"Panatang Makabayan, Mejo Iniibig Ko Ang Pilipinas.."

Honestly, I don't know any Filipinos who can truly say that they LOVE the country. Not the way that I do at least. I have a friend who is half Chinese, and when I asked that friend to choose to be either pure Chinese or pure Filipino, my friend without hesitation, wanted to become purely Chinese. I don't remember if I asked why, but I do remember my friend justifying that choice by listing down the things my friend hated about being Filipino.  

Bilang bitter ako at mejo gago, sinabi ko nalang, "Sa tingin mo ba kung ginera tayo ng mga Intsik, tapos pagpapatayin lahat ng mga Pilipino, sa tingin mo ba ililigtas ka nila? Haha sabi niya naman "Siyempre hindi." Malamang. 

Alam kong wala namang patutunguhan yung usapan naming yun. Gusto ko lang siguro siyang masaktan kasi nasaktan ako sa sagot niya. Tanong tanong pa kasi ako.

Mejo OA, alam ko, pero nasasaktan talaga ko kapag may mga Pilipinong mas gugustuhin pang ipinanganak sa ibang lahi. Hindi rin naman nila kasalanan yun, o kumbaga, ano bang pake ko sa gusto nila sa buhay nila. Nai-share lang naman.

There was also that one friend who not necessarily wanted to be born with a different nationality, but would rather live in a western country. See, I don't blame that friend, it is a matter of preference after all. That I understand. If my friend wanted that kind of Western lifestyle, then so be it. Again, it's a matter of preference. It shouldn't actually matter. One should be allowed to emigrate if one desires to.

Pero andami kasi nila. Andami nilang mas gugustuhin sa ibang bansa nalang manirahan. Parang yun na yung pinaka pangarap nila sa buhay. Halos lahat ng Pilipinong nakakausap ko dito, given the chance, they'd rather stay here and live the rest of their lives in Canada. Because why the fuck not? Canada is probably the best country in the world. That's coming from a person who's never been to any other country. Please disregard this opinion. But fuck, life is good here. Life is definitely 85% better here, but life is probably 85% better in any other first-world country, compared to the Philippines anyway. 

I have no fucking idea why I can't seem to let go of the Philippines. Believe me I tried. I tried remembering how shitty the traffic in the Philippines is. I keep on telling myself that WIFI is garbage there. I wanted to hate the country so bad. Just to finally move on and live the rest of my life in this almost perfect haven called Canada. 

But I can't, at least for now.

Lalo't tumaas pa yung interes kong umuwe sa bansa dahil si Duterte na ang presidente. Duterte's rise to the presidency felt like it's the first time in a very long time that Filipinos found a common ground. Not everyone of course, but I personally don't know anyone who hates him based on what I see on my Facebook timeline, which apparently is my source of news.

Yung mga may ayaw lang sa kanya ay yung mga kilala kong sobrang religious, na naiintindihan ko naman. Ayoko din naman na gustuhin nila si Duterte kung totoo ang mga balibalita tungkol sa mga extra-judicial killings. Hayaan ko nalang silang maging banal. Kelangan may balance talaga ang lipunan. Pangit naman kung lahat pabor sa kamatayan ng lahat ng kriminal diba. Masyadong dark. 

Maliban sa mga religious na tao, napansin ko lang din na hindi masyadong pabor yung mga Pinoy na nanirahan na't namuhay sa ibang bansa kay Duterts. Yung mga Pinoy na na-impluwensyahan na ng husto ng kanlurang kaisipan. Yung mga middle-class sa ibang bansa pero elitista pag-nagbakasyon sa Pinas. Yung mga nilamon na ng buo ng maunlad at sibilisadong pamumuhay sa isang First-world country.

Sibilisado. I try to go on twitter and read tweets about Duterte, honestly, I rarely see any Fil-ams who tweet good things about him though. (so I'm gonna fucking use "Fil-ams" to refer to every expats ok?! but it doesn't necessarily mean they're from the US, fuck formalities and political correctness.)  What hurts the most is when you see them agreeing or patronizing an opinion from a foreigner who doesn't know anything about the whole story, or the whole country for that matter. I understand it's their right to say what they feel, or approve of whatever they think is correct, or funny perhaps, but... I just really hope they stayed silent instead you know? 

Believe me, I get that we should be able to criticize the government and all, check and balance and shit, but I kinda wish everyone would just have a conversation on how shitty the Philippines is, with people who lives in it instead... with people who actually cares about the country. But free speech huh. Sige, kwento dito kwento jan, bigay ng masamang opinyon sa bansang nagpalaki sayo hanggang sumaya ang tingin mo sa sarili mo.

I guess what's really bothering me is the fact that Fil-ams are allowed to talk shit about the Philippines all they want and are still able to go on vacation any time they please. You know, they get the best of both worlds. If there's a bombing, or a terrorist attack in the Philippines, they're the first ones to criticize the country, and tells everyone how fortunate they are that they're no longer living there, but come Christmas time, they get to go back and celebrate the fuck out of the lechon and appreciate how fun the holiday season is back home.

Alam mo yun, may krimen sa bansa, hindi ako Pinoy, pag nanalo si Pacqiuao, proud to be Pinoy. Wow. Panalong panalo mga ser mga maam. Galing talaga. Congrats by the way. You won. Talong talo na kami.
Karapatan mo kasi yan e. Kalayaan mong maging balimbing.

Ganito yung pakiramdam ko. May isang magulang na pinaampon yung anak niya sayo. Tinanggap mo ng buong buo yung anak niya at minahal mo na parang sayo. Inalagaan mo't pinalaki at naging successful. Tapos yung tunay na magulang, ayun, nag Japan, namuhay ng matiwasay. Picture picture sa Cherry Blossoms. Nagenjoy sa buhay. Tapos isang araw naisipang bawiin yung anak niya sayo. Tapos yung anak naman sumama sakanya. Tapos ikaw, ayun, naiwan magisa, nageemo.

Sobrang walang ka kwenta-kwenta ang analogy ko, pero yung pakiramdam ng umampon, yun yung pakiramdam ko tuwing may isang Fil-am na nageenjoy sa ibang bansa pero nakukuha paring mag enjoy sa Pinas kahit "sinusumpa sumpa" niya na daw at "hindi na daw babalik". 

What's even worse, is if you actually live in the country and still manage to hate the shit out of it. Like all you do is complain, but have never done anything to contribute to its improvement. I just wish I have the power to send everyone who hates the country to some place else granted they'll NEVER come back. I really feel like we'll be doing each other a favor, and the whole country as well. 

Our lack of patriotism is the main reason why I support Duterte all the way. He makes you feel like he genuinely cares about the country above else.
I feel like we've been bending over to the rest of the world for so long. It needs to stop. We need to feel like we have our own identity. We can't always be in the shadows of the more powerful countries. 

We need to make a stand. We can't keep bowing to the opinion of the international community. They should not dictate who we are and what we should like. Let's stop asking for their validation and their approval.



Kung naghahanap kayo ng example, punta lang kayo sa mga reaction videos sa Youtube about sa kahit anong Pinoy related. Bakit parang ang saya saya natin pag-pinupuri tayo ng mga banyaga jusku. Ano ba yun, masayado tayong papapel sa international community, kelangan lagi tayong included.

We're just becoming so needy and desperate for attention. Why is it an issue if Duterte is seated beside Obama or not? Does he become a less respectable leader if he's not seated next to the president of the most powerful country in the world? 

We now have a leader who could care less about the international communities' perception towards him. Does it not make you proud to have a leader who doesn't kiss ass for the rest of his term? Would you rather have him bending over and get fucked by the rest of the world? Can't we just be proud that finally, we have a leader who is known for his strong ideology and not for his being a pushover?

Don't get me wrong, of course it's better to be friends with every nation as much as possible. That's a given. But can we be the friend who doesn't get left behind when walking towards a narrow path? Can we be that friend who's always on the guest list? Can we be the cool kid for once? 

This is who Duterte is to me. His becoming the President of the Republic of the Philippines is the manifestation of our journey towards real patriotism. 

Give him a chance. I have no idea if he can make the Philippines a place we can all be proud of or not, but so do you. Nobody does. And God forbid, if he did fuck this country up and all you tweet is "I told you so", well.. I'm sorry, and yes, You won again. I hope you're happy.

Digong, Lakas Tama!

Si Roxas o si Duterte.

"Tuwid na daan", o ang kailangang daan.

Hahahahhaa nyeta alam na alam na na biased amp! Pwede na talaga kong journalist!

This recent election was the first time that I've felt my vote really matters. Like it will definitely change something. Like it is something that will actually determine the future of the Philippines. Alam mo yun, siguro dahil nasa gantong edad na tayo kung saan tayo na talaga yung makikinabang sa kinabukasan ng bansa.

May pakialam ka na. Apektado ka na.

My vote goes to Duterte. I will continue to write in the present tense 'coz I dunno, saying "I voted" kinda makes me feel like I gave up on him or something, what can I say, I'm a horrible writer. Fuck off! the disclaimer is right there, on top of the page.

I choose him because he is an anomaly. He is far, far from all the politicians that we are normally used to. He fucking swears in probably all his interviews. Who fucking does that?! I mean, eto yung panahon na dapat nagpapabango ka sa mga bobong taong kagaya natin, tapos mag mumura ka sa tv. Yung buong pagkatao niya is way too different from all the other candidates. He stands out. He is not JUST ANOTHER politician. He's the kind of person that when he speaks, you can't help but to listen. Dahil narin talaga sa punto niya. He never shied away from sounding "different" o punyeta i-shu-sugar coat pa e, hindi siya natakot na baka pagtawanan siya dahil sa pagpupuntong Bisaya niya. He is simply different. He makes you wanna vote for him just because you are curious of what he can do to the country. Because it's different. You vote for Poe, and it kinda feels like you're voting for another Cory. You vote for Roxas, and it feels like you're still voting for Noynoy. You vote for Binay, and it kinda brings back the feeling you had when Arroyo was in position, corruption and all that shit. Duterte, he seems, different. People would probably say that he kinda has this Marcos vibe, but, I dunno, I didn't feel like that in any way. Edi kayo gumawa ng sarili niyong blog nyeta! haha pero oo nga no? Hindi ko naman kasi naabutan yung panahon ni Marcos, pero hindi ko din naman naabutan yung kay Cory, e bat nakumpara ko siya kay Poe. Hahaha. Ang bobo ko dito. Pero shit, the main point is, I feel like he has something to offer that is out of the box, and could surprise the Philippines and the international community. Kung ano man yun, kung ikakabuti ng bansa, o ikakasama, I, together with all his supporters, are willing to take the risk. Maiba lang. Nakakasawa na yung tuwid lagi ang daan. Masyadong matrapik. Mabagal. Panahon na para lumihis nang kaunti kahit wala sa daan. Makarating man lang sa dapat puntahan. 

Besides being different, he actually have a strong background in politics. He made sure that he is not all promises and shit. He kinda makes you feel like he's qualified to lead. Hindi yung parang may mailagay na lang sa pwesto. He is also a lawyer which means he fucking knows what he's talking about I guess. I also never read or heard any bad reps from any Filipinos who live in Davao. Tsaka kung may mga katotohanan man yung mga post sa FB tungkol sa mga batas at sa mga ordinansang naisatupad niya sa Davao, kagaya ng punyetang 911 na yan! ( Na napaka daya bat sila lang meron!), E talagang nagpapatunay na may kakayahan siyang gumawa ng pagbabago. Yung talagang mararamdaman mo na may improvement ba. Biruin mo, 911, sa Pinas?! jusku, nakakakilabot. The fact that he mentions his plan to alleviate the long lines in our train stations during his press con is orgasm in the ears of the public. I mean he could talk about world peace and all that idealistic promises to gain attention, but no, he wanted to fix something that Filipinos were begging for for years. I shit you not, if he fix the traffic in the Philippines, even Celdran would suck his dick off. 

Another thing is his transparency. What you see is what you get kinda of feeling. Yung pagmumura niya sa TV, maibalik ko lang, it is clearly an indication that he is NOT afraid to show that side of him, whether or not it's a propaganda to create a hype, or to attract the "cool kids" , It definitely shows that he just doesn't give a fuck about his image. Take him or leave him. He can very much go back to Davao and still lead anyway. Fuck the rest of the country. And he is very open about it! Parang tipong, "It's your loss unggoy ka!" Parang ganun. Galing mag bluff, talagang papatulan mo. 

Pati yung issue niya sa Sto Papa, kung tutuusin hindi niya naman kailangan iditalye yung opinyon niya sa issue na yun e. Pwede niyang i-sugar coat yun o tumanggi nalang magbigay ng pahayag, makaiwas lang sa batikos. Pero taena real talk si Digong e. Tyaka, fuck, I personally don't think he intentionally cursed the POPE directly. I mean, I have always thought of it as an expression. I mean, fuck. Wala ba kayong mga tropa na sobra kung mag mura, na tipong alam mo namang hindi ikaw yung minumura kasi expression niya nalang talaga yun. Ok guys. Ganito huh, para sa mga bobo taas ang kamay! papaliwanag ko to, Asal kanto 101. Lesson 1, Swearing. 

Bok: "Tangina! Ba't ang tagal mo dumating?
Par:  "Tangina mo rin, bat minumura mo ko, trapik e.
Bok: "Gago ka pala e, hindi naman kita minura.
Par:  "Gago ka rin"
Tol:   "Hawakan mo nga sa tenga, hawakan mo nga sa tenga"

Sa senaryong ito, hindi naman talaga minura ni Bok si Par. Wala kasing panghalip na ginamit si Bok na maaring tumukoy kay Par. Nangangahulugan na ang "Tangina" ay maituturing na isang Pandamdam sa pangungusap, at nagsisilbing paraan lang ng pagpapahayag ng emosyon ni Bok.

Tingin ko ganito lang talaga yun e. Pero bilib din talaga ko sa mga taga-dilaw, nagawan nila ng storya yun, pati yung media at ang international community. Hindi ko naman kasi masisi sila. It was a cheap shot, a really desperate move, but it was fucking effective nonetheless. They know an "attack" on THE POPE will be catastrophic to Duterte's candidacy, and they took that opportunity, I mean who wouldn't. It didn't really make a significant impact on Duterte's lead in the polls, maybe because the Filipino people are getting smarter and was able to see beyond that, or maybe they just don't care much about religion like they used to, which, to be honest, I completely understand.

I have NOT heard of any other politicians who is brave enough to personally damage his image and still be confident in winning the election. Duterte must probably be one hell of a poker player if this is in fact a propaganda. But fuck, I fold, he can take all my money as long as he can stay true to his promise.

Also, Duterte is ALPHA as fuck. He was a motherfucking boss! He's like your drunk uncle who will back you up against your shitty parents, or that one guy who you can always run to every time you get into trouble. Siya yung tambay sa eskinita niyo na alam mong poprotektahan yung lugar niyo pag may nanggulo. Yung ganong feeling. Yun yung na i-stablish niyang persona e. Siya lang ata yung nagbigay kung ano yung matagal nang hinahanap ng mga Pinoy sa isang kandidato. Yung TAPANG. No compromises. Nagne-name drop siya fuck! Alam niyo ba kung gaano ka big deal yun sa isang bansang nasanay na sa kurapsyon. Sa isang thirld-world country kung saan HINDI binabangga ang may pera. Pero anak ng tupang virgin, Nagbubulgar siya. E alam mo naman tayong mga pinoy, maliban sa panggagaya ng mga American shows, mahilig din tayo sa chismis. E etong si Duterte, masyadong madaming issues na sinasabi, kaabang-abang lagi yung mga presscon niya. Para kang nanonood ng teleserye na walang cliffhangers. Walang pagaalinlangan, tira nang tira, kaya pati ung tupang virgin nagkakaanak e.

But the ONE thing, the main thing that made me his bitch is his motherfucking intelligence. I mean I dunno if he's academically smart and all, but I'm not really talking about that. I'm referring to his way of playing his cards right. He played the game like he was a fucking character from game of thrones. Again I have no idea if everything he did, or everything about him was a propaganda or a gimmick, but fuck, he won the game fair and square. He just said the right words. 

You know how Erap used his "Inability to speak in English properly" to appeal to the marginalized part of the society? and how Gloria managed to turn things around with the "Gloria Gloria Labandera shit?
He also knew that his persona will appeal to shit heads like us, the millennials. He knew that he will attract college kids and squatters alike if he acted that way he acts. He understood what the Filipino masses wanted to hear during that election. Alam niya yung reaksyon ng mga tao sa attitude niya na "take it or leave it". Alam niya na mas-maapreciate ng mga botante kung aaminin niya right away yung pananaw niya sa pag-aasawa. Naiintidihan niya yung importansya ng bonding niya kay Sen. Miriam. Alam niya yung implikasyon na dala ng mga "JOKES" niya. Alam niya na magugustuhan natin yung pagiging bibo niya, kagaya ng apreciation natin sa mga tropa nating bibo sa inuman. Alam niya yun! Fuck he is a damn good strategist. He calculated the risks of his actions all throughout his campaign. He just knew how to get away with... it. and I'm fine with it, as long as it's for the greater good.

Strategy is something Roxas didn't have. The only ace that he actually had, was having Carlos Celdran vouch for him. That was a hard hit on my end. Because I do love Celdran, especially during the Damaso days, and the Rizal Park protests. I like his passion and love for the Philippines. I really do respect him, but I'm not sure anymore based on his continuous attacks towards Duterte which are somewhat uncalled for. He is smart as fuck too, together with Ramon Bautista, they actually were the strongest weapon camp Roxas have. See, these two before were our, when I say our I meant the college kids, the middle class, or the millennials (fuck I hate to use this word), heroes. Their opinion matters. Together with Bianca Gonzales, Drew Arrellano, Mo twister (debatable), basically educated elitists and socialites, when they tweet about something relevant, it matters. People can be swayed. Opinions can be changed in a click of a button. But I guess Celdran and Bautista's efforts were not enough to reach the lower class in this case. 

Pero ang nagpatalo talaga kay Roxas, ay yung stunt niya sa kalsada. That was undeniably the nail in the coffin. That was a fucking massive mistake from his PR department. It was just fucking embarrassing! He didn't fool anyone for fuck sake. I pity him and his supporters after watching him do traffic on a pouring rain along EDSA. I mean come on! It goes to show you can be a graduate at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and still be unbelievably stupid. 

Don't get me wrong. I voted for Noynoy. I love Noynoy's administration. If he did in fact, made our economy stronger than ever before, then he fucking deserves our gratitude. He made the Philippines "classy" in the eyes of the world and I appreciate that. It's just, as of now, I feel like we need something different. We need significant improvements. We need someone we can trust. We need to be assured that when the leader says he's gonna do something, he will do it. No more waiting, no more false promises. The Filipino people needs a leader who can make us feel like we are the priority. We need patriotism in this country, God knows it's long over due.

I don't know why I had to write this, 3 month's after Duterte's win, maybe I was just inspired by how Filipinos respond to Duterte bashers, locally and internationally. I love that they can determine which are obvious ploys from the truth. I also like that we don't get tired easily and move on to a different topic. Lastly, I appreciate that we don't get dissuaded right away every time there's an issue that could make are belief in Duterte waver. 

I also wanna point out the perception of the international community towards his administration. I am NOT trying to compare the gravity of the situation, but somehow, I sympathize with some other countries that are condemned by the international media, mostly the ones that are under a dictatorship, or has issues with terrorism. Somehow, now, I question the validity of their reports. What do we know really? I mean the whole world probably thinks that we kill everyone in the streets and that we are a group of savages who just went back to the middle-ages. But we know what the truth is. We live it. 

If John Oliver wants to give us shit about choosing Duterte as our president, then let him. Don't let it affect you. What does he know about the FILIPINO LIFE? Our society and our culture? He never had to fall 8 hours in line just to get a government I.D. and had no one to complain to. He never had to file a police report and wait for years for a resolution. Getting help from the authorities was never a problem for a guy in his stature. He doesn't have to worry about his car getting stolen in the middle of the night. He can very much walk along his suburbs without having to worry if he's gonna come home alive or if he's gonna be chopped into pieces by a rapist drug addict. He never had to leave his children behind for years just to provide them a "decent" life. I now live in a first-world country and one of my biggest problems here is if the bus is 3 minutes late. I don't have to worry about real shits! I can go on and on and on about the things that he will never understand as an affluent 1st-world Caucasian male, about the life of a 3rd-world middle class citizen, but it wouldn't matter, it just doesn't matter. 

The question is, are you really gonna change your decision based on a foreigner's opinion towards YOUR country. Listen to Celdran, to Bautista, to Kim Atienza, Kay Tulfo, kay De Castro, kay Sotto,for all I care, bahala ka, wag lang please sa isang taong hindi man lang naranasan tumira ng kahit tatlong araw sa bansa. 

Huwag na huwag kang mahihiya kahit binabalahura na tayo sa CNN, hindi nila laban to. Pero kung hindi mo na mapigilan magsulat sa comment section, please, please pa copy paste muna sa Microsoft word, tas, highlight, right click, grammar check. Proofread ng mga limang beses bago mo i-post. BAWAL JEJEMON, at higit sa lahat, utang na loob, walang Proud to be Pinoy!