After the Party

(NOTE: This blog was written a day after the inauguration.)

As the loud music turns into mute, as dancing and cheering turns into a halt, and as the partying turns into stillness, the real Day 1 of Pres. Aquino begins.

Yesterday, while everyone was ecstatically celebrating the triumph of Pres. Aquino, Kay and I quietly escaped to Mall of Asia and chose to unwind with vampires and werewolves—anyway, vampires and politicos are the same: they suck blood. We don’t intend to be passive or “anti-nationalist” (because in the first place, love for country is never measured by mere attendance to political events such as the inauguration). We just didn’t see the need to make so much “fuss” about it.

True. Yesterday was a celebration of democracy, of “the triumph of good over evil”, of the dawning of “change”. But how many “changes” have we witnessed? How many changes do we still need to finally realize that change will never take place if WE remain stagnant? If WE remain too dependent to politicians? To finally see that these people are mere instruments and we are the ingredients? [We can only change presidents every six years—or every time we wage people power revolutions—but we can change anytime we want; we just don’t]

After the movie, while doing our usual afternoon exercise, i.e. people watching, Kay blurted out a question:

“Anu’ng masasabi mo sa pagiging extra-agitated ng mga Pinoy ngayon? Kasi parang napaka-active ng lahat sa mga activities related sa gubyerno ngayon eh…”

I paused for a while and answered:

“Well, kahit sabihin nating “fanaticism” ang dating ng inauguration na ‘to, I would honestly concede to the fact that this day is a very important day.”

By “important” I mean the inauguration rejuvenated the Filipinos. It brought hope to the hopeless hearts; it brought light to the seemingly blind path.

However, the problem with most Filipinos is our post-colonial thinking of being “dependent” to someone. We have achieved “independence” over a century ago, but we haven’t learned how to become independent. We wait for someone to bring “hope” to us; we don’t seek it. We wait for someone to bring light to our dark lives, we don’t look for it.

It may be too early to criticize Noynoy and make conclusions about his ability to lead the country, but we should never be relaxed nor too confident because change is a long winding road. I am not Anti-Noynoy, but I am not a “fan” as well. He did not prove so much in both chambers, so I don’t see any reason why I should expect something “great” from him. If not for his hero-parents, I don’t think he would have a place in Malacañang. Everyone knows that his presidency is out of the picture until former Pres. Cory Aquino died in August last year. There is no question about Ninoy’s and Cory’s contributions to the country. But Noynoy is never Ninoy nor Cory.

After Filipino fanatics revered him as a demi-god gift from heaven, after the curse of presidency brought about by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo haunted him and his administration, and after the real problems of society stalk them in their sleep, the real Days of President Aquino begin.