Tirisin ang nunal!

I have said this time and again… I am apolitical.

Being a “iskolar ng bayan”, one would expect that I have attended mobilizations and rallies when I was in college. Having worked for an NGO for almost 10 years, people actually expect me to be connected with a political organization or party.

That is why it comes as a surprise when I tell people that I have only attended one rally in my whole college life – and it was about the UP presidency, then my second and last rally was during Edsa 2. It comes as a greater surprise when I tell people that I am not even familiar with the spectrum of the political parties here in the Philippines.

I do not want to be affiliated with any political party or movement. I am content in my own apolitical world.

However, on days like this, I wish I was more political.

Tomorrow is Bonifacio day – the day of the nation’s true revolutionary hero. And today, the Magdalo group, headed by the charismatic Trillanes, decided that they (again) want to assert that they want change – a change in the government. The group, together with some civilians, like Guigona, Father Reyes and some civil society groups, have taken over Pensinsula Manila, and asked for Gloria to step down. I wanted to personally shake their hands to congratulate them. I know that there are millions of people who would want Gloria out of Malacanang, but only Trillanes (and the rest of his colleagues) actually have the balls to fearlessly (albeit recklessly) call for this change.

The paranoid government, through the blood-thirsty military, did an overkill by forcibly arresting Trillanes and his group, hurting civilians in the process. They even rammed a military vehicle in front of the hotel just to get inside! How stupid is that!!!

I am not feeling too well, but I wanted to go to Makati to show my support for the group! I wanted to slap Gloria in the face to make her realize that people don’t want her as president! I wanted to round up all her advisers and minions, and throw them all out to the sea!

Naiinis ako! Gusto kong tirisin si Gloria! Gusto kong alisin ang nunal nya! @*&&^$&*%!!!! Ahhh… it feels much better to say what I want in tagalog… mas may feelings.

I salute Guigona… for braving the rain, and supporting Trillanes. The poor, old man… he looked pale and sickly.

I salute the Magdalo soldiers… for not losing their idealism.

I salute Trillanes… for being reckless… for being charismatic… for being fearless. Trillanes, sir, I promise to vote for you for president, if you do intend to run in the future.

You have my vote… because you have the balls.


08:35 pm
29 Nov
Quezon City

Will Lightning Strike?

Several months back, I got a text from a friend. When I asked him if he was with someone, he said “No, still waiting for her. Who knows, lightning could strike”, or something to that effect. I honestly did not know what he was talking about. Was he going nuts, and wanted thousands of volts of electricity to pass through his body? Did he really want to get burned in the process? Did he want to experience the excruciating pain? Did he want to die?

A few days ago, Meet Joe Black was on cable tv. I’ve always wanted to watch this movie since last year. Aside from hunky Brad, my interest to watch this film was because my friend told me that his line (“Who knows, lightning could strike”), was from that movie.

Turned out the line was from Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), the father of the lead actress, Joe’s (Pitt) love interest in the movie. Dad was giving her daughter some pointers about love and life. He said that love should be something really special, that she should fall in love with someone who she can love like crazy. He said that she should be swept away and levitate, to sing with rapture and be deliriously happy. She should run the risk. He was advising his daughter not to settle – for less, for crumbs, for just the ordinary. Then he said that line, “Stay open. Who knows, lightning could strike.”

Now I fully understand what my friend was talking about. There is wisdom in the father’s advice. Waiting for lightning to strike takes a lot of patience and maturity. Sometimes, it’s too tempting to just settle for what we see, not knowing that there is something really special which is intended for us. We go into a panic just because we don’t see any sign of lighting in the horizon. Sometimes, we get too preoccupied brooding over the dark clouds, that we immediately seek shelter, expecting strong rains or a storm. Sometimes, I think it’d better if we bravely face the dark clouds and wait patiently… for the lighting to strike. And if it doesn’t on the first try, we wait for it again the following day.

Lighting, like any other emotion, should not be something we should be afraid of. If it strikes, we should embrace it and be thankful that we experienced it. If it doesn’t, we patiently wait for it to come. If it struck the first time and got us really burned, we take it as one of life’s lessons and hope that it strikes again. Because this time, we know better.

But what if it doesn’t strike at all?



02:07 pm
17 Nov
Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya
(mobile)