AND I thank God that today is Election Day.
Whatever else happens, I’m pretty sure that I have done all my best for my country.
Let it be remembered that I stood in the only right side of history during this election.
I voted wisely, and campaigned passionately for the candidate I deemed most fit to lead us to some honest progress.
Yesterday, I prayed to God and surrendered the fate of the Filipino people to God’s will.
We all deserve the leaders that we elect.
But if there will be injustices and blood on the streets, it will not be on me.
***
I am very glad that all the campaign is over.
I really hate writing political pieces, or articles with political color.
It’s not characteristically me.
But on this crucial presidential election, I made a stand.
As I did in 1986 for Cory Aquino.
I remembered how helpless I was feeling then as I went house to house, begging people to vote Ninoy’s widow.
I had no voting rights back then (underage!), but I truly believed the united opposition’s cause.
So, yeah. I felt proud being instrumental to bringing down a dictatorship.
***
This year, after 22 years in Ilonggo journalism, I felt I have all the right to use whatever media mileage I have for my candidate. (Without receiving any money from any candidate, let’s make that very clear!)
I mean, I seldom and very judiciously use my column space for political campaign.
I have always announced the candidates I support, but I never really campaigned hard for them.
Well, maybe I campaigned a little for Duterte and Robredo in 2016.
Maybe I campaigned for PNoy before that.
Maybe I even protested against PGMA over the Hello Garci scandal.
But on the whole, I do not like political writing at all.
***
And I pray hard that this will be the last election I will ever write columns about.
Because political writing just zaps the creative energy out of me.
I always feel I have to talk to the stupids politically because it’s the stupids who are the loudest with their arrogant ignorance on social media.
There is no intelligence needed to write political columns in the Philippines.
The intelligent readers get me, and if they already get me, why should I even write what we both already know?
And so, I direct my energy to educating the stupids, to appeal to their sense of decency.
But they have no decency, and have no f*cking literacy.
They refuse the facts; they just choose what they want to read.
They are the real retards!
***
I should have finished two literary books since the beginning of the year.
I should have completed my 100 homoerotic poems from my European sex tour of 2021-2022.
I should have completed my book of children’s literature.
I mean, I should even have written a few new pieces for this year’s Palanca Awards.
But these are just my personal goals.
My country, and the future of the Philippines have precedence over my personal projects.
Still, I do not know if my great sacrifice is all worth it.
I guess we will know in the next few days.
For now, I live with no regrets.
***
But boy, I am so glad the campaign period is over.
I am actually breathing poetry on my other laptop now.
Last week, I was there when people on Facebook changed their profile pics to pink.
It was a happy sight.
Cheerful. Hopeful. Optimistic. Inspirational.
***
I have paced myself pretty well over the campaign period.
I didn’t start too early, I didn’t finish too late.
Emotionally, I did it very strategically.
In last Friday’s column, I was still pushing some campaign because, hey, I didn’t want to waste space, time, and opportunity.
But today, I’m back to normal programming.
If our political leaders f*ck us up starting now, that will be all on you.
All you smart and stupid people out there.
If you are smart, why did you not do enough? (And I meant, as much as I did!)
If you are stupid, well, your stupidity leads us to what now?
***
As for me, I will serve the Lord.
Then, myself.
I so deserve it.
I told you so.
***
I do not regret anything that I do, or did.
Because I do not give my heart so lightly.
The campaign was necessary, essential.
I wanted to be the Thinking Man for my people.
That my people wanted to be f*cked in the arse, that’s on them.
***
So yeah, next stop: Machu Picchu?
I really don’t know.
I’m very tempted.
You see, life for me is beautiful.
And for everything else, there’s my American Express and Visa cards./PN
