Probably the Best Unsolicited Advice for Leni

After having seen, heard and felt the people’s reactions to the untimely death of DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo, and the somewhat unexpected groundswell of grassroots clamor for his brand of servant leadership, I should probably not have been surprised by the administration’s almost blind and fanatical adoration of the departed cabinet member. But how can you blame me: I still remember how shabbily he has been treated by this administration. I have not forgotten how he cannot be fully entrusted with the full functions of his office because of difference in working styles. It is still very clear in my mind how he was initially offered as the scapegoat in the Luneta massacre of tourists. All of these are still clear in my mind.

On the other hand, I fully expected the laughable attempts of traditional politicians to disproportionately magnify even the smallest link between them and Jesse. When the 2013 mid-term elections’ campaign period officially starts, there will be more of them. In fact some of them will probably even literally imitate Jesse’s ways, the “puruntong” shorts and slippers and all.

It is very easy to miss the point in all of these fast-paced events, and some potentially historic moments might pass us by. More confused will be the electorate who among others will be bombarded with billboards of candidates who they don’t care about the Ant-Epal campaign. Lest we want this to happen, I offer that this is the best that widow Leni Robredo can do.

1. Do not run for any elective office.
2. Do not agree to be part of any political party, even if Jesse was a Liberal Party stalwart.
3. Do not believe them when they say that you are the only one who can unify the party in the province.
4. Because in fact, you are the only one who can unify the whole nation in electing people who truly believe in similar advocacies as Jesse, who promise to pursue change in the way Jesse did, and who will not allow themselves to be corrupted by power, exactly the same as Jesse.

LENI ROBREDO, give your blessings to candidates who will be like JESSE and who will do a ROBREDO. If today, you have 5 only, so be it. Only 5 qualified. You shall have multiplied Jesse’s beneficiaries by five. Next elections, you have 20. Then your beneficiaries shall be 20-fold. And so on. But most importantly, you shall have started a trend and you shall have made sure that Jesse’s legacy lives on.