Leni Robredo Brings Out the Best in Filipinos
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Voter educators Lyn and Al Mayoralgo and Heidi Mendoza with organizer Lit Salvador enlighten residents of Taytay, Rizal, before heading dauntlessly to Ilocos Sur.
The soulful wail of famous soprano Regine Velasquez rings in the Rivermaya anthem “Liwanag Sa Dilim” (Light in the Darkness), summoning a torrent of pink into Makati City and Pasay City, marchers exchanging smiles, happy to belong and to believe that all the virtues they value will prevail, if each does their part, like showing up at this rally over a hundred thousand-strong. Like them, multitudes had arisen earlier in Cavite, Cebu, Pasig, Pampanga, Pangasinan, and beyond where, undaunted by unexplained street closures, Leni Robredo supporters boarded paddle boats, shared rides, or walked to catch an extraordinary moment.
They endure the heat and exhaustion, hunger, and thirst, and willingly pass along bottles of water that had traveled from up front, knowing their turn will come after those who may need it most. They stand their ground to be rewarded by performers of every generation who volunteer to cheer throngs, together declaring their choice of the next president of their beloved country.
“Leni Robredo has bridged the class divide, united her compatriots, and reinvigorated Filipina sisterhood.”
Many hours pass after their trek, but they remain on their feet, fueled by the solidarity, the exhilaration. Kindness reigns. Not a moment of discord mars the joy of the assembly. And before calling the night a new day, they clear the space of debris of their gathering, out of respect and gratitude for the cities that welcomed them.
So stunning is the difference from footage of fellow Filipinos shoving each other to get their hands on bags of goods at a rival candidate’s rally. Or of male presidential aspirants puzzlingly, conspiratorially denouncing their lone woman opponent, goading her to step down in their favor against the front-runner – or so, they say. So inspiring to hear only words of affirmation instead of recrimination, to watch humility and grace rather than an exhibition of misogyny and entitlement, from the woman whose unassailable record of dedication to the underserved threatens powerful political clans’ chokehold on the nation.
The best of a people truly emerges in the worst of times.
With presidential bet Leni Robredo as their model, Filipinos seem to have awakened like they did when Senator Ninoy Aquino was assassinated and his widow Cory Aquino challenged and defeated the overstaying Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Almost 40 years later memories of the atrocities that triggered the national protest movement have faded. Sadly.
But wary survivors of martial law take the responsibility of warning many who have forgotten or, by some strange reasoning, believe that those who had emptied the national treasury could not possibly have the same designs today, even with P203 billion in unpaid Marcos estate tax sneering in their faces.
Less than two weeks before the May 9 elections, retired banker Lyn Aberilla Mayoralgo and her husband, Al, of Makati City have been zigzagging the country to educate the electorate, from registration and voting procedures to “various corruption schemes in government,” said the Maryknoll College 1974 alum. With the same fervor the Mayoralgos habitually pour into their relief efforts during natural calamities, they have been spending personal resources in the campaign and recruiting friends to their quest.
Lyn Mayoralgo (presenter) fills in the blanks left out in history textbooks at her voter education drive. (Photo courtesy of Lyn Mayoralgo)
Mayoralgo connects with Maryknoll College batch mates on a Viber group dubbed “Halalan ‘22” where they update each other on the campaign, candidate poll ratings, and false social media posts, where to meet up at sorties, and how to join prayer rallies or virtual interfaith Masses.
The Knollers (earlier graduates of today’s Miriam/Maryknoll) send and receive instant messages to and from Robredo campaign chief Bam Aquino, through his cousin Rose Valdes Garcia, also of MC74. Batchmate Bong Agcaoili Garrovillo, co-administrator of the group, also has a direct line to the campaign plus a volunteer performer in her husband, Boboy Garrovillo, of the Apo Hiking Society, as he, Jim Paredes, and Danny Javier were first known among pioneer purveyors of OPM (Original Pilipino Music). Alice Ignacio Ranada shares scoops from her Rappler ace reporter daughter, Pia Ranada, the bane of incumbent president Rodrigo Duterte.
Batch mates from Hong Kong, Wales, Switzerland, and California regularly chime in with reports from their areas. Former Ambassador to Berlin Millie Santa Maria Thomeczek, current board president of the MM Alumni Association, shares official advisories from foreign posts regarding dual citizens’ concerns. Their batch president Menchu Genato Henson invites participation in her Zonta Club International commemorative plates fundraiser for Robredo. They’re unabashed Kakampinks, and they’re also rooting for Robredo running mate Francis Pangilinan.
While visiting her daughters in the SF Bay Area, Manilan Susan de Leon Syquia, a counselor with the Center for Family Ministries, couriered pink totes, while Maria Ronson, retired AP vice president for Asia and the Pacific, sent a set of Leni cups to a classmate who is American by citizenship and forever Filipina at heart.
Leni Robredo has bridged the class divide, united her compatriots, and reinvigorated Filipina sisterhood, among many other positive outcomes that her supporters envision from her victory on May 9.
SF Bay Area visitor Susan de Leon Syquia holds her candidate’s colors close to her heart. (Photo by MZMORENO)
San Francisco Bay Area-based Cherie M. Querol Moreno learned empathy, courage and responsibility from her journalist parents. The Positively Filipino and Inquirer.net correspondent is executive editor of Philippine News Today.
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