Josie

THOUGHTS UNLIMITED
Eugene Balitang

LAGAWE, Ifugao- - It was a rainy Saturday night and I’m stuck at home with the blues. With time to kill, I plugged in our Globe USB internet connection, and by sheer luck, reception was good on GPRS and I was able to connect on Facebook, the latest craze when it comes to cyber social networking (better and faster than Friendster, if I may add). And what do I have?

Dear sweet Josie confirming my invitation for her to be added on my friends’ list. And to top it all, she sent a message on the network chat. Thus followed our cyber tete-a-tete. After disposing of the usual pleasantries, we immediately plunged into our common topic—politics and politicians!

Ah, Josie. She can turn heads on any given day, this I can bet my last peseta. My friend and panyero Modz had surely hit the jackpot when she decided to tie the matrimonial knot with him in that little chapel in Panubtuban, Asipulo. I stood with my only pair of Americana among their principal sponsors when they exchanged their “I dos.”

Yes, Josie. You would not believe that this cute and petite wife and mother had fought in the mountains and ravines of Asipulo during the 2007 political battle, fighting a 3-corner mayoralty race against homegrown and seasoned politicos. It was an uphill and no-win battle, but this was only in retrospect, how are we to know then.

We both took our oath before Senator Edgardo J. Angara (SEJA), making us the top standard-bearers of LDP in Ifugao in the 2007 political battle that we’re talking about, the alliance being one of coincidence than by choice—I was then bolting the divided LP while she just resigned as SEJA’s assistant chief of staff to fight her political battle in her native Asipulo. Alas, we both lost. This is the tragedy.

Josie had long moved on and is now the Director of Media Affairs and Publications of the University of Baguio , while I stayed in dear old Ifugao to await my second chance at the title fight—the gubernatorial post of the province. And this is where our roads differ. Josie had moved on and away, only to be beckoned back by her political allies, friends and general “suckers” for their own political ends. I stayed, only to be dismayed by detractors, foes and general “mental-crabbers” who would be salivating if I will make it.

And thus, our chat on that Saturday night focused on Josie’s dilemma. She has a great job, a happy and settled family and an offer to work overseas, with the possibility of bringing her family with her. And now she’s in a crossroad again, the soft beckoning of Asipulo turning into a shout.

And for want of any Solomonic advice to impart, I simply told Josie that she should consider herself lucky—she has options to choose from, others never had any choice, perpetually stuck in the rut they are in, day in and day out. She signed out when he heard her hubby Modz honking their van. I lingered on Facebook browsing friends’ profiles, pondering my own options. Alas, there is only one path for me to thread—to fight again in 2010. (ebalitang@yahoo.com.ph)