Going Back to the Political Scene

It's a big come back for our family in the local politics. After my great grandfather,the first Filipino mayor of our town, died in office, and my other grandfathers and grandmothers served in various municipal and district positions, political blood has slept for a long time in our family until my uncle ran for barangay office more than a decade ago. Now, he's running for a higher office, bringing back the family name in the local political scene.

Well, this political comeback was not warmly welcomed by the family. For years, our family has been living a peaceful life until we got involved in politics again. It drains every ounce of peace in the family...creating false issues, threatening everyone's safety and revealing the real identity of "family friends".

You know politics in the province...or should I say, in the whole Philippines, people think that candidates would be extra helpful during this season and they really take advantage of this. We cannot blame the people, because this practice has been tolerated by politicians for several generations. This is the reason why every morning, my mom wakes me up to answer the needs of a long cue of sick and "sick" people in our garage. The sick is expecting for cure while the "sick" wants financial aid, and spend this to gamble or buy alcohol. That's why as much as possible, we don't give them financial help. Instead, we give them the remaining drugs from our yearly medical mission. Sometimes, my mom wakes me up in the middle of the night to attend to someone who was cut with a saw after being picked up on by a gang. After applying first aid, I have to rush him to the nearest hospital..and I was just wearing a robe and boxer shorts.

Aside from the the daily "medical mission" I do in our house, my tito also brings me along to his campaign rallies. BP check up is really a powerful magnet that attracts people to the rally. People really love having their bp checked. Well, it does not really do anything to their health. They either feel ecstatic when they know that their BP is within the normal range or rationalize and justify why their BP is high, and convince themselves that it is just a temporary elevation of their BP.

Well, that experience opened my eyes to my life ahead, as a part of a known family in my town--- Chrsitian, traditional and conservative. Even with my young age, people begin to look up to me and treat me with respect, like my ancestors who once governed our town. That's why I have to live up to the public's expectations and being exposed to the public pushed me further into my closet.