Posts tagged: philippines,
This election feels as sad and as sordid as a love affair gone wrong. Don’t tell me to grin and bear it, I have my mind to speak and try as I might, I can barely disguise my contempt mixed with a little ironic amusement at how the cards have fallen. Am I surprised at the outcome?
Yes, and I am partly to blame for it. I was looking at politics through heavily-tinted, rose-colored glasses. The vibrant spirit of debate and discourse online misled me into thinking that it’s the same everywhere. I even had the temerity to speak for the ‘silent majority’ who are for my President, forgetting that the true silent majority are mired in poverty, uneducated and jaded. They have their reasons for voting, and they have their own unrealized aspirations. If they are offered P1000 to vote for this and that, I can’t blame them for taking it. I don’t intend to patronize them or trivialize their own tribulations.
Hold on though, it’s not just the C-D-E who voted although they are the majority. That’s right, media outfits, opinion leaders and the upper echelons of wealth, social and prestige dived right in. Perhaps it’s our penchant, as a people, for happy endings, or avoidance of unpleasant things in favor of smooth interpersonal relations as anthropologist Landa Jocano put it, or symptomatic of a deeper, more pervasive amnesia/repression that overcomes our people when it comes to our fragile political memories.
How quick people are to say now (Noynoy supporters and others alike) - move on, stop the whining, we have a new President now. I spent the last few months of my life taking personal and professional risks to support and campaign for my President as a mere volunteer. It was just 4 days ago, 4 days ago when my index finger bled purple and I was hoping (and actually praying) so hard that the next 6 years of my life will be under a new leadership, under a good man with the capacity to lead the country. Please lang, it’s only been four days. There are thousands, possibly millions who are still angry that FPJ didn’t win in 2004. Give me a break.
I wanted to cry when the results trickled in one by one. Now, you ask me to get over it and move on - in the name of national unity? If there is anyone I would believe in who called for it, it would only be Gibo. I say this because he led by example and he continues to practice what he preaches. I don’t have the patience for other people’s hypocrisies, much less the very candidates who sowed divisiveness and rancor in lieu of platforms.
I never wrote about the reasons I would never vote for Noynoy, and if only I had the foresight, I would just give you the link and save myself the trouble.
Call me bitter, or sourgraping, a naysayer because I continue to register my disappointment and disillusionment over the results of the 2010 elections. I would like to hope that later on I will be proven wrong, but I have nothing to go on to feel that way. I don’t know which is worse, to be bitter and jaded, or just to have no basis for hope.
Feel free to ignore what I have to say because it’s counterproductive, divisive and just laced with sarcasm - the last I checked, I have every right to lament just as others can celebrate the 2010 elections with champagne.
**** Title quoted from Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem, Dirge Without Music
While I take exception to labeling myself a political groupie, I am lucky to be interviewed about being a Gibo supporter. :)
Below is the full transcript of my interview (conducted via email) for “Pretty Persuasion” the election edition of Young Star, out today, Friday, on the Philippine Star. Muchos gracias to Paolo Lorenzana for interviewing me. Oh, and for the record, my boyfriend’s name is JAT, not Japs, as reported. :P
1. Age, what do you do/year and course? How have you helped your candidate in your place of work/study?
I’m a twentysomething lawyer also currently pursuing graduate studies. I try not to mix work and my personal advocacy, but I do enjoy discussions with my colleagues about the elections. Outside of work, I give away what campaign materials I have on me to undecided voters who may be interested in considering Gibo. My boyfriend is also an active volunteer. He campaigns and helps organize events in his city. So far he has joined all the major Gibo events in Metro Manila. When it’s possible, we try to go to events together.
2. Craziest thing you’ve done for your candidate, if any?
One lazy Sunday, I didn’t eat the whole day because I was so engrossed in writing an essay outlining the reasons I’m voting for him. It’s my personal tour-de-force. I’m proud of it, and I’m happy it’s been getting a lot of great feedback on the internet. I’m exhausting all means possible to send him a copy of the essay I wrote. It’s crazy because I’ve been bugging a number of people to print it and give it to him. Although I don’t consider it crazy, I’ve also given out stickers and ballers to commuters making their way through dirty and congested EDSA-Cubao at one activity organized by the Green team volunteers. I didn’t know anyone and I came alone, but I got to meet some volunteers.
3. What have you done for him lately?
I went to the Gibo Rocks 2010 concert with my boyfriend - it was a wonderful experience with the Greenies. I’ve written an essay on why I’m voting for him, and I continue to share articles and posts about him on social networking sites.
4. When/what was the last instance you defended your vote/candidate?
The other day. I was ticked off and sent a text message to a friend of mine who asked me if I was supporting Gibo because of my boyfriend. Frankly, I was insulted and disappointed. I used up about 480 characters to express how I felt about such a question.
5. What was the moment you realized he was the man?
I already begun considering Gibo but I think it was after reading F. Sionil Jose’s insightful and moving article about him (“Light At The End of the Tunnel”) that I was convinced.
6. What point/s in his platform turn/s you on?
Before I go into the specifics, let me say first that I appreciate Gibo’s approach to the campaign - it’s an insight to what kind of leadership he offers to the country. His message-driven approach which emphasizes the importance of national unity and his professed style of consensus-building, to me, are what our country needs right now to move forward. He also practices what he preaches - a clean campaign founded on positivity and principles. As for the specifics of his platform, I appreciate his development-oriented approach to confronting the problems that face us. In particular, I admire his platform on instituting reforms and revitalizing the agriculture sector, in the hopes of emancipating farmers from poverty and dependency by molding them into agri-entrepreneurs. I also admire his plans for intensifying and rationalizing infrastructure development.
7. If you could change one thing about him, what would it be?
Any flaws that you aren’t too keen on and that could be the reason he may lose votes? It’s a dilemma. Gibo is often painted as elitist, a candidate who lacks ‘masa appeal’ because of his style of campaigning. The best example would be in his ads. Gibo refuses to ‘pander’ to the masses by bombarding us with soundbytes, celebrities and emotional displays. He just doesn’t want to be popular! He wants people to think and decide rationally for themselves - thus, he is not giving up his GMA association just to score more votes. If I were to change that about him - that stubborn, principled side of him, then there would be no point in believing in him, if he’s just like the others. In short, I wouldn’t change anything about him.
8. If it wasn’t him you’d vote for, who would it be and why?
Sen. Richard Gordon. He has a good track record of public service and I know he has the capacity to lead the country.
9. Why do you feel you’ve got the cred to support/campaign for this candidate?
Actually, I am just like any Gibo supporter who can articulate and engage others in relevant discussions about Gibo’s platforms, positions on issues, vis-a-vis the other candidates - you can randomly choose a Greenie to talk to and you will know what I mean.
10. Ever met him? What was said/what happened? If you haven’t, what’d you tell him?
Nope, but I hope to meet him. I would probably thank him for making me believe that there’s real hope for our country.
11. Any little-known fact you know about him that may validate your fan-girl status?
I know Gibo first laid eyes on Nikki at Faces Disco sometime in 1990.