SEQUEL: Secret (last minute) campaign
We waited for the canvassing to be completed at around 3am, only to hear the news that my father lost by *sigh* 5 votes *another sigh*!
Of course, my father's supporters believed that he was cheated, because the result of final canvassing didn't tally with the watchers' partial vote count, and because the opponent has violated a lot of election rules like being in the precint during the actual election and speaking foul words during the canvassing. We even got videos and picture of him doing those violations. My father's supporters are up to an appeal, I think. But for us, it is ok that he lost. Besides, the opponent and his supporters don't look like they could accept defeat. We were so afraid at what they can do to our father if he wins, so we stayed beside him the whole time.
After we have confirmed the opponent's five-point lead, my father didn't bother to ask questions anymore, even if there are a lot of questions to be asked. He went straight to shake the opponent's hand. Even the policemen were surprised when they saw him do it because the rivalry was really really intense. But I wasn't surprised at what my father did. He has always been a good and fair fighter. It's such a sad thought that he didn't make it. I pity those who could have benefited from him as a good leader.
My father has already asked his supporters to drop the appeal, but I doubt that they will surrender that easy. They can go on with it if they want. We would help them by compiling the videos and pictures. But after that, we will just quietly monitor the progress. We have already accepted that my father didn't make it. For me, he has already proven his competence as a leader, it is the people's liability that they will not see him prove himself some more.
My father didn't become a Barangay Captain, but at least now, he can be just a father. I am sure that there's a better plan for him. I'm eager and looking forward to know what that better plan is. It was a good fight, anyway. In my father's words:
"... kahit talo, ito pa din ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa akin. Kahit papano nalaman niyang meron pwedeng lumaban sa kanya, baka sakali pag-igihan niya ngayon."I love my father so much and I am so proud of him!
Labels: family, father, politics
Secret (last minute) campaign
I hate politics, it's such a dirty business - compromises here and there, rampant graft and corruption, evident bribery, dishonesty and disloyalty. Philippine politics really sucks!
But much as I try to avoid it, I just can't.
My father ran twice in a row as municipal councilor during the 1998 and 2001 elections. He didn't make it the first time... nor the second. But I knew then that it wasn't the end of my father being a political figure. A few years after those failed attempts, the town mayor personally appointed my father to be the community leader of a new subdivision -- a really big subdivision. From what I heard, it has a voting population of 3000+. Let me reiterate that the figure was just the *voting* population -- a subset of the residents' population.
Since then, my father devoted most of his time, resources, and energy for that community. We often tease him that he's a border of his own house because he spends the rest of the day with the homeowners of that subdivision than with us. Since then, we got used to being disturbed in the middle of the night by people or incidents that would need urgent decision and attention of my father. Since then, we contented ourselves with the fact that our father is a public servant, and being a public servant meant less time for us, more time for them; less of his money for us, more of his money for his subordinates who are sick and needy; less for us, more for them.
If I were to be asked to describe him as a father and as a public figure, I would say that he is a public figure more than he is a father. He was a better provider to his subordinates than to us. He was more visible in the community programs than in our school events. He has given more advise to the children of that community than to us, his own daughters.
But I don't hate my father for that. I LOVE HIM FOR THAT AND I AM SO PROUD OF HIM. He was a better provider to his subordinates, because through his efforts, a public school was built in that community. He was more visible in the community programs, because he conceptualizes and heads almost all events in the community -- talents' night, cultural shows, Wish Ko Lang type of shows during Christmas, battle of the bands, sportsfest and even gay pageants! He has given more advise to the children of that community because he looks for the drug-dependents and thieves, disciplines them, teaches them a lesson and eventually gives them decent jobs and sources of income (garbage collector, driver, makers of charcoal, etc.).
My father has proven his worth as a public figure. But he didn't stop there. A few hours from now, people will decide if they want my father to be their
Barangay Captain. My father said that he doesn't need the position anymore, yet he decided to run, again, for his subordinates and for other people who haven't yet benefited from his competence as a leader.
If I were to decide, I want my father to be just a father. I want his full attention to us, his family. But whenever I remember what kind of leader this community will lose if my father stops, I wake up to my senses and realize that this country needs a leader like him. I am so proud of him, and so is our whole family. I am glad that our whole family is behind my father's back in this endeavor - my grandfather, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles have spent so much time and resources creating his campaign paraphernalias (fliers, posters, stickers, sample ballots), cooking food for his supporters and running errands for his every need. My father is not running alone, we are with him in his every step.
I really pray that my father will win this election, even if it means more for them and less for us. I know that it is his utmost desire to serve other people. But if he loses, so what? He'll still be a FATHER anyway.
Labels: family, father, politics
