Let Change Come

(Sing to the tune of The Carpenters song, “Merry Christmas, Darling.)

Certificates have all been sent,

The filing rush is through.

I still have one thing to state;

A special one for you.

Sorry, it’s a mess darling.

Breaks my heart; it’s true.

But I can dream

And in my dream,

All this fussing is through.

I just thought, maybe I could mix the Christmas and the political seasons in one carol.

So, the candidates are now in fighting positions. I feel like my childhood hero has died and crumbled to the ground as Ubos kung Ubos bids goodbye. At least, the slow expected death made it easier to accept. We saw it coming in the cracks in the last election, which allowed for one brave outsider to break through. Now, it seems like the floodgates will be gushing through. Oh, let nature have its way. At least, I have 1989 to 2019 in my memories to cherish.

The national scene is witnessing projectiles of different colors, of varying lengths shooting in different directions. It would look amazing for New Year’s Eve fireworks, but it makes me want to run for cover because I feel like I might get stung and burnt if I get too close. On their corners are aspirants who seem to have noble intentions to hold the highest positions, but then again, we can never tell for certain. There are good people among them, but my butt couldn’t quite sit very comfortably with the thought of anyone of them on the presidency. Of course, the last days of the filing saw a breaking through of light and hope that made me hold my breath in relief, just like watching that part of a movie where the protagonist is starting to come on his own and gathering his strength to pack a big punch on the bad guy’s ugly face. But then, I still hold my breath so hard because the tables could still be turned.

Then, there are those who shamelessly and blatantly grope on the ground to gather whatever they can hold on to attempt a disgraceful extension of power. What legacy do they want to continue? They just want to stay in power. What strategy are you talking about? You’re all plainly and simply lying on people’s faces. When one says he would run for such a position, and does not actually file for candidacy for that position, and let someone who is far too obviously unfit for the filing of candidacy for the highest position is a naked mockery of the democratic process we hold so dear. What a disgrace that some people would willingly sink so low.

We’re like spectators watching athletes doing their warm up preparations before the start of the games. I can’t really tell you which contender to bet on; as much as I would not want you to question me on the side I choose to support. But I have one thing to state, a special one for you. Call it an appeal. Look at where we are now. Look at how the reins of government have been held, especially through the crisis of the pandemic. We have seen and experienced the doldrums and decline that have driven the nation, or the city. We have been tossed to and fro and beheld how much these leaders deserve to be in position. Were you not there when a war was waged that casualties were caught in the fray indiscriminately? Were you not there when every move seemed to serve the purpose of popularity on social media? Were you not there when power was abused and molested? I appeal to you, let change come. Continue.

Are you not here today when the Philippines has developed in its democratic ideals in the same league with the big, bad Russia? If the first ever Filipino Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa (whom we are greatly proud of) shares the award with Russian journalist Dmitri Muratov, then they are being recognized for in shared fight for freedom of the press against similar restrictors of freedom. Let me now apply the little knowledge that I learned from algebra. If variable Ressa equals variable Muratov, and variable Russian president over variable Muratov, and variable Philippine president over variable Ressa, then variable Russian president equals variable Philippine president. The Nobel algorithm just placed the two leaders in the same value. That would make the Philippines in the same footing with Russia where no one dares go against the ruling head of state or he who defies may end up getting lost without trace, jailed, poisoned or killed. That is the sad implication of this victory. It is sad that our own government has piled cases upon , thereby has rejected Maria Ressa whom the world has recognized, that our own government tagged, and thereby rejected Hidilyn Diaz whom the world recognized as a champion. They had rejected what the world recognizes. I appeal to you, let change come.

““For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Change-And-Growth” -Job 14:27