It was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1Centigrade) and feels like (15F due to wind chill) on a Saturday morning. In this freezing cold, I need to walk to the train station since on weekends, the buses only pass by every half an hour from my place. After two transfers, I have to come down from the train and walk to the agreed venue. It is a bit far but what guided me were the pink hats, bonnets and jackets going to the same direction. For someone who has come here for the first time, I just followed them.
I met one mother whose husband and children were in the Philippines. I asked her if she knew the organizers. No, she said she just saw the announcement on Facebook. Like me, she also did not know the place and do not know the people. But she told me she wants to come to express support for Leni-Kiko. She asked if we can go together since both of us do not know anyone from the crowd. But I pursued the question on why she came. Her answer: She could no longer tolerate any Marcos and Duterte. One banner goes: “Mangoes don’t fall far from their trees. Say No to fascist political dynasties.” Why some friends in the Philippines are blind to this? Why do we need to go as far as New York to realize this?
Many who came offered pink face masks, pink ribbons, pink roses, pink everything. There was even a “lugaw” in the end with matching “tuyo” for those who wanted to share.
I saw a mature lady who was walking with a cane. I offered to assist her on the road. She came for the same reason. She could not imagine to be under Marcos again. She knew what it was in martial law. Another two senior ladies were with her. All in pink, they kept chanting “Gobiernong tapat, angat buhay lahat,” “Let Leni Lead.” Some danced to the jingle “Kay Leni Tayo” as we walked along, to the amazement of other people at the sidewalks and on their cars who might be wondering what was going on.
We walked for around an hour, maybe for more than 10 blocks, I could no longer remember because walking on the freezing cold was also fun. We grouped ourselves in a sidewalk in front of Kabayan (a Filipino restaurant), and had to offer space so that other pedestrians can also pass.
People did not come in cars. They took the subway and public buses. They were ordinary grandmothers and grandfathers, working mothers and fathers, and young people, too. There was even a very cute small child on her mother’s shoulders.
There was no big installation like what we see in Philippine rallies. There was no stage at all. We did not have a big sound system; only a megaphone which was also drowned by the sound of the passing trains. But the people gathered and listened to the speeches.
I also shared about the extrajudicial killings in Payatas. They were so attentive and appalled on what they have heard. Maybe they have watched it in the news. But it is different when you hear it from a real person. But for the most part, I was just on the sides and talked to new friend and the organizers (1Sambayan and Malaya).
As I watched the crowd, I was wondering why people who are quite far from the Philippines are so fired up in this very cold morning. One banner answered the question in my mind: “Malayo man ang minamahal, pinaglalaban!” (#OFWsforLeni).
When I arrived in New York last August, I emailed VP Leni Gerona Robredo and congratulated her for her decision to run.
Despite her busy schedule, she had time to reply: “Thank you very much, Fr. Danny. Prayers are very much needed and appreciated po. This will be a very difficult fight po considering we do not have the resources and the machinery. But that will be no match if the people decide to make this their campaign and take it upon themselves to fight. I know God will be with us in the journey, Father.”
Yes, the people have made it their campaign—all the way in New York. And yes, God is with us in this journey.
Father Daniel Franklin Pilario, C.M. is a theologian, professor, and pastor of an urban poor community in the outskirts of the Philippine capital. He is also Vincentian Chair for Social Justice at St. John’s University in New York.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of LiCAS.news.
