Monday, October 12, 2009

Yellow Fans

There I was with the crowd, waiting for the arrival of Noynoy Aquino and his party.

Passi City is just one small speck of the Republic of the Philippines so we were quite thrilled to learn that Aquino would by.

I wanted to know what the hype was about and so, I skipped my last period class that afternoon and went off with three co-teacher to the social hall.

We were there by three PM but Noynoy, who was supposed to arrive at 2 failed to show up at that time.

But we were entertained by good singers. One (I was not able to catch his name), was really a fascinating creature, self-effacing but intelligent and nice.

Anyway, around 5:30, Franklin Drilon arrived to warm up the stage for the arrival of Noynoy.

Scarlett, my social studies co-teacher, dragged us to the front seats so that we can get to see them full on.

I was nervous about that. I mean, I have always been a backseat spectator, happy to be totally out of the picture.

After Drilon’s talk of I built-this-and-that, Mar Roxas came in along with other senatoriables of the same party.

Mar was okay-looking in person. I was not able to listen to him since people started flocking at the front and were all putting up their cellphones and cameras to get his picture.

Anyway, he introduced the senatoriables and asked us if we are happy with these people in their line up. The two picked up unknown folks for their senator lines. One was the fine-looking Biazon who was unknown to me until he was brought in that fiasco. There was a guy wearing yellow shirt who had a phony smile plastered on his face though (but I did not catch his name). There was another female from the southern end of the country and she looks all-straight and narrow.

Scarlett disappointedly asked me what the fuss was about. He is only human after all. I smiled at that, wondering the same thing but not really expecting to understand the answers.

Noynoy came in with a bunch of security protecting him from the crowd. He could barely pass through the gates since folks just flocked around him.

When he started speaking, I was enthralled. He was not a pontificating, overly-righteous priest on a pulpit and neither was he a bragging I-made-all-this possible kind of trapo. He just said his piece with sincerity and cool that I admired.

He was humble since he admitted he cannot speak Ilongo and had even asked Mar Roxas to teach him a few phrases he could use. He brought up the issue about GSIS which a retired teacher asked him about.

He pointed out some of the things that could be done and made a promise for change.

I guess our people here in Passi are aware of the need for change. We do not want promises of big things. We do not want projects like new everything.

We just want a clean, transparent government that cares enough to serve us as they should serve us.

I was offended with the way Drilon spouted about how he had this and that built and how he donated this and that amount. The question is, that money did not come from your personal pocket. That was the people’s money we were talking about and you are being given a salary by the people so that you will do your work and the things that you do.

I understand how difficult it is to be a politician and to lead the people but there really is no need to rub it all in. Idiots would applaud, but people who understand would not be too happy about that.

Leaders of the country are actually no different from government employees. We are all paid workers for the country and we are all paid to provide the services described for our particular jobs.

Teachers do not boast about the things they have to keep doing for the rest of the week despite being underpaid and overworked. Our dear leaders are actually much better off than ourselves…

I guess I have become even more determined to teach the unknowing and the unwary about all these little things so that certain politicians would not take advantage of them ever again.

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