the exciting part
hey friend. i think this week definitely deserves a check-in. how are you? this week has been batshit, to say the least, so i'm starting this off with a virtual hug. we'll get through this. the only way out is through. -k
So yeah, the unthinkable has happened, and Vice President Leni Robredo has lost her presidential bid. We all know what that means--it means that the Marcoses are back in Malacanang.
To be honest, I'm among the millions of supporters who are still processing what has happened, and I spent most of this week trying to keep up with work tasks despite the daze and haze.
On Monday, I was among the millions of Filipino voters who queued up to vote. I voted in the same polling place I have been voting in since 2010, and let me tell you, in all those years, I have never stayed in line for that long. In past years, I never had to join a line to get inside the high school. This time around, I spent about an hour just trying to get in. Then I spent another hour or so queued up in the classroom that was our clustered precinct.
I was thankfully out by noon, thanks in large part to our very hardworking VCM. I know for a fact that I have friends who needed to stay in their respective precincts well after the supposed close of voting hours, because their VCMs malfunctioned in one way or another, and they wanted to guard their votes by not leaving their ballots to be fed into the VCMs by the board of election inspectors or something.
tl;dr--A lot of people really went out to vote.
More than thirty million of them voted for the dictator's son and namesake. Or at least, that's what the automatic transmissions to the Comelec's "transparency server" have said. That's one in nearly every three Filipinos falling for the disinformation infrastructure that the Marcoses have paved their decades-long return to power with. It's sickening, definitely. Another six years of leaders who will prioritize their own agenda over the needs of the people.
We had one shot at a once-in-a-lifetime leader and we blew it. It definitely feels like a heartbreak. The One That Got Away, my friends have said.
Many have said we are in the Darkest Timeline. I say I've been in my darkest timeline since December 2015, around the time LJM died. I swear to god, nothing has been the same since, and so far since then it has been downhill after downhill after downhill.
These days, I've been thinking about my mother, who bore me in 1984--months after Ninoy was gunned down, and at a time when inflation was at its crazy peak. I've been wanting to ask her what it was that made her feel like it was a good time to bring a child into those dark times. I mean--were they blissfully unaware? Or were they radically optimistic? Was she hopeful that things were about to get better? Did she think I would bring them luck?
Of course, these questions are already moot, but I really have to admire the sheer optimism, yeah? The determination and hard work it took to raise children at a time of upheaval. Thirty-eight years later, another similar upheaval--but look ma, no babies. I guess I'll never be half as hopeful as they were.
In any case, we tuned into VP Leni and Sen Kiko's Tayo ang Liwanag Pasasalamat get-together, which was held at the Ateneo grounds because Quezon City LGU rescinded its initial permit. A taste of things to come, definitely. Anyway, in it Vice President Robredo announced her intention to establish Angat Buhay Foundation right after her term ends on June 30, to continue the work of the OVP's Angat Buhay project, which will likely be orphaned when Sara takes over the VP post.
I don't know how she does it, but VP's speech was soothing and calming. More than the obvious good that she is bound to do--We will build the largest volunteer network this country has ever seen--I am especially excited about Angat Buhay Foundation because it will also showcase VP Leni's ability to define problems, identify solutions and build systems around them that are cost-efficient and easy to replicate.
One of my greatest frustrations with government is that the problems are always staring them in the eye, and yet they always seem to either mis-appreciate them or prescribe ill-fitting solutions for them (how they evaluate these recommendations--your guess is as good as mine)
But with VP, she always seems to know WHAT the right problem is, and how to address it, at a scale that is appropriate given the available resources. Which should be the minimum requirement for government officials, but hey have you seen the senators we have elected as well? It's nuts, to say the least.
But yeah. Angat Buhay is launching July 1st. The day after. I guess we have our work cut-out for us then.
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On happier news:
The University of the Philippines Men's Basketball Team won the finals against Ateneo!!!! This means that they have broken the 36-year Championship Drought of the squad--which is hella amazing!!!! The closest we got was in 2018, when we finished first runner-up but lost to Ateneo during the Finals, 2-0.
This time around, UP won the first game, then Ateneo won the second game, forcing a Game 3 -- which even went to overtime! JD Cagulangan, who hit the game-winning three-pointer in the dying seconds of overtime, played a monster game throughout. CJ Cansino, who was injured for most of the playoffs, made 14 points in his only game in the Finals--in which he spent all of 12 minutes. Cansino was responsible for the three-pointer that sent UP to overtime. No hesitation, just pure steel nerves. Amazing.
Anyway, it's worth noting too that the last time UP won a championship was in 1986--wow, the same year we ousted a dictator! Maybe the year holds its surprises still.
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from the internet
- Go buy Adarna's martial law bundle, because we have to keep telling the stories ourselves.
- Here's Ateneo Press's list of relevant books, for your martial law libraries as well.
- Liway is now available for download free.
- Maiba lang: Please watch TWICE Momo (and Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu of course, but MOST ESPECIALLY Momo) in this 67-second dance video to Ariana's bloodline.
- Astronaut Jeongyeon? Astronaut Jeongyeon.
Lastly, my favorite VP Leni anecdote, as told by outgoing Dinagat Island Gov. Kaka Bag-ao's public information officer, Jeff Crisostomo:
https://twitter.com/jeffcrisostomo/status/1524751624027066371
Pilipinas! Ano ba 'tong sinayang nyo! :(((
Hay. Hugs,
K.