"Every Filipino given the chance, given the right environment, will outperform everybody else." – Gibo
And Benigno Aquino III, being a Filipino, deserves that certain chance too.
I was never interested in politics before. In fact, I coined a term for myself: I considered myself “apolitical” (such as how they form the words, amoral, atheist: not believing in, not having any-), I did not believe in politics, nor any political candidate for that matter. A friend once wrote a note, describing what and how ideal leaders should be. I commented and told him then that I honestly believe that there's no such leader anymore. And I don't think a person who's THAT good would be sane enough to enter politics, ESPECIALLY Philippine politics. I was chided by a family friend about this though, he said that we, the youth must not lose hope. But I still did not believe.
Then Cory Aquino died. A lot mourned for her; we saw the mass of people during her burial. A week after, to my utter dismay, I saw a streamer around our province saying: (near Xevera, Mabalacat to be exact..now come to think of it, isn’t Xevera partly owned by ABS CBN?) NOYNOY AQUINO FOR PRESIDENT. Uhm, im sorry but I don’t think that was appropriate. How could these people think of letting this man run based on the emotions of our people, just a very short time after the death of his mother?
I thought they were not serious. I thought it would not form into a concrete campaign, but..it did. They started filing their candidacy..
..But this post is not really about Noynoy, you see.
The administration announced their soon to be champion: Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. I heard this on the news on a morning before going to work. I told my mom, I won’t vote for someone who works for GMA, but my mom, who also does not like the incumbent president, told me not to be too judgmental and that the man is really intelligent. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the Philippines and its dirty politics.
But I heard him all right. I heard Gibo on these debates and forums..and yeah he WAS good. To tell you frankly, I really was taken by his educational background and his concise, straight to the point, limited-for-a-certain-number-of-minute answers. Of course, I was impressed. I’m a sucker for honest, intelligent people you see- those who’re really smart and not pretending to be one. So, even before the Green Team was even formed, I had already decided that I will support this man. But mind you, I was still doubtful with regards to his association with GMA, but I took this as sign of not being a trapo, of courageously holding his ground, of not being a balimbing or a political butterfly for his own advantage. (I would soon realize later that I was right in this. Because if he wanted to, he could have moved to another party, pretending to disassociate himself from PGMA and trick us into making her PM instead. BUT HE DIDN’T. And those of you saying that GMA will cheat for him in this elections? Well, there you go. It has been clear from the start that Gibo is his own man. Pity most people did not believe this prior to the elections.)
Fast forward a few months later, campaign is in full swing. Mudslinging. Betrayal; Trapos moving from one party to another. By this time, Gibo has earned my sincerest respect. He was not only smart, he was HONEST and HUMBLE, which is something I can only say to a few men of his breed. Despite the desertions, he forged ahead, focusing himself instead on reaching out to the Filipino people, letting them know his clear and hopeful plans for our future, not promising Utopia but realistic approaches to our problems. He did not promise to get rid of corruption immediately, but instead planned ways to curb it, because he was smart enough to realize that it is already deeply embedded in our society and superficial actions would not be enough to remove it. It did not come as a surprise that it was not only me who saw the goodness in this man, despite the surveys, a lot of volunteers were already pouring in to help him win. Like me, they believed that he will be the leader to help us move eagerly forward as a country. It was not easy. Despite the obvious reasons, many still questioned why we are supporting him; he was a failure they say, he did not have enough experience, and so on and so forth. Of course, I would not vote for a candidate who did nothing. The only reason why they say so is because he works silently without expecting recognition; During Ondoy, he rode the MRT and swam the waters of Ondoy himself, refused to be followed by the media, which should have been an advantage to him. How could they save lives if they use the rubberboats for such media coverage?, he said. There was also a time when there was a calamity in Samar (? Somewhere in Visayas, correct me if I am wrong, I am finding it hard to link bank to my previous researches), nobody would fly a plane in such conditions, so he piloted the plane himself, despite the fact that his father just died and he was attending his wake.
He served his people, and he served his people well, without expecting even a pat on the back.
For this, I respected him, and respect is something I do not easily bestow upon anyone (not that I am that important to do so.).
He inspired me. For once, I felt that the Philippines had HOPE. Finally, here was a leader, within our reach, who would have the competency to lead our nation justly, and make it prosperous, just like our neighbors. I believe this because he would focus on his plans, not waste his time trying to prove another government wrong. I was “apolitical” before, I was a doubting Thomas, but he changed all that. I really believed that finally, we can have a president we could be proud of and who could deal for us with international leaders.
I campaigned for him, to the point that some of my friends found it strange (strange, because they were already asking if I was his niece or how much he was paying me, because I was really passionate in convincing others to vote for him). Never had I been this hopeful, never had I stood for my conviction with regards to the future of this country before.
So please understand that it was not easy for me to accept that I was not going to realize that hope.
There really were tears in my eyes when I started to see that he was not going to be our President. Instead, Noynoy Aquino was. So pardon all the hatred and probably hurtful comments that G1bo would have been ashamed to hear. I was emotional, I was angry. I felt that we were deprived of something that was meant for us. It was within our reach, but we threw it away!
But, it is the truth, and well, as a song goes..truth hurts (a lot, a whole effin lot, by the way). Yet it is the voice of the majority, and we are living in a democratic country. This afternoon, my candidate has conceded, and who was I to oppose?
“This vibrant & newly empowered constituency will work with the new president to help rebuild & unite our country. This is in keeping with G1bo’s positive politics of hope, healing & unity.”
He would have been ashamed of what I said. Hard as it may be to accept, I am a Filipino. Yellow army, like it or not, I am now one of you. (*insert strained smile here* – JK! but I will remain a greenie at heart!) I may not have shared the same views as you have, but we are living in the same country. I said you were not thinking. Perhaps you weren’t, perhaps, you were. God knows we all aren’t perfect, only He knows the game plan. At the least, a sense of nationalism was instilled back in me. For a moment there, I really wanted to help our country, give it a better future. There is nothing to do now but help each other. Dick Gordon (who also should have been a better President) had said that, what we need is not a change of men, but a change in men. It makes a lot of sense. It is up to us, not only the government. I campaigned for positive change, and there is no reason that I should not continue that, just because G1bo did not win the presidency. But he did win, it was us who lost.
Thank you, Mr. Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. You have inspired a lot of us, and have taught many of us to be more educated in choosing our leaders.
As he said, everyone must be given a chance, and so does Noynoy Aquino. As I said in my previous fB comments, we only wish our country good. I hope he sticks to his promises of changing this country. All the best, President Aquino, Congratulations.
*im seeing typos but im sleepy @_@
