EACH time I go to downtown Cagayan de Oro, I have to plan my itinerary.
Can I insert a movie in between the morning and afternoon appointments? Can I shop for groceries at The Marketplace at Ayala Malls Centrio if there’s no movie worth watching? Can I go window-shopping after the appointment? Or should the question start with, May I?
“So many questions/But the answers are so few,” as the Side A song goes.
It’s almost like I live outside of CDO considering the traffic during rush hours while traveling from uptown to downtown and vice versa.
Uptowners dread going to downtown CDO, and the downtowners feel the same way if they have to go to the uptown area. “All’s fair in love and war,” as the saying goes.
With Election 2025 so near, the voter can now see political bribes waving, er, the political ads waving, er, the bridge waving before it falls down, no thanks to commissions? Hmmm.
Each election means busy for those who love to run for public office, and for their teams. Here’s hoping they’re busy planning for the post-election future in case they win, instead of focusing on shaking hands, kissing babies and grandmas, and dancing and singing a la Elias.
Their post-election plans, though, may include how to recoup the bribes they gave to potential voters, er, how to recoup the campaign funds they spent on tarpaulins and billboards, er, how to win again in the next election.
A politician cannot serve the madlang pehpohl if his pocket is the only thing he wants to serve. If that’s his focus, he’s not a public servant but a pocket servant.
Aside from removing the Marcoses out of Malacanang, one other goal of the 1986 People Power was to ensure that only the genuine public servant would win in future elections. Yeah, dream on.
39 years later, and here’s the Pinoy, still dreaming.
There was this movie in 1977 with the title, “Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising.” And that could be the Pinoy’s neverending thought bubble as he hopes for better days, only to witness another Senate hearing to impeach a government official. So, dreaming and waking up become a vicious cycle.
I wasn’t the only one present at the 1986 People Power. There were many others who are most probably having senior moments now, the kind of moments whose onset I’ve been trying to delay through diet and exercise. Yeah, dream on. Still, I gotta feeling that they’ve continued to do their part in helping Pinas get the government officials that it deserves.
And what does Pinas exactly deserve?
I’ve been dieting since January 2021, low-carb since February 2022, gyming since February 2024, and carnivore starting this month. That’s a four-year journey that includes monitoring my blood pressure twice a day, noting down my body weight and food intake daily, and watching low-carb and carnivore YouTube videos daily. It has not been easy. But I persevere because I can only get the health I deserve by being consistent in learning more about what works for me.
So, is that what deserve means? Work hard and hope to get what we deserve?
