Hope for 'Pinas

I was watching the proclamation of Noy-Bi yesterday and a hair-raising experience (or whatever's left) happened to me. It was the first, in 9 years, that I saw people full of expectations, full of hope. Of course I know in my heart of hearts that there will be problems along the way. Even Noynoy said, "ang dami po nating minanang problema." With the high spirits, not of those cheering and chanting the President- and Vice-President-elects' names in Congress, but those who were peering into cariderias glimpsing the proclamation, we have something to look forward to.

There's still hope. Amid the complains and criticisms of those who left this country, of how they think this country is going down to the dogs, of how helpless the Filipinos are from corrupt leaders, there's still hope. No. This hope I'm talking about is beyond melodrama. I think we're all way past that. If you want drama, just try remembering PGMA and her ala-telenovela performance. Hmmm... On second thought, maybe it's not good advice.

The event was not Noy-Bi's. The hope is not theirs alone (okay, I keep talking about Hope. This is not Noynoy's brand. I think it's Phillip Morris if I can remember correctly during our smoking session in Ilo-ilo,. He coughed at my face non-stop). It's a hope of a people who are dung-heap tired and exhausted of politicians behaving like soap opera actors and actresses. It's hope for the takatak boys, the hawkers, the vendors, and the like whose only weapon against misery and poverty is a sense of decency. They can't afford to fine-dine like we do (heck! I can't afford it anymore, too!), they can't go to places, or travel to Bangkok, or fly to Vietnam and waste precious money to meander in some silly tunnels. But they can at least have a decent life.

If our institutions our corrected, as what Noy promised, the poor can access cheaper medicine. They can have regular check-ups. They can send their children to schools without getting frustrated where to get their youngs' allowance. And the money they can save because of efficient social welfare spending can be used to, say, some form of decent leisure to keep them sane.

I'm very excited about Noy's plans of hooking up TESDA and DECS. He said there are those who can't make it to college and they should have enough skills to find work even if they're just high school graduates. It's ABOUT TIME!!!! Not everyone is cut for university. And not all those with degrees are educated. Some of them are even far worse than those without formal education.

Hope. It sounds good. I hope it doesn't end here.