BRO. EDDIE KA PALA?!

i got this reply from an MBA classmate after i sent a text campaign to everyone in my cellphone address book this morning..

i stopped for a while to think about what her reply meant.. i guess she may have thought that i didn't have the credibility to campaign for a widely known servant of God.. all of a sudden, i knew what magdalene must have felt like.. hahaha.. but i digress..

the thing is, my christianity is not the issue here. it is our upcoming elections, and choosing the right person to lead this country in the next few years. see, prior to 2004, i've already considered numerous options, and one of them was to pack my bags and leave, because i felt it was the best way to help our country.. in the end, i decided not to.. but it was really more of a personal reason than anything else.. which i'm not going to go into.. anyhow, i was beginning to adopt an escapist's stance, and decided, it's time to break that bad habit down..

at first i opted to vote for GMA.. because once FPJ announced his decision to run for presidency, in my mind, it was really a battle between the two of them... roco was my original choice, but because of his lack of machinery, and his seeming lack of conviction and passion (still i really think he has good potential, even with his wife-beating scandal).. So i said, ok, GMA it is.. after all, she was able to do some good.. but she fell short of expectations, her being a supposed expert economist.. and it has nothing to do with her elitist background either.. but i look at her, listen to her, then look around me.. the picture just doesn't fit. she had her chance, and she turned out to be yet another puppet of her capitalist advisers and supporters, who unfortunately, are the ones getting richer, and us, the lowly mid/lower class citizens, suffering the impact of joblessness, overpopulation, inflation, etc..

it has been a long time since i cared like this.. i decided it was better to be apathetic.. that way, you know, i can just continue to blame others for the sorry state of our country.. after all, i had nothing to do with the choices that the people made... but as i realized i actually loved this country, because well, just because, i knew i cannot just sit back and do nothing.. i took a second look at our candidates...

bro eddie.. now, he's definitely an odd man out (eddie gil, of course, is the comic relief, as in any pinoy storyline.. even action or drama movies have comic sidekicks). he was a student leader in college.. he took up law in UP, tho' he an underbar, supposedly because he spent more time in the streets than in the classroom.. years later, he started serving God.. and so far, i've heard no scandal that can discredit him.. and his platform is very simple - national moral transformation..

now one can argue that power is well, a very powerful thing.. and that anyone you put up there, will most likely succumb to evil and corruption.. but out of all the candidates we have out there, he is the only one who has a big fighting chance against the devil.. because he has put God above himself first, for so many years now. it is not easy to make a pretense out of that..

and i guess, in the end, as i've told most people, during times like this when logic or reason fail us, and no matter what we do, it seems that everything is just helpless and hopeless, faith is really the only answer left... so i decided to change my mindset.. this is not just a battle bet gma vs fpj.. it is our battle. this is our future. our country. so it may be uncharacteristic for me, but yes, my vote goes to bro. eddie.