Money, Politics, Death and 'Simple Jesse'

When I ran for a Barangay Councilman position two years ago, after a short contract at UC, I expected a lot of criticisms – that I was ‘too young’, ‘too inexperienced’…just another restless kid armed with inapplicable idealism to the ‘real’ world. “Just who is this young guy who opted for an elective office? ‘Why not work abroad?’ ‘Why not join big corporations?”  There are a lot of questions, and why would I not, if everything is about money. But then, it is never all about money. The death of our heroes, or even our very own Sec. Jesse Robredo shows that it’s not all about the money. It will not always be the money.

When my father died about a year ago, I was suddenly confronted with a big challenge. Certainly, I’m not a brat anymore; I am already an adult and I have a degree haven’t I? My friend, Howard, made it to the top of the class and yet he did it with working his ass off to pay his tuition fees, so why can’t I do it too? There should not be a problem, “my dad already left me a tool to live”, I told myself. Then, it hit me; I did really need the money. I needed money to finish my law school, to continue my Masters, to help in the house, to sustain my personal allowance, to maintain my damn car which is still being paid through a salary deduction in the first place. I now face the inevitable, without the help of someone, no one to call and ask for a little extra money, no more, “Pa, agdawatak man ti pangnayon ti kastoy”.  In short, I am really my own man now… I choked, admittedly,  but then surprisingly after, I  can only grin.

I am not that scared because I have a plan.

They often say that, “Education is one of the things that they can’t take away from you” , and indeed, it is true. Equipped with my teaching license and some significant experience, I returned to teaching with a growing college in La Trinidad. It is near my home, my workplace, and my graduate school. I am starting to learn how to save some money by cutting my choice of travel. This is logical since I do have an alternative and I have to finish at least three degrees more. However, what complicates it is the position that I am still holding;  although the law provides that local elective public officers (legislative in nature like sanggunians) can engage in other profession provided that it doesn’t interfere with its sessions and meetings, there are still a lot of times in which I have to literally split myself to the demands of two professions. Fortunately, I was able to manage it. What I detest however, is when some persons decided to use 'these'  as ammunitions to their political mudslinging against my poor self.

What I mean is; when my father died, I have to face this war by myself – a newbie against a legion of old timers who felt that I am in the wrong place. Ordinances I forwarded were junked into the piles of 'unstudied' documents in the municipal committee on laws without any action because I guess, they think that I’m just a kid ( and for what he really is; the councilor who heads the Committee on Laws is a piece of sh*t) . Although some were approved, the unapproved solid waste management ordinance of Pico, or even the Boarding House ordinance lay there unattended by councilors contribute to our waste problems and municipal offenses. Resolutions are ignored by higher offices. Example, the road repairs and drainage at the Bayabas road we personally made to both the provincial representative and governor lay there untouched, although it is obviously a priority project. I’ve exhausted the powers and responsibilities we can utilize for goals like these, but sadly…I can only do so much, especially with my current schedule. I’m not making an excuse, but it does sound that I am and I hate it. These situations are just to give you a glimpse of my life. .

Why am I suddenly writing this? Is it to lift some guilt that I feel from a few of my absences in the community because I have to attend to my students? Is it because I felt that I have not done so much? Is it to criticize the game of politics? I don’t know. Nope, on the second thought,  I want to outline how money shaped my decisions. In this case, I refused to quit school hence I have to teach, which may prejudice my other job BUT not for a long time. I believe that when all of these extra baggage are done, I’ll be more qualified to take on tasks which are heavier than what I am presently holding. These are simply prerequisites to becoming the real men which are expected of us. Hopefully, when this time comes, we have already rid ourselves of the self-indulgent vices we frequent, like overgrowing the toys we had in our childhood.

Or I guess, I just dream of following the Robredo Legacy. How could a man have lived more than how he died? As a co-cabinet member said “Nakakahiya kung hindi ganito ung burol natin…”. Our mayors would only dream of the awesomeness of ‘Simple Jesse’. What if people only attend your funeral because of the free biscuit and coffee, the ‘chismis’ and the simple noise? Perhaps that would be the real tragedy. Now, if anything good can come out of this heartbreak, it would be his legacy to current and would-be public servants. Sec. Robredo Legacy is not a ‘trapo’, he does not own mansions (have you seen his unfinished house?), he does not employ bodyguards, he detested putting names on government projects, he is not used to putting his face on tarpaulins just to indirectly launch a campaign ( I know a councilor who has the habit of always putting his not so handsome face in tarpaulins on almost every occasion). Further, he knows his priorities; where money and luxury matters and where it is not - he died in his way NOT to a trip to a casino or another sin city, but a trip to attend to her daughter and family. Money is not always everything.

So how do I relate my topic about money on Robredo’s legacy? It makes the difference. When he took the post as Secretary of DILG which has control over LGUs, he introduced policies and measures which will avoid red tape, corruption, and delay of service. His goals are intended to fair and responsive governance…without the ‘money-making stop-overs’ in the government bureaucracy. He introduced a lifestyle of slippers and bicycles, far from the Porsche and Fortuners of many politicians, hence, the name ‘Simple Jesse’. All of the good things I must say will not render this blog sufficient. I decided that he is my hero.

When my father was dying, he gave me an advice which I plan to hold on until I die. ‘Okay en dayta nga biag; teacher ken public service tapos asideg pay ti balay ken ilim, mayaten dayta’ he told me in a convincing tone. What he meant that time is that I be contented, if not happy...for there is joy in simplicity and in living in a community where your existence is valued.

Certainly, not everything is all about the money.

A Challenge to the Youth (2010)

A Challenge to the Youth (2010)

By: VALRED OLSIM

It’s over. It turned out that the anticipations of a wide electronic fraud by some hired computer-hackers, of a Comelec-Smartmatic conspiracy, of violence that will result to failure of elections, and ultimately a take-over of a Gloria-controlled military, is merely paranoia. Except from the same hot spots where election-related violence seems to have already taken its root in their culture, the first automated-elections was a success (I think). And as the streamers and posters were being taken down, and the speeches of victory and defeat were being delivered; the results of the election undoubtedly imparted messages that were mostly a reflection of the society that we are living in.

While idealism, credentials, competence, and a little bit of sweet-talking may win votes, the election results has proven once again that there’s nothing that assures winning more than a “popular-family name” and of course, “money”. That is the hard cold truth. As the traditional political clans flourish with more power and money, the younger generation became tired and have grown skeptical of the ideologies of the new left. This common scenario has disgusted the younger generation and exhausted their desire to penetrate the traditional political system for change. As a result, the young intellectuals yielded to political and social apathy and sadly, resolved to pursue a “more practical goal”: Go abroad and earn money. As Randy David put it,“…the youth’s patience has grown shorter…many of them no longer identify with the nation’s saga. When they think of political leadership, they think of political predators who feed on the carcass of an impoverished and demoralized people. They have become cynical about politics and cannot see their personal growth as intertwined with that of the nation.”

Ironically, he also explained that most of the builders of our country were very much younger; Rizal was only 27 when he led the reform movement of Filipino students in Europe, Bonifacio was 29 when he founded the Katipunan, and Aguinaldo was only 28 when he was elected president of the new revolutionary government in 1897.

Today, the young promising generation is being pushed in a cell to spend most of their age, efforts, and brain cells to endeavors that are alien to the dreams of their own country. The intelligent and energetic youth are being forced to leave the country to earn a decent wage, or to be outsourced by foreign companies, while most of the incompetent and close-minded old people stay in the reins of power. In the last elections, the youth were merely seen as a campaign tool or an electorate block which can be easily swayed by the names, the power, and colors, nothing more. Our society appears to have forgotten that, “the youth is the hope of our land”. It is our society, and our acceptance to ancient power-hungry clans, that has eliminated promising-young leaders with far-better imagination and disposition. It is our society which has embraced traditional politics with open-arms – rejecting the serious effort to revolutionize this system. The message is clear: “Nothing will change, unless we recognize and accept the need for it”.