WITH much thanks to the ulan-ulan for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the song, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down” should now be, Rainy days and Mondays always keep me up.
In case you haven’t noticed, the English version of ulan-ulan is rain-rain. And the campaign season and elections do keep the Pinoy up as he waits for the ulan-ulan until he can finally sing, “Raindrops keep falling on my head.” What head—the one above the shoulders or the one below the… Oops. Sorry po to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
I was indeed pleasantly surprised upon seeing Donna Cariaga, the mom in the latest MTRCB ad, as Karen Merino in “A Very Good Girl.” Although at first, I did wonder why she looked familiar. That’s the MTRCB ad shown in cinemas right before the main feature, to remind the audience about movie classification ratings—General Audience, Parental Guidance, Restricted-13, etc.—to ensure minors won’t see X-rated and violent shows on the widescreen. Unless they own the cinema or they have one at home.
After all, the rich and powerful can afford everything: private planes, choppers, mansions, skyscrapers, a helipad at each of their backyards and on top of each skyscraper, Scrooge McDuck vaults, luxury cars, luxury brands, jewelry, etc. And when they sing, “Diamonds are forever,” they do mean that—diamonds here, there, and everywhere. Adding a cinema or two in there is simply just one more perk they can enjoy.
And these rich and powerful people may support political candidates to ensure the former can keep their wealth and power.
The “season” in campaign season refers to the ulan-ulan. Rainy, aren’t they? Without it, the Pinoy may opt to stay home on Election Day, not caring about who’s running, who’s leading in the surveys, and who’s winning. Ho-hum.
The ulan-ulan has become a weird source of fun as voters compare who gave more, who received more, with the Pinoy joking about transferring to the barangay, city, district, or province where the ulan-ulan can be Signal No. 5.
With barely two years left for the 2025 mid-term and BSKE campaign seasons and elections, the voter may now start singing, “Happy days are here again.” Or, Happy days will be here again soon. Ilang tulog na lang. Yay.
The Pinoy has always been praised for his resilience. I wonder if the foreigner who knows about that resilience, also knows why the Pinoy has to be resilient.
The Pinoy smiles when he sees a camera. It’s raining cows and carabaos—the real rain, not the ulan-ulan—complete with flash floods and tsunamis, and there’s the Pinoy still smiling and waving to the camera, perhaps blissfully clueless that the ulan-ulan he received has made this real rain harder to bear.
If the MTRCB can warn the Pinoy child on what he’s allowed to watch, there must be another government agency tasked to teach that same child the importance of good governance and how to choose a good leader for his country. So that by the time he’s old enough to vote, he can teach his own parents how to say no to ulan-ulan.
