May 2, 2022
Our Second Exodus into the Light
Our first exodus from the dark decades of Marcos’ dictatorship mobilized millions to show up in EDSA in Feb. 1986. It was an anti dictatorship movement from 1972 to 1986, until vestiges of propped up dictatorship by military aid were removed. It was upended by 8 military coups against President Corazon Aquino.
Our second exodus is happening now…from October 2021 to May 9, 2022, and beyond, as Vice President Leni Gerona Robredo has inspired over 2,009,000 folks in 26 cities. The inspiring message of ‘it’s radical to love’ has activated unpaid creatives and volunteers to show up in rallies, to compose songs, to create public murals, to write books and to write poems, to perform, to signify their full support of her candidacy to become our Philippines’ 17th President.
Unprecedented, unpredictable showing of 530 creative forces, artists who are imbued with living hearts to express what their love for what we all want our country to be, to be led by incorruptible, transparent, accountable government servants at all levels.
Unprecedented showing of support from 61 priests and ecumenical bishops who assert their moral choice of Leni Gerona Robredo’s love-driven leadership: “vision to see each other’s talent, potential, and dignity; the courage, passion, and commitment to unlock that potential; and the resulting loyalty and mutual support that energize and unite teams.”
Unprecedented that teams around her willingly travel and support her, sometimes a 19-hour day, to cover a rally in Pasay and earlier, travelling to Mindanao, to accept the support of the MILF.
Unprecedented to see University Presidents, school faculty, student councils of 8-member schools, including 10,000 member strong Association of Professional Security Guards, and 200 children’s book writers, all signifying why they support her, including the family of the late President Manuel Quezon.
We are all standing up, together, and in solidarity, to write a new narrative of voting out the darkness of corruption, theft of public funds, and stolen futures resulting from random killings of citizens in the thousands, voting a new future, into the light.
The light of asserting our sovereignty over the West Philippine Seas; the light of using billions of pesos for job creation; the light of using public funds for health care services by transparent and accountable government services; the light of honest public officials that secures higher quality of lives and livelihoods for farmers, fishermen and those marginalized by prior administrations, and the light of active, responsible citizenship who will not be silenced by fear and cowardice. We deserve our leaders to be honest and incorruptible and smart.
As of May 1, I have tallied in my limited network that 12 out of 12 Fil-Ams have already voted for Leni Robredo. Prior elections did not even generate any interest or enthusiasm of voting overseas. This time, they are even taking an extra step of delivering their ballots in person.
As Ignatius Loyola once said, “No one perceives others accurately without first achieving healthy self-regard. Appreciate your potential, unique talent, and fundamental human dignity. Then see others, their birthright nothing less than the very same human dignity.”
Come May 9, eight days from now, we, the voters whose collective human dignities are being seen by @Leni Gerona Robredo and her chosen VP Kiko Pangilinan, will deserve a new honest, accountable, transparent government in this team, plus a new set of Senators and local officials.
May the Holy Spirit animate the May 9th elections and may all ways of corrupting the people’s will be defeated! -@Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz
