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To My Senatorial Bets: Thank You (And I’m Sorry)

To My Senatorial Bets: Thank You (And I’m Sorry)

A love letter to my senatorial bets

 

 

Disclaimer: An editor's personal feelings about the 2019 Senatorial Elections and the individuals who I believed would help us take the next step for the country. If your bets got their seats, then congratulations to them and to you.

 

Senatorial Bets: Samira Gutoc

 

Dear Sirs and Madam,

 

This was supposed to be an apology, but I’ve read your statements and that isn’t what you want; my apology is not what you’re looking for. You are, despite the strain on your bodies and the toll on your mental health, simply thankful for the support we’ve given you. Likewise, I'd like to offer my gratitude.

 

You woke up a generation that was tired of seeing the same faces and names flash across our screens. Your platforms battled tired sighs and bouts of disbelief, balanced the ever-moving tether between love for country and the hopeless feeling that comes from being so in love with it. You know this feeling, it’s all-encompassing—thank you for not turning your back on it.

 

Thank you for fighting. Thank you for choosing this battle despite all the talk and truth about vote buying and easily-swayed voters. Thank you for not succumbing to cheap tactics and sticking with your platforms—our platforms—and keeping your heads on straight. Thank you for the humility, patience, bravery and strength, for standing up when the rest of us were just getting used to being uncomfortable (or planning to find comfort across our shores).

 

Senatorial Bets: Chel Diokno

 

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I think what I’m most thankful for, however, is that you gave me (and hopefully a lot of others) faith in your generation, just as you put your faith in us. I’ve been part of conversations with uncles, aunts and parents who have told me (even tried to convince me) that I’m better off settling down in a place I didn’t grow up in. The solution was always to move away; but you gave me reasons to stay. Now I know that there are people who are still willing to fight the good fight, unselfishly and without asking for much in return. There are people who grew up in different circumstances that see our present struggles and see what needs to be done.

 

You guys have been the exception to the argument that our parents’ generation fucked us all over and refuse to rectify anything.

 

Senatorial Bets: Pilo Hilbay

 

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I keep seeing statements that claim we’ve failed you guys; I don’t think we did. We did what we could given the circumstances and the resources we have. We just have to remember that this wasn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and the finish line hasn’t been crossed. This wasn’t a defeat; it was a small taste of victory that just makes us hungry for the real thing.

 

So thank you. It warms my heart that, even now, you haven’t lost faith in us. Your patience and belief in our generation is something to marvel at. We ourselves sometimes fail to see the bigger picture, to understand just how much we can do if we all just bothered to strive for the same level of confidence in ourselves. One day we’ll mirror the trust you have for us, right back at each other, and maybe then we’ll finally settle down.

 

We may not have won this year, but you’ve fully promised to keep fighting; we will, too. You’re all proof that there are worthy people—willing people—to sit in the Senate. And if you say you’ll keep at this drudgery and shitfest of a process until we get the results we want (and our country deserves), then there is no room for us to complain.

 

It cannot be said enough: Thank you.

 

Looking forward to 2022,

Adie

 

PS. I'm still sorry, though. I'm sorry we all have to wait another three years, but we'll wait. Please be worth the wait.

 

Neri Colmenares

 

 

Art Alexandra Lara

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