My presidential candidate

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It is two months before May 10, 2010, the Election day. The Day we vote for a president and the rest of the national and local posts.

I made a choice.

I have chosen my presidential candidate.

I want my candidate to win.

Yesterday, my husband and I decided to openly support our presidential candidate (not here online). The past month, we began discussing our choices, analyzing and researching on the nine presidential candidates. I am blessed and privileged to have interviewed seven presidential candidates and attended three presidential forums. It has given me an opportunity to understand their platforms, the issues and over-all impression of the presidential candidates. I know their strengths and weaknesses but there can be only one President.
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Yasmin Busran Lao on gender equality

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“Gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental to the global mission of the United Nations to achieve equal rights and dignity for all… But equality for women and girls is also an economic and social imperative. Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals — peace, security, sustainable development — stand in jeopardy.”

yasmine-busran-lao

How appropriate is it that the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – which is observed worldwide on 8 March – is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”.

I am reminded of my interview with senatorial candidate Yasmin Busran Lao last January. The interview nearly didn’t take place. Yasmin wanted just one blogger for this interview. She wasn’t sure how bloggers did interviews. I assured her that I will be fair that I will just let her do the talking. Shy at first, she warmed up as I asked her to narrate her story, the reasons for running as a senator.

yasmine-busran-lao3

She mused ““I have been doing it anyway. I have been advocating for women seizing the center of power and reframing politics ..and how can I go to the community of women and talk about women’s political participation when I was given the opportunity and I say ““No”? What message will she give to the women if she said ““no”? When the opportunity came, Yasmin (otherwise known as Yas) felt she needed to walk the talk.”
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How deep is your love?

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silver-wedding-shots

And I know your eyes in the morning sun
I feel you touch me in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I wanna feel you in my arms again

And you come to me on a summer breeze
Keep me warm in your love and then softly leave
And it’s me you need to show ….
How deep is your love?


Oh yes love, we celebrate love every way we can. Milestones are valued.

“How deep is your love?” by the Beegees hit the airwaves in 1977 but it was the song of the season when Butch and I became steadies on March 7, 1978. I played the music on our way to our photo shoot with the best wedding photographers, Mimi and Karl. It was just natural that we chose the UP campus (where we met) for our silver anniversary photo shoot and the celebration of our 32 years as a couple on March 7. Dragging my two girls to join us, the two hour photo shoot was sweet and poignant. I love my husband for being such a good sport knowing he poses stiffly for photos. That’s how love works, I guess.

As he wrapped his arms around me, I loved how the soft breeze cooled the scorching sun hitting us between the branches of the tree. I clutch on to my heart-shaped pendant where a photo of our beloved Luijoe is engraved. “Luijoe is with us, too…in our hearts”. We smile at each other. We are a complete family as we pose, laugh, twirl around and smile for the cameras.
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a mom blogger in social media

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noemidado4My daughter studied the birth certificate from the National Statistics office. She laughed as she saw the occupation of her parents.

Father- Law student
Mother- Homemaker

She could not believe her father was just a law student. I glanced at my husband, “Wasn’t it just yesterday we were struggling newly weds?”. Looking up from her birth certificate, she asked “Mom if I was born this year, what occupation will you place?”

I replied ” blogger”.

My answer brought a smile to her lips. She nodded “I thought so too.”
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Love in the time of election

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The difficulty with marriage is that we fall in love with a personality, but must live with a character. ~Peter Devries

At the heart of this farm, there lies a gazebo and lovely patios where my husband I sat under the gentle canopies of stately mango trees, some of which are over 50 years old! We revel even more at the elegance of this veritable tree garden, teeming with a multitude of capiz drop lights and strategically placed spotlights that dramatically emphasize the features of mango trees.

Holding hands, we strolled the farm and stopped under a mango tree. I laid my head on his shoulder, “This is it”.

“Let’s celebrate our silver anniversary here”. My ever romantic husband pressed his lips at the back of my palm and agreed, of course. That was two years ago with a budget fit for semi-grand anniversary celebration. We had also moved in to our new cozy home near this farm.

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Our roles change

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I enjoy puttering around the house , being a neat freak dictatorial mom or Mrs. Handyman. Butch enjoys strolling at the grocery or supermarket ensuring our cupboards are filled to the brim. The weekly grocery used to belong to my territory until four years ago. For some reason, grocery shopping is therapeutic for him. I just let him be because I don’t enjoy looking at high priced consumer goods.

While I ordered construction materials at the neighborhood hardware store, Butch is doing the groceries.

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Keep Cory Aquino’s spirit alive

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““If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.”

cory aquino

Cory would have turned 77 years old today. In a speech that Noynoy Aquino delivered at her birthday mass, he said

Perhaps if we try to keep her spirit alive in our own daily struggles, we would realize that she did not really just leave us. She is in our dreams of having a government that works, that makes justice and a decent life accessible to every citizen. She is an inspiration on so many levels.

For those who have lost loved ones, their lives continue to live on in our hearts, in our memories, through our work and advocacy. This blog is a testament to my love for my son, to my father, my mom and two brothers who have gone before my dad. By being of service, I keep their memories alive.

I looked up to Cory Aquino for having the courage to fight a dictator and restore a democracy. I am forever grateful for that.

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