Dare I even try to write about Philippine Politics. It was my first course in College, by the way : I was a Political Science student for a year and a half before I shifted to Broadcast Journalism. I had a fun ride with PolSci, I would never regret taking it. Learned a few things (which I definitely forgot), but I don’t think you have to be a PolSci student just so you could have a valid opinion on this whole … Is there even  a word for it? “Madness” doesn’t seem to cover it anymore.

I’m not going to go all technical on you, I’m not going to pull up law articles and all that, or lecture on the history of Philippine Politics. What I will do, is state the obvious, because that’s what I’m good at.

So here we are. ‘Tis the Season when we poke fun at people who could potentially be running (ruining?) the Country. The hopefuls have come forward, so suck it up – they are all we have. Walang magagawa ‘yang pagre-reklamo mo.

A few things you might have forgotten / not be aware of :

There is no such thing as a perfect Candidate (surprise!!!), was there ever a public official that didn’t screw up at one point? Isn’t there ALWAYS a scandal lurking from their past, present (and future) that would come to us regardless of it’s magnitude, then knowing how we have a knack to turn things into a bigger (MUCH BIGGER) deal, we decide it’s the best time to get rid of them and have the next best person take their place? And then we’d protest to impeach them too? So sick of the same pattern and how we easily lose faith in our Leader/s. I think it’s such an abusive relationship : the People of the Philippines vs. The President, every single time. One disappointing move and they’re doomed. We want them out of Office. Have the next person come in, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on. We’re only there for them during the good times, and leave them at their worst. Because I guess all Leaders are Robots and are supposedly programmed to do the right thing EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

It’s coming to a point where I don’t really care who wins anymore. The ending is always the same. ALWAYS.

You can’t have one person or one governing body carry the whole country on their shoulders 24/7. Ano bang silbi nating mga mamamayan? To be spoon-fed all the damn time? Tapos pag naghihirap ang Bansa, reklamo kaliwa’t kanan? Diyan tayo magaling. Is that how a country works ba, my fellow Filipinos? Asa lahat sa Gobyerno? Tapos tayo? Siyempre, nagkakaisa! Nagkakaisa tayo pag may mali ang Pangulo, ang Bise Presidente, ang mga Senador, si Gob, si Kap, si Nanay, si Tatay, ang Tinapay! Pag may rally, pag may protesta! But when all is well, we all trot on our high horses. I’m not excluding myself from this. I am Filipino, after all (I’m also Part Spanish – Chinese, if you didn’t know, but yes I am Filipino, regardless). And it’s not like I’m doing much to help the Philippines become better (I even left it, but that’s another story for another day).

Ang akin lang (a.k.a. personal opinion ko ‘to, kumalma ka), we can’t solve a problem by going directly to the highest governing body agad-agad. Kaya nga tayo may mga Barangay keme, City Hall keme, etc. Kung may gusto tayong ayusin, kaya naman nating gawin sa magandang paraan. Start from the bottom, sabi ng Ninuno nating si Drake. Then work your way up if walang nangyayari. Nakakasawa na kase sa balita ‘yung puro pag-aalma nalang, bawat kibot. Alma Moreno nalang!!! Lel? Okay, sorry.

I am irrational at this point. There is no other way for me. I have given up on our Country as a whole, not just on our Leaders, but on us. Yes, the Marcos Administration was mostly terrible (and Martial Law is? No. Not if your Leader does not take advantage of his Power. This is such a BROAD and SENSITIVE topic I’m afraid I cannot properly translate into words, but it makes perfect sense in my head).

We’ve gotten so used of the freedom we have, we don’t know what to do with it anymore. Ang isa pang nakakainis, we keep blaming our Government and the people who are part of it for not being GOOD ROLE MODELS. HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW IF A PERSON IS A GOOD ROLE MODEL? Baka naman magaling lang magpanggap ‘yung idol mo, MamSer. Ang tawag diyan, ACTING. We do not need SOMEONE TO LOOK UP TO. As Citizens, its a responsibility that we should all have. We owe it to the Children. Everything begins at home, mga Kapatid Kapamilya Kapuso. Kahit naman anong mali ang gawin ng mga tao in the public eye, if they were taught that it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Kumbaga, “just because somebody else does it, doesn’t make it right, Anak”.

Undergrad? Babaero? WALA AKONG PAKI. CAN HE DO THE JOB? OKAY THANKS. THAT’S ALL I NEED TO KNOW AT THIS POINT. Not all good citizens are meant to be leaders, and not all leaders are meant to be “good” citizens (subjective po ito). What people decide to do with their personal lives is their business. Basta ba hindi nakakasakit …

We cannot keep judging these Presidentiables. We don’t really know how they would turn out later on. So we do our research, we study them, we place our bets and hope for the best.

And then, we cheer them on, call them “My President”, but we all end up eating our own words sooner or later (I give the next President 3 months before Filipinos have the urge to throw Tomatoes on his / her face). Total eclipse, este change of heart ang ganap. I could be wrong, though. Trust me, I would like to be (wrong about this).

But yes, I couldn’t let myself be too stressed and affected (I wasn’t even able to register to vote on time, my opinion is still valid, in my … umm, opinion). And yes, I do have a Candidate of choice. I’m just going to sit back and hope for the best. I’m going to let majority of the registered Filipino voters decide to whom do we entrust our Country, yet again. I’m going to watch them chant his name, listen to their praises, and celebrate his victory.

And then I’m going to watch them tear him to pieces, just as they do … EVERY.SINGLE.TERM.

On the bright side, I have learned to calm the fuck down when it comes to the coming year’s Elections. I no longer get hurt if people throw hateful words and accusations to my Candidate, and as much as I want him to win, I’ve come to terms to simply rooting for the person who could finally bring change to our Country, regardless of whoever that is. Makes sense? It could be Santiago or Duterte or Roxas or even Binay for all I care – wala na akong paki. Sa mga kababayan ko, it’s your time to shine. Ayusin niyo ‘yan. Basta sana wag niyong pagsisihan. ISIPIN NIYO NALANG, GINUSTO NATIN ‘TO, MGA MAMSER. GINUSTO NATIN ‘TO. PANINDIGAN NATIN ‘YUNG MGA CHOICES NATIN. STAND BY YOUR PRESIDENT. Hindi lahat nadadaan sa Impeachment. KAKA-URAT. NANGGIGIL AKO.

Teka lang.
*Inhales, Exhales for 10 minutes*

Puro trash talk nalang ang mga Kandidato natin, wag nalang nating patulan. Eyes on the goal, my friends. Eyes on the goal. Pikit mata, takip tenga nalang. Use this time to do your research nalang. Study your bets. WAG TAYO MAWALAN NG PAG-ASA (note to self ‘yan, kase walang-wala na akong pag-asa, huehuehue).

And so to close this post, I’m sure you already know who my bets are : I want the D with Cheese! SORRY, I HAD TO. Kailangan ng pun kase baka malagay sa peligro ang buhay ko.

I, thank you.