SAY IT WITH FASHION

 Not-your-ordinary fashion show, best explains the event held last May 24, 2016 at the Centrio AyalaMall Event Center.

SAY IT WITH FASHION, a fashion show hosted by Faith and Light Cagayan De Oro, aimed to raise awareness of down syndrome individuals to the community through a runway show featuring masterpieces of CDO's local designers and Mags Fashion Boutique. Assisting the kids were Faith and Light CDO volunteers and local models.

Faith and Light is an international non-profit organization founded by Jean Vanier and Marie-Hélène Mathieu in 1971. The purpose of which is to assist individuals with learning disabilities. In Cagayan De Oro, Faith and Light Ministry was created by the St. Francis Xavier Church in Pueblo De Oro, with parish priest Msgr. Boy Salvador.

Every 3^rd Sunday of the month, Faith and Light CDO holds various activities for the down-syndrome children. Among these activities were: icing decoration by Monster Kitchen, clay molding, rosary-making, and candle-decorating.

For the month of May, Faith and Light CDO core group decided to host a fashion show, with the help of Centrio Mall and the city’s local designers. The event was graced by Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J, D.D., and local designers who participated and sponsored the models’ formal wear were Gil Macaibay, Boogie Rivera, Benjie Manuel, Mark Magallanes, and Mark Yaranon, among others. The show was directed by Vince Arenas and attended by families, friends and random mall-goers.

It was a good opportunity for the Kagayanons to know the Faith and Light Community. And it was indeed, a great experience for our down-syndrome friends to have walked the runway like the celebrity models they see on tv and magazines.

Truly, it was an experience to remember!

Faith and Light CDO holds activities every 3^rd Sunday of the month with each session uniquely themed. Regular sessions are facilitated by Connie Cabreira, Mae Jumangit, Aldrin Valdehueza, Malou Aquino, and Dra. Barba, among others.

To be part of the Faith and Light family, you may visit St. Francis Xavier Church every 3^rd Sunday. The community is looking for volunteers to assist the kids, as well as the parents and guardians during the counselling sessions. You are welcome! J

Small, Big, and Big Big

Years back, there was a commercial ad about this. I can’t remember clearly, but I guess that was for a bubble gum. As a kid, my mom would always tell me about the power of small things – how I should pick up a peso or even a centavo on the ground, reminding me that a million peso wouldn’t add up to that if it weren’t for the few pesos.

Growing up, I’d see to it I appreciate the little things. My Dad would always tell me to start small - with my Kuya even having this idea of being a janitor first before being a top executive. I took that principle with me as I grew up. Although I dream big, I start acting with small things.

Small, Big, and Big Big. I’d like to always believe that before hitting big, all things start small. A sturdy tree started as seed. An old man started as an infant. A typhoon started as raindrops; an avalanche, snowdrops. A huge painting started with a few artistic sketches; a beautiful garden, few flowers.

I guess point being, is we never forget the small things. Small things make up the big, and the big big. A tiny act of negligence can result to bigger problems. A random gossip can turn into a mainstream controversy. A small group of tree planters can contribute big in the ecosystem.

We must bear in mind, that no matter how small our actions are, these can resonate a gazillion fold. Our negative vibes in the morning can ruin everybody else’s day. Our smile and laughter can probably be contagious to a whole lot of people. Our personal decision can probably impact the bigger community.

So remember: Small, Big, and Big Big. J

Friends

by the psycho wanderer
http://urbanlife.mindanaogoldstardaily.com/friends/

There will always be those times when we’ll have to part ways with friends and compel ourselves to move forward with our lives; that time when we’ll secretly shed tears for a friend leaving the city, or migrating abroad, or permanently residing in the skies.

For grade school/high school students, it’s the change of class section or school. For college graduates, it’s leaving the school or city for good. For yuppies, it’s leaving for greener pastures. For everyone, it’s that never ending cycle of sad goodbyes and sweet hellos.

So I ask myself sometimes, what is friendship?

As I browse through my Facebook feeds the infinite number of despedida pictures and new work photos, I realize that distance doesn’t change friendships. It actually transcends from domestic to international level of relationship. It means extending into global reach. The local city crib turns into an international hangout place.

So for you, what is friendship?

Friendship is like a second home/family that gives you a sense of belongingness, where you can be yourself with no reservations. – Karen Dandasan, 27, Richmond-British Columbia

Friendship is having that same frequency and having an understanding with nonverbal communication. – Lyka Yutuc, 26, Muntinlupa-PH

Friendship is being with a friend not just in times of bliss, but also in times of sorrow. – Burt Aurelio, 30, Las Piñas-PH

Friendship is like a ship, you will know who will stay when things get bad. – Jane Daquita, 25, Makati-PH

Friendship is being able to have a conversation with just one look. – Caressa Cabrera Nala, 27, Dubai-UAE

Friendship is “busy ka?” – hindi – “tara.” – Kaye Jumangit, 27, Cagayan De Oro-PH

Friendship is an expression of love that doesn’t turn bitter. – Shin Singson, 21, Cagayan De Oro-PH

Friendship is an unchanged connection won over time and distance. – Mika Comique, 27, Architect, Cagayan De Oro-PH

Friendship means being there for that person when the rest of the world walks out. – Nikki Gue, 25, Proprietor-Nikki’s Treats

Friendship is that family bond I chose and Spirit of God has guided me towards. – Ricky John, 27, NGO Relations Philippines

Friendship is laughing at someone so hard when they are down, then you do all you can to pick them up, and then laugh again so hard. – Jheyz Saljob, 28, Bulacan-PH

Friendship is that intangible string that binds you with the people you want to be with along with life’s journey. – Macky Acorda, 27, Co-Founder, brewingabetteryou.com

Friendship is like having a mother who will scold you, a father who will defend you, an elder sibling who will bully you, and a younger sibling who will be clingy. – Mark Raphael Ferraris Justiniano, 27, Cebu-PH

For me, friendship is:

Photo taken years back. “Nice” travelled from Singapore to PH after she learned of an emergency back home. Friends met Nice at NAIA 3 to accompany her wait for her trip to Cagayan De Oro on the same day she travelled to PH. This happened on a weekday and one friend just messaged everyone to meet at NAIA 3.

The meaning of friendship differs from one person to another. It’s basically subjective. That’s why sometimes we wonder why some of our frenemies have real-life friends. It’s because they share the same interests and sometimes the same stories. We cannot ask someone to not be friends with a particular person, because a real friend sees right through. You may not see one person as a friend but others may have.

Friendship is a second home. It’s a second family. It’s that place where we want to be all day and night aside from our families and lifetime partners. Real friends inspire us. Real friends confront us. Real friends help us move forward with our lives. And when we’re too stubborn to move forward, they understand us and sometimes just let us be.

Some friends leave us. Some friends stay. But those that leave us are just always there. Sometimes, they’re with us like guardian angels. Sometimes they’re just going through something that’s why they’re at a distant. Sometimes they choose to be with themselves for a while and we just wait until when they’re ready. We communicate through our hearts and spirits. That’s why most of the answers I guess referred to comfortable silence and sense of belongingness.

It’s all about being friends with like-minded dreamers. It’s being comfortable with ourselves in their presence. It’s being able to speak without talking, cry without bawling, and love without saying. It’s being who we are without being judged. It’s being us without being questioned.

There will always be differences and petty fights. But at the end of the day, the friendship remains. So, the next time a friend goes somewhere, think of it as a new hangout place. When a friend says goodbye, you reply with: Yes! Roadtrips! New hangout!, or guardian angels.

In GOOD-byes, we don’t really part ways, we just move into other places.

The Life of Richie

by: The Psycho Wanderer

http://urbanlife.mindanaogoldstardaily.com/the-life-of-richie/

No, I’m not that envious. But yes, I haven’t been to places in as much as other people have – in as much as (itago natin sa pangalang) “Richie”, a friend of mine had.

I could probably term him “Richie Rich” – that kid who could afford almost everything. He’s my age yet he’s travelled the world. Yes, not just the Philippines, but probably a significant percentage of the globe.

He used to be our job hopper high school classmate (he’s batch salutatorian by the way) until he settled with one manufacturing company. I guess he found his soul there, or at least tried to make things work (like in a relationship).

In any one’s life, one will have that one Richie friend – that person one will get envious of for all his achievements, travels, successes and even just plain gadgets; that person one will always look up to and ask during ‘me’ time, how does he do that? Or geez, why can I just not be like him?

Sometimes we dwell too much with the life of Richie – forgetting we have bountiful blessings in our lives to also be so much thankful for: family, friends, a simple yet happy career, a sometimes confusing yet going strong lovelife, a blissful home and a healthy body. We forget that behind our unattained dreams and yet aspirations are blessings bestowed upon us and

our families without us even asking. The life of Richie is just one in a million, so 999,999 of the population is going through the same things we do.

The life of Richie in tumbler, photobucket and instagram photos are everything we would have ever wanted for ourselves, but never got the chance (well at least, not yet). Richie has travelled almost every island in the Philippines. He has travelled A-Z places in the Philippines – some of which: Albay-Bicol, Bacolod, Baguio, Balesin Island, Basco-Batanes, Benguet, Boracay, Bukidnon, Cagayan De Oro, Calaguas, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Iligan, Ilocos, Iloilo, Masbate, Metro Manila, Misibis Bay, Negros Oriental, Oslob-Cebu, Pagudpod, Palawan, Pampanga, Sagada, Tagaytay, Vigan and Zambales. He is diverse in his travels: climbing mountains, swimming oceans, celebrating festivals, appreciating plays and musicals, loitering at small-time gigs, partying at posh bars, visiting art museums and a lot more. And there are also his international travels: Australia, California, Cambodia, Canada, China, Delaware, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kuala Lumpur, Korea, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Maryland, Myanmar, New York, Paris-France, Philadelphia, Scotland, Singapore, Venice, Vietnam and Washington, among others.

Nope, he isn’t a businessman nor a son of a business tycoon. He is a 27-year-old who is working in the Philippines and knows how to live life. He is our epitome of a YOLO, a forever young, a Carpe Diem, a make the best out of your life, a worklife balance – basically, it’s the life of Richie that we want for ourselves. Browsing through Richie’s photos and photos of airport pre-departure area, exotic beaches, unknown ruins and temples, legendary landmarks and famous tourist destinations make us dream for ourselves. Actually, we spend a lot of time contemplating more on Richie’s life than ours (well, I do. ü). We focus on what we don’t have rather than cherish what we have.

A presiding priest in one of the Sunday masses at Greenbelt Chapel, Makati once said “count your blessings, not what’s missing.” So today and forward, why don’t we start being grateful for the things and people in our lives? Why don’t we look deeply and realize that we may have more than what Richie has; that there’s more to our lives than what we think as seemingly boring and no-adventure kind of lives? Why don’t we start thanking Him for the everyday life, for the daily blessings, for the beautiful surprises, the enriching challenges, the victorious successes, the unexpected disappointments, the unwanted sorrows, the peaceful bliss, the wealthy health, the simple joys and the contagious laughters?

Let us treasure the now and move forward to the future – no more self-pity and inferiorities. And with our wholehearted appreciation of our lives, choose and begin to be Richie – living the dream; living the life. We must learn that everything in life is a choice. We can do everything Richie did. We can travel the world, buy fancy clothes, party until forever and seize everyday of our lives. What we need to do is earn and save – earn courage and confidence and save for the now and the future, wait for the seat sale – wait for the right time; gauge for the right season and plan for the future, book the tickets make use of that courage and confidence and start walking the talk, pack our pretty travel bags and travel the world experience the fun, excitement and adventure we’ve always wanted for ourselves. Let’s live and enjoy, the beauty of LIFE.

See you around the globe Richies!

Earth Day Everyday

The first Earth Day movement by earthday.org happened in 1970. Forty six years later, it announced April 22, 2016 as this year’s Earth Day. But as they say, this is more than just a single day.

Earth Day Everyday was the message conveyed by the Archdiocese of Cagayan De Oro City (ACDO) - Ecology Ministry last April 17, 2016 (Sunday) at Centrio Ayala Garden. The event was named “HARANA para kay INA”, an acoustic jam for Mother Earth.

This was graced by numerous indie bands: Grupong Laya, Memoronnie, Cookies and Cream, Estilo, Escapo, But Karma Kills, Bloodflowers, Northern Sparks, Bombo Radyo Jasaan Rondalla, 4^th ID Band, Rage of Laura and Glennfalse & Thony. It also featured CDO Archidocese’s Ecology Musicians: Zee, The Right Stop, Dodu Abrio and Ding Cabreira.

Harana Para Kay Ina was a fusion of original compositions by several indie bands and unique renditions of popular songs like Lion King’s Circle of Life and Pocahontas’ Colors of the Wind. The event also included a performance of Malvina Reynolds’ song, “What Have They Done To The Rain?” by St. Francis Xavier Church Social Action Committee Head, Mr. Natz Jumangit and ACDO Ecology Musician, Mr. Ding Cabrera. The acoustic jam was concluded with all the bands singing the song, “Kapayapaan” by Tropical Depression.

To remind the people of our role in our environment, Mr. Ding Cabreira asked the audience to pick up the trash seen at the event area. He even left us with the words, “Basura ko, Ibulsa Ko.”, a movement inviting people to be mindful of their trash even candy wrappers that certainly go a long way destroying sea animals.

On April 21-24, 2016, tribute to Mother Earth continued as the Luna Musikalawaig Full Moon Festival was held at the Ki Bathala Gardens in Talakag, Bukidnon. It was graced by various musicians and artists: Joe D’ Farmer, Lost Tribe, Kamaggong, SinoSiKat, Emann Vibration, Jericho Vamenta, Spy, among others, with Rafael Kiefer, President of Professional Models Association of the Philippines, as one of the organizers. The tribal gathering was on its 5^th year since it started 2011.

The Summer Peace Festival was not just one night, but three nights of expression of love for art and music dedicated to Mother Earth. It was a way to commune with nature whilst being away from the convenience of technology and the internet world, to be specific.

To get to the venue, shuttles were provided and a camping site at the gardens was made available to those attending the gathering. It was nights of soulful music and speaking with the gardens and the river.

Meanwhile, in the north, a beach cleanup activity in partnership with Gawad Kalinga was hosted by O’Tara at Baler, Aurora. O’Tara is a non-profit organization with numerous advocacies like arts and nature. Last February 2016, O’Tara brought scholars of Smokey Mountain to an art tour at Angono, Rizal. Its latest advocacy is coined #advocaSEA for cleaning up Baler.

To sum it up, we can all take part in being stewards of Mother Earth. We can do simple acts of saving nature by throwing our garbage in the assigned waste cans and yes, cigarette butts in their supposed places. Human population is growing fast while trees and rivers continue to deteriorate as a consequence of our actions. We are so much into industrialization and constructing commercial buildings, we forget that every tree we cut, or every mountain we flatten is a pollution we impart with Mother Earth.

Let the passion for Mother Earth of the Archdiocese of Cagayan De Oro-Ecology Ministry, Musikalawaig Organizers and O’Tara be our guide to our personal advocacy in saving our world. There will be no use getting all the money we can from stock market or our rising business if the world we live in will just vanish. We will vanish along with the extinction of Mother Earth – no more food to eat, no more water to drink.

We make the world with our actions of negligence and self-centeredness. Let us try to be selfless and think of all the people living in this world, the future of the next generations, the cute pandas, the beautiful flowers, the relaxing rivers, and the innocent infants.

Indeed, everyday should be earth day.

(Photo credits to David Roa, Kim Alcantara and Yam Otarra.)

Under A Pen Name

Why do I feel like writing under a pen name? Well, basically, not for the thrill. It's for the paranoia. *chuckles

If you noticed, there are also fictional characters for Facebook accounts. Why? Well, I'd like to think they are as paranoid as me.

I love the thought of people not knowing me. It gives me the freedom and comfort of writing just about anything - sometimes to the point of just blabbering. It gives me a dose of happiness that my write-ups are read by people I barely know and I'm not being judged by my opinions, because after all, I am entitled to opinion in as much as anyone is.

2013, I decided to create this blog and dreamt to write anything under the sun. Afraid of being judged by people, I thought to choose a pen name. Random pinay. Well, truly, I am one random Pinay. You go to the Philippines and ask around my name, people will go "er, sorry, who?", or "Pasenya na po. Hindi ko po sya kilala".

Basically, I am no one. Like my first ever post in this blog, I am no "It" girl and three years later, gaaaah, nothing changed. 😂
(For a second, I got alarmed that nothing changed. Lol) I am the same person who started this blog, went dormant then active again. Well, probably, a little stronger and bolder.

Life taught me that when you go out naked (not literally), there are only two things that will happen: people will either accept you or judge you. Every person goes through mess and I don't understand, but people, they sense happiness and carefree aura and they just..knock you off. Sometimes, you bear them and say, whatever. But sometimes, you get weakened and they get through you and you just.... fall.

So yeah, I have fears. Haha fear of rejection, fear of..basically, rejection. Who wants to be rejected anyway? 😂😄 So I pour my soul into this blog and I just feel so alive under my pen name.

And I guess, people really don't care who's under the pen name. Because once people do, they start reading behind the articles, they start connecting it with personal life, values, etc. I just want them to read a book without knowing the life of the author, like when we read Harry Potter or LOTR or MockingJay - we just care about the book.

So I'm writing under a pen name, not to sound overly dramatic but to compensate my overly paranoid being. I write under a pen name, maybe because, ok fine, maybe I'm thinking big in the future - like this will get mainstream and people would want to know who's under the pen name. But hopefully, by that time, people won't judge me because they've read so much and they'd think I'm worthy of a pen name.

Or maybe I'm just really paranoid. 😂😄 Whatever it is, I'm sticking with the pen name. 😉

Carpe Diem

 What is Carpe Diem?

Is it when we party like crazy? Drink all booze until drop-dead? do something really high or awkward? How about when we mountain climb or rock climb? Go surfing? Skateboarding? Extreme Biking? Or those days we finally decided to take that bungee jump or skydive?

Sometimes we look at FB photos and we envy travellers for seizing the days – not even just one day. But is seizing the day only associated with lavish travels? Or tickets to fancy festivals and posh bars? What about the everyday routines?

I believe Carpe Diem is anything that will make us feel alive without the need of spending big – drinking a cup of coffee or tea at home, perhaps, reading good books, or watching great movies or sunsets with our love ones. Or it could be our everyday favourite moments: laughing with friends, playing with kids, running with our dogs, feeling the waves, smelling the flowers, or soaking in the rain. Or those times we become selfless – painting smiles with others, teaching street kids, taking care of the olds, etc.

http://v-i-v-a-l-a-vida.tumblr.com/

Carpe Diem doesn't have to be expensive. As we grow older, we realize that those little moments and those laidback times are those moments that really capture our hearts and make us feel alive; that seizing the day is choosing happiness and joy in spite of - when we choose to smile when others give us all the reasons to frown, and when we choose to laugh when others give us all the reasons to cry.

Small things and simple moments, these make up our lives. These are things that we often overlook but when we look back to these moments, these are those that truly paint a smile on our faces.

Seizing the day is claiming that truly, these are our moments – no matter how grand or small the moment. It is a celebration of life. It's finding happiness even in the little things. Carpe Diem is claiming each moment to be "our" moments.

Responsible Childhood

There’s responsible parenthood. Is there also responsible childhood?

The moment we yelled out loud to signal our coming into this world, the world’s eyes were fixed on us. The first moments we uttered the words “Mama”or “Papa” or made our first stand, the world was all about us. Until we reached graduation and got that college diploma, eyes and all focus of all focuses were on us.

But I don’t get how most of us continue to depend on our parents even after we march the graduation halls. We’re not parasites, are we?

I graduated 2009, took the board exam and had my license before that same year ended. April 2010, I started working and lo and behold, I never asked a penny from my parents (aside from our mutual understanding on the first three months of lodge rental). How did I manage? I simply told myself, “I am independent.”

Isn’t it such a fulfilling feeling to have bought things from your own earnings? to have travelled using your own savings? What kind of joy is it to ask money from parents? I can’t even remember the last time I asked money from my Dad.

Sometimes I look at FB photos and I pity the parents. My empathy goes to the parents of young lads enjoying their selfies at Starbucks or LaBoracay or their hangover from the pool palace, etc.

For students, be cautious with your spending.

For bum graduates since birth, get a job.

For employed children, be independent and if earnings permit, share at home. Give back what the world has given you. Give back to the people who made you reach wherever peak you are at right now.

There is childhood. And there is growing up. Be a responsible grown-up.

A Call to the Filipino people

The 2016 Philippine Election is fast approaching. And whether we like it or not, we’ll have to make a decision – that imperative choice. We are not to only elect national leaders, but also local leaders.

In as much as we are trying to assess our Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and Senatorial Candidates, we must also exercise the same diligence in assessing our local candidates. This election has become berserk with all the bamboozling articles we read online, the news we see on national and local television, and the half-truths we read on paper. It is almost tearing this nation apart.

The call now for every Filipino is not just to exercise the right to vote but to also exercise due attitude towards our fellow voters. The Philippine social media has become a circus. It has become an open spree of profanity and slander. I would want to believe that we are more than what we are projecting now in this election.

So due attitude, kindly please add that back in our dictionary as Filipinos. We have forgotten to act accordingly, in the same way the Presidential candidates have been slowly showing their true selves as the Election Day approaches. We have forgotten the words respect and even the word Filipino. Sometimes, I ask myself, what is it to be Filipino?

I no longer know, actually.

But as a voter this coming election, I will not tell you to vote my candidate. I will not even tell you that your candidate sucks. I will simply tell you to please not sell yourself. By selling your vote, you are selling your dignity. I am not familiar whether or not all candidates are buying votes but if caught in that situation, I suggest you just take the money and make good business out of the candidates who are messing up this country. I would have wanted to tell you not to take the money, but if you won’t be smart enough to take that, someone who is easily swayed by such candidates, will.

May 09, 2016, is more or less two weeks from now. Let us not use that time to bombard other supporters with hurtful words. By doing that, we are not in any way helping in the progress of this country.

So what if your friend or a stranger has a candidate different from yours, let them be. They have the right to that opinion, in the same way as you. You voting for your candidate don’t mean you are on the right track. Do not lament over Facebook how your friends and the people in your feeds do not think critically and are being blinded by their candidates. This election doesn’t give anyone the right to look down on other people and lambast them on social media.

The media has continued to feed us with truth, half-truth and fallacy. We are at the point always of judging a candidate, even a supporter, by the first words we read or the first post we see from a supporter. We are all stricken by our emotions and our desire to be right. We are very much competitive in social media that we do not want to step back and see first the picture.

This election only gives us the right to vote, but not the right to attack other boats. We will know who will win once we reach the shores. But now, let’s go on sailing, without throwing garbage into the sea or throwing bows and arrows at people we see.

And once we reach the most awaited date and a President has been elected, let us give support to him or her. If it’s Mar Roxas, let us pray he’ll aim for Daang Matuwid and continue working on the growth of the economy, as he says. If he’s Rodrigo Duterte, then let us pray he won’t abuse his power and he’ll exercise diligence in his pursuit for drugs and crimes, as he claims. If it’s Miriam Santiago, let us pray for good health and her continued passion and commitment to honest governance. If it’s Jejomar Binay, let us pray that he delivers in accordance with his promises. If she’s Grace Poe, let us pray she’ll perform well as President despite her being a rookie.

Be it anyone among the candidates, let us support them. This is not a one-man show. I may want to call this, a performance of a lifetime, wherein each one is expected to give his/her best shot. Our leaders cannot do this alone. Let us not leave it up to them after May 09, 2016.

Our lives don’t end after this election. We must always endeavour to be responsible citizens of this nation and of our respective communities.

We are Filipinos. We are more than all the nasty things we read and see nowadays. We can always be better than who we are now.

Prayers for the 2016 PH Election

The 2016 Philippine Election has become a sort of circus where everyone is just running around, trying to catch all the rides.

It has become an evident jumping of boats from one to another when one notices that the boat is sinking. Celebrities benefit from the election by promoting their candidates and supporters of these candidates recognize them and their opinions for that matter. Other politicians also benefit by way of endorsement by candidates leading the surveys.

But what is really the purpose of this election? I believe that aside from electing leaders, the aim is to unite the Filipinos.

But will we achieve this after May 09, 2016?

Social Media has already become a panorama of a divided nation; a reflection of the dark side of each Presidential supporter - be it Binay, Duterte, Poe, Roxas or Santiago. It has become an ugly exchange of opinion and profanity just because one's opinion differ from the other. We, ourselves, have become the exact opposite of a role model in the way we talk and in the way we judge others by their way of thinking.

So what is needed now?

Prayers. We have been consumed by all our so-called right opinions with media also making good money out of this election. We have forgotten that amidst all the ugly exchange of profanity, we are brothers and sisters. We resort to calling one another "Marimar, Dutertard, Poetic, Binayaran, etc."

This nation will not progress in the way we envisioned it to be if we, as one nation, do not support the next President who may or may not be our selected candidate. A lot says, change should come from each and every one of us. I don't see anything like it in this campaign period. We are continuously hurting each other's feelings as if all there ever is in our life is election.

I myself have been spending a lot of time browsing the internet, reading and constantly reading, trying to also defend my candidate. But at the end of it all, what?

Whatever the reason we have for choosing a candidate, we must bear in mind that each registered Filipino voter is entitled to his/her opinion. But let's not cross borderlines by hurting each other's feelings.

If words could kill, a lot have died already in this upcoming election. I could have died already with what my friends told me. They could have died too with all the things I posted online.

So prayers. More than anything, this country needs a great amount of prayer. Let us pray for an honest and peaceful election. Social media is already a riot. Let's not add to much chaos on the day of the election.

And if a President and other leaders are already elected, support. This nation will continue to fall apart if we do not accept that Mar or Poe or Digong or Miriam or Binay has won in an honest election.

Let's give the needed support of our national and local leaders. For once, let us show that we are capable of being just social media bashers; entertaining everyone with memes, etc. For once, let us accept, that this nation is not only made of politicians who we accuse all to be corrupt, but this nation is also made up of citizens who try to squeeze their way out of the law when caught by a traffic enforcer or paying extra to a person in the City Hall or LTO just so we won't wait long to get our permits.

We are, in our own versions, also dishonest citizens. Let us not put the blame solely on our leaders. We take part in all the mess this country is going through.

So prayers. Let's pray even after the election.

For now, let's altogether pray for the election on May 09, 2016.