Dear Noynoy

(photo courtesy of Dezi Ann Dayao Martinez, a diehard Noynoy supporter)

That your mother, whom I loved dearly like she was my own tita, died recently is not the reason I was finally swayed over to your side. I voted for you with no small amount of trepidation. Close to the end of the campaign, I even defended you in forums when reasonable men argued rightly, that at the very least, you lacked both the seasoning and the necessary credentials to deserve that highest office. Normally, I would follow the same line and vote for the one most deserving of that honor, privilege, and great duty. But these are not normal times. 


You are, apparently, the chosen one. Even before the final ballots were cast, the Filipino people, or at least, a great many of us, have pinned their last hopes on you. This is the silent voice of the many, brushed aside and long ignored for almost a decade. Finally, by casting that one ballot, we’ve aired our grievances over the failure of the impeachment(s) to prosper, and of the Garcillanos and the Hamburjer Abaloses apparently getting away with bloody murder.


Remember this, we did not vote for you. But rather, we voted for that ideal. That hope, that at last, maybe the Filipino people can finally come together as one nation and stand against  the blight of corruption and deceit that has plagued this nation for far too long that we cannot even remember when this was not so.


More than twelve million Filipinos voted for this hope. But remember too, that this number, though large, is not even a majority. That your task is so great, twelve million is not enough. You need the entire nation behind you. Reach out to them. 


Seek the wise counsel of honest men. Do not limit yourself to the usual sycophants that I imagine have wormed their way to your close circle by now. Keep them at arms length. Remember that they are not the reason why you are where you are. 


When you take that sacred oath this June remember all this, and remember too what Ninoy and Cory stood for. We have not forgotten. We will never forget.


Do not fail us. We are all counting on you.