A friend asked me how old I was. I said I was 88. “My gosh,” he said. “Why don’t you retire?”
I ask myself the same question sometimes. Most of my batchmates are either dead, bedridden, or sick with dementia.
The problem with us journalists is that we don’t have pension plans when we retire. We must continue to work to earn a living.
I have spent 65 years of my life in media.What will happen to me if I stop now? I know nothing but pound on my old typewriter to meet my column deadlines. At times, retirees get sick of boredom, become their wives’ pets or die early because of the sudden change in lifestyle.
So I will continue to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I have enough engagements to keep me busy.
I do things because I get a sense of fulfillment doing them. I hope to make a difference, no matter how small. Yes, at times I feel I am battling windmills. But I feel I am privileged, nonetheless. I have witnessed Philippine history in the making and have walked the corridors of power. I have seen the best and worst of the most powerful people in the country.
What more can a man ask for?
* * *
President Aquino says that he will campaign in the provinces for his anointed, Liberal Party presidential candidate Mar Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo. Mr. Aquino obviously think they need his presence in order to win.
I don’t know if Mar and Leni realize it, but the presence of the President in their campaign sorties can be a negative thing for them. After all, the Daang Matuwid or the straight-path mantra has been exposed to be a hypocrite’s battle cry.
With Mr. Aquino present in the sorties, people will only be reminded of the many mistakes and shortcomings of his administration. Remember how he bribed lawmakers with the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program to get what he wants?
There is also the slaughter of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano. The families of the fallen are still crying out for justice. But Mr. Aquino has not apologized for the death of the men even as we all know he bears the ultimate responsibility for this.
Roxas does not need to bring the President along everywhere he goes. What he needs is to counter his negative image that he has brought upon himself.
As for Robredo—she has much to work on. I have seen her shaking the hands of people who looked hesitant for the plain reason that they do not know her.
There is no way she could be vice president. She should have just sought reelection.
* * *
Presidential candidates like Mrs. Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares (who continues to top poll surveys) should be told that there are still eight months to go before elections. As such, poll survey results could be farthest from reality.
What the surveys are telling us is that on the day the questions were asked of respondents, that was what their sentiments were. These sentiments can still change.
So for those now ahead in the surveys, do not be complacent. You can easily be overtaken by others who are prepared to work harder.
This is why presidential candidates need to go to the provinces. They have to explain to the people what they can do to improve their lot.
Who can give me food on the table, who can give me a job; and who can I run to for help? Popularity will not guarantee victory; answers to these questions can.
* * *
The Aquino administration and the Commission on Audit must shed light on the total amount of funds for rehabilitation donated by foreign governments and institutions for the victims of typhoon Yolanda. How much has been spent so far?
Many Yolanda survivors are still living in tents and transitional quarters. Santa Banana, is it true that Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman has withheld the release of donated funds kept in the bank accounts of the Department of Social Welfare and Development? My gulay, this is criminal.
It seems that only Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, among the many candidates vying for a slot in the Senate, who is pressing for this. Is he the only one who has “malasakit”? Others have obviously forgotten the tragedy.
* * *
They say that social media wield a big influence on the outcome of the presidential and senatorial elections even if many of the posts are outright libelous, or at least baseless.
I still believe, however, that print and broadcast media (radio and television) carry the biggest influence. Radio, especially, still the most effective for the masses.