potable; imagine me then, still in my teenage years leading up a pack of girls distributing flyers and sample ballots, shaking hands with the people around (even to the point of being harassed), going to the baluarte of our enemies;and just smiling at people, waving hands, feeling artista, lagu-lago. i even leaned how to use the radio (as in roger!, over and out!, 10-4) while hanging on a jeepney. yeah… yeah… yeah… i know… my experience is quite different from the campaigns we have now. you might consider it ancient. radios are not the fadanymore. jeepneys— well they’re for the umiikot patrol nowadays. but during the past years, the angels (by the way, we were the first to employ the so-called angels way back then) use these as well as trucks that are decorated as showboats. nowadays, you can see SUVs dressed-up with stickers showing the candidate’s face; tarpaulin hanged instead of simple posters and streamers; helicopters employed to drop confetti and fliers. in the span of 10 years, you can already see the difference. it’s as if a century had passed by.

well, that was hell of an experience. but i enjoyed every minute of it.

moving on…

these past elections, we saw different types of candidates– the sooper rich; the simpleng mamamayan; the artista; the pang-masa; the intellectual; the no-intellect; the graduate; the undergraduate (ng elementary!); the controversial; the kapamilya; the kapuso; even the kakalokang loka-loka. whew! what’s happening to our country? are these the types of politicians we want leading our country? i doubt if all voters would check on one’s credentials in choosing the best. well, in a way, the financial credential is being displayed especially if the candidate is fond of shelling cash in exchange of one’s vote. but me-lagay or none, we have to consider not just the financial capability but the ability of this candidate to lead us– lead our country out of the darkness.

one might ask, if the politics of our country can still change? my answer, yes. but before we can change politics, we must change ourselves first coz we are the ones who are choosing/electing officials. we are the ones who seat these people in our government. if we don’t choose wisely, we end up so far behind that it will be impossible for our country to rise above the shame brought by corruption.

okay. so changes. what does it entail? a new policy? a new direction? a new leader?

all of those actually, plus a lot more.

in pampanga (my beloved province), we’ve been under different leaders. but some of these elected officials are the worst kind. now, vying for the position of governor are the quarry lord and the jueteng lord. whom will you vote? i myself had a difficult decision to make. imagine choosing between two evils. gosh. tsk tsk. it’s a good thing that an alternative candidate emerged— the one dubbed by the people as the praise the lord. now, people can choose with their mind, their heart and their conscience. but is it enough? can prayers alone fight the two evils looming on our province?

a change. it happened. here in pampanga, it did.

the youth spoke, the elders did, too. in support of Fr. Ed, the camaraderie of capampangans was shown. donations poured in, support was given. no one was paid. everything was voluntary.

volunteerism. the youth.

despite rumors being said to destroy the image of Among Ed, the capampangans bonded together to support the candidacy of Fr. Ed. white flags, white banners, white ribbons. they were all around. the motorcade, all white. it was a very touching and moving sight. nakakapangilabot– that’s the term. amazing. on all the campaigns i’ve experienced, this is by far the best. during the previous elections, no one would even want to post posters on vehicles, on gates, on establishments and houses. they find it corny and worthless. now, the people clamor for posters to the extent of photocopying one just to have a copy. white ribbons on vehicles are waving. it is really a sight to behold.

now, we’re just waiting for the final verdict. i just wish the efforts we exerted are enough to bring out the change we need.

to this posting, Fr. Ed is leading. tomorrow, we still don’t know. hopefully, our efforts to once and for all clean the dirty politics here will prevail. with our prayers, we hope for divine intervention. 😉