Underdog

I have always rooted for the underdog all my life perhaps because I have always been the underdog--heir to no great wealth, no grand political dynasty. With that preface, you will understand why it does not bother me at all to visit marketplaces alone and distribute strips of thin and austere paper (the spare and simple quality does justice to the description "paperthin") with my name and the names of my partymates printed. My only other equipment is my cell phone that is pre-paid.

People ask me if I know what my chances are and I tell them all that no amount of money, no amount of advertising, no amount of endorsements will stop an idea whose time has come. Every Filipino has got to be tired of all this traditional politics. The situation would be totally different if we were a more prosperous nation and people were not dying from being unable to purchase simple medications, or people were not being killed because of their social conscience, or hunger would only be experienced by citizens on a voluntary diet, or our educational system worked to produce competitive and motivated graduates. But a resounding no--things can certainly get much better for this country. Our national brand of traditional politics is clearly inimical to the interests of the people.

In our highly politicized society, another frequent question is whether our party is "administration" or "opposition" or even "third force". I tell all of them that we have faith in the power of the moral force of our convictions.