Coming

Netnet Camomot .

I WOKE up at 3 am last weekend, and it was 27 degrees Celsius.

6 pm on Monday—29 degrees Celsius.

Talk of climate change.

But the Pinoy has been hoping for a change that was promised to be “coming” with President Rody Duterte at the helm.

To lovers, “coming” can mean a climax of Godzilla proportions.

But for a Pinoy tired with the Marcoses and Aquinos, Duterte’s campaign slogan, “Change is coming,” meant a brighter future for Pinas.

So, has the country been brighter with Duterte? Well, the sun has been shining brighter this summer but that’s not exactly the kind of “bright” that the Pinoy has been looking forward to.

Still, the Pinoy somehow believes in Duterte’s promise of change and even voted for his senatorial candidates and allies in the midterm elections—that’s nine senators of the Magic 12, namely, Cynthia Villar, Bong Go, Pia Cayetano, Bato dela Rosa, Sonny Angara, Imee Marcos, Francis Tolentino, Koko Pimentel, and Bong Revilla (source: Rappler).

There was definitely no more room for the Otso Diretso team. Although Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, and Lito Lapid are not Duterte’s allies, these three were strong performers even in the surveys and eventually won, with Poe placing second.

Villar was No. 1 and the next question has been, Will she run for President in 2022? Her reply, for now, is, “I’m really convinced you can work hard, makukuha mo sa sipag at tyaga ang pagiging senador pero ang pagiging presidente is destiny.”

Oh. Please define “sipag at tyaga”—does this pair include moolah for voters?

As for “destiny,” Villar can always claim in the future that God has convinced her to run, and once she wins, it’s God’s will.

I, on the other hand, have often relied on Batman—Bahala na si Batman!—for my diet, spring cleaning a la KonMari, and even the resolve to read all the books that have been gathering dust in this corner of the room with a view.

The plan was to read them all so that I could choose 30 books for the bahay kubo, since 30 is the limit that Marie Kondo advises in selecting the books that spark joy. Much like the Magic 12 senators, with the 13th placer singing, “Nandoon na, nawala pa, kay malas ko naman talaga,” what I’ll consider as my top 30 books will remain with me, while the 31st and the rest of my collection will be turned over to its new owners. But with my reading speed, it will take months for me to finish reading all these books.

The goal last January was to finish reading them by July or August 2019, the start of the new school year. Well, it’s beginning to look a lot like it will be in Christmas 2019. Or school year 2020-2021.

But at least my reading time is flexible. The campaign period for Election 2019, as set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), was not. Whether the candidates liked Comelec’s sked or not, they had no choice but to follow the rules. Premature campaigning, however, seemed to be the general rule rather than the exception in Pinas.

If some—or all?—of the winning senators engaged in premature campaigning, that doesn’t seem to matter now as they and the hopeful among the losers begin to plan their political strategies for 2022. A politician never stops campaigning even if he plans to retire after this term since he can always push his spouse, children, siblings, in-laws, or relatives to take his place.

In his CNN Philippines interview, newbie dela Rosa was candid enough to say, “Ewan ko kung meron bang seminar d’yan, or ano bang training d’yan para matutuhan ko kung paano gawin ‘yung batas, kung paano gawin ‘yung trabaho sa Senado. Kung merong gano’n I’ll take that opportunity para matuto ako.” Tsk tsk. That should have been his Realization 101 before deciding to run for the Senate.

There are other senators who should also be humble enough to admit they’re clueless on what their job description is.

Does their job description include Senate hearings on why Pinas is becoming a dumpsite for trash from Canada, Australia, and South Korea? Hmmm.

I gotta feeling, though, that dela Rosa is merely making pa-cute on his cluelessness with Senate work. With Duterte as his mentor and endorser, how can he fail? In other words, the Pinoy is keeping his fingers crossed as he wishes for a bright senator to focus on the effects of climate change and the president’s promise that “change is coming.”