Purely voluntary (or how I became a personal assistant of a Leni-Kiko and Leila de Lima campaigner in Iloilo City)
ILOILO CITY, Philippines — In November last year, during a trip to the City of Love, I was able to meet and greet a senatorial candidate whose staffer promptly gave me a campaign shirt that was smaller than Larry Gadon's chances of getting elected. [READ: Gadon suspended]
I immediately put it on for two reasons: one, the staffer was wearing the same shirt; and two, she could easily beat me up if she wanted to.
In short, I had no other choice but to be honored by her generosity.
But seriously, I was in no position to be picky.
After all, I had flown in from Manila to spend some quality time with a special someone in real time.
Ever since the lockdown in March 2020, we had gone purely digital — audio and video calling and messaging and Netflix-partying.
But in late November until early December, we went back to being a brick and mortar operation in Iloilo City. That is to say, whenever I acted up, she came down on me like a ton of bricks.
In the meantime, as the country struggled to make sense of the Duterte government's inane COVID-19 policies, the special someone had become a full-fledged volunteer for the Leni Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan campaign as well as for Senator Leila de Lima, who is running for reelection.
As a result, ever since the start of the campaign period, I automatically become her personal assistant the minute I enter Iloilo provincial territory.
Part of my duties include picking stuff up, dropping them off, fetching glasses of water, containers of food, running errands, sitting, begging, rolling over, and, if necessary, going on wild goose chases. As the whipping boy of choice, I also help boost my principal's morale when things go wrong.
It's not the most glamorous of jobs but someone else has to do it.
Just ask Bong Go.
In 2019, he made Philippine history by becoming the first (presidential) assistant ever to make it to the Senate. With people like him, personal assistants such as myself have a lot to look forward to. (However, getting the undivided attention of Senator Franklin Drilon wouldn't be one of them.) [READ: Bong Go: ‘I am not your student’]
In any case, in late November, this personal assistant was asked to help facilitate the process of having a Senator Leila standee made so that it can be used for sorties on Panay Island.
All my boss had to do was to send a few messages, make some calls, and voila! The standee was ready for pick-up at a local supplier.
That was the easy part.
The hard part was putting the life-sized replica inside a cramped subcompact that was only slightly bigger than a tricycle.
We eventually succeeded with the assistance from the staff of the establishment that made it.
To make space for Senator Leila de Lima's standee, the back of the front passenger seat was pushed all the way until it touched the edge of the backseat. The standee was then inserted diagonally inside the limited space that was freed up.
To make sure that it would survive the trip to one of several Leni-Kiko headquarters in Iloilo City, I had to sit at the back and hold it steady in the face of potholes, sudden turns, and, on occasion, driver tantrums.
Seriously though, we made space for Senator Leila's standee in the same way that we have made space for the senator in our hearts and, in May this year, on our ballots.
Senator Leila de Lima doesn't deserve a minute in detention. [READ: Social justice champion, Human Rights defender]
She was able to help prosecute cases against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada.
The fact that these people are free and Senator Leila de Lima isn't is a testament to the continuing injustice that she goes through everyday.
Her chief of staff Atty. Petong Sawali said it best when he spoke in her behalf in December last year in Iloilo.
Let's take a step back and examine the events of the past ten years.
That decade marked the rise of Facebook use, which impaired our cognitive abilities, eroded our moral resolve, and reduced our attention spans.
The use of social media — of which Facebook is the most pervasive — also led to the distribution of disinformation at such a massive scale that it infected our public discourse.
During that decade, we were becoming too busy with getting likes and getting retweeted.
But it was also during that same ten-year period when the country was able to hold powerful people to account, with the help of then Department of Justice secretary and later Senator Leila de Lima.
And now, as we stand at another crucial juncture in our history, we are asked once more to fulfill our role in ensuring that we take the prudent, correct path to build the Philippines of our dreams.
Senator Leila de Lima shares that dream — a fairer, more equitable Philippines for everyone.
We can only hope that her name is on your ballot this coming May.
And also, if you vote for her, I'll be your special assistant for a day.*
* Conditions apply. Offer good while supply lasts.
