The final, final public debate

Netnet Camomot

IT was called “The Final Debate.” Because there should be no other debate after that.

No Final, Final Debate, like the way I e-mail my Ms. Behavin’ columns to our EIC Herbie Gomez when I see mistakes in the first one I e-mailed to him, thus, I put “final” in the subject line of the second e-mail to alert him not to use the first one, and text him to please use the one with “final.”

But then, I see another mistake in the second one I e-mailed, thus, the necessity to e-mail the third edited column, this time with “final final” in the e-mail’s subject line to alert him to use this edited column instead of the one with “final.”

I don’t remember sending him a column with a “final final final” warning, but if ever that did happen already, my most sincere apologies, Herb. Sorry gyud kaayo from the bottomless pit of my heart for complicating your world of editing.

Yes, I wrote about my “final” habit in a previous column but can’t help inserting it in this world of political debates.

It’s exactly a week before Election Day. For the first time in my life as a voter, I still don’t have a complete set of favorites from president to city councilor. I’ve already reached this point: Bahala na si Batman with the ballot.

That’s why “The Final Debate” was there for Cagayan de Oro’s mayoral and vice mayoral candidates to help us decide: Sino ba talaga, Kuya? The incumbent mayor, the former mayor, the incumbent congressman? The incumbent vice mayor, the former city councilor, the son of an incumbent congressman?

No, the choices are not confusing. They’re as clear as the summer sky if you only know how to listen to their debate. And there have been too many debates already from the national to the local levels.

But the confusion may occur if you’re now empathizing with a candidate’s woes: Kawawa naman, he’s the underdog na. Which you may see in a debate–the underdog being hit from all sides by his opponents, and he leaves the stage, looking like Manny Pacquiao after one of his few losses.

If your conscience is telling you to vote for the one with the least record of graft and corruption, that becomes A-OK if he and the underdog are one and the same person. You know, the same name, same face–must be the same person, eh?

Wait, better choose the one with no record of graft and corruption. Absolutely none. Nil. Zilch. Zero. Yes, that’s an impossible dream. But we can dream, can’t we?

And we can also dream that those connected with grafting and corrupting will change and morph to an angel. Yes, dream on.

But we can always give these seasoned politicians the chance to reboot, restart, refresh, like your Jurassic laptop. So, they can move forward with the new millennium, the new sunrise, the new world.

Change, after all, is the only constant thing in this world, thus, we should always give chance to others. But if they continue to change for the worse, aguy, good luck na lang.

And there could be a debate on who’s getting better or worse. And we are back again to the never ending roller coaster of debates.

On May 9, though, the most important debate will be between you and your conscience. Or your heart? Like, who does your heart beat for? Yay. And that’s when you’re wishing you’re back to the debates on love teams. JaDine, KathNiel, AlDub–sino ba talaga, Kuya?