Dear Tita Miriam Redux

Alam naman namin na ang mga kagaguhan mong banta ay puro kasinungalingan lamang gaya ng sabi mong pagtalon sa eroplano pag nakulong si Papa Erap. At ano ang ginawa mo nang makulong nga si Papa Erap? Di ba humarap ka sa media at diretsahan mong sinabi na ang bantang binitawan mo ay pawang kasinungalingan lamang sabay tawang kala mo'y lukaret na bagong kawala sa mental?

In the brashness of my youth, once I wrote a column trouncing the disreputable Senator over her involvement in the mass uprising after Edsa Dos. Back then, she was deemed a clown by most people and her scathing, ballistic and often ludicrous remarks against the new government were often picked up and placed next to the headlines of most newspapers.

I was 19 then, and the editorial I wrote came out of a tabloid whose selling point were the scantily clad ladies spread out - often in titillating poses - on the front page of the newspaper. It was a rousing summer, I vividly recall, for dad was out of the country and I was left running a national paper infamous for its highly pornographic content.

The upcoming elections fired up the already heated political scene. Being a faithful student of journalistic writing, I was aware of the repercussions should the piece I wrote reaches the lawmaker. The night after it was published, I was confiding my fears to a classmate who would become my first (and last) girlfriend. Text messaging was not yet in. (for we still live in the telebabad age) We spent the whole night talking about the future (about our plans after graduation, or how we would improve our creative output in class when we turn college seniors the following school year) but behind the masked pillow talk, our conversation went around a life-changing possibility if a libel case results in the publishing of the column.

My worries merely dwelt inside my head, and the Senator bitterly lost that elections. The hands of fate turned a few pages of history and the once mortal enemy of The Midget has become her staunchest ally. Tita Miriam regained her seat after three years, but age appears to have sapped her boldness. Her firebrand speeches (about corruption, stupidity, etc.) were heard less, and critics ceased calling her Brenda.

In recent years, she merely was an eccentric figure in the Senate chamber.

Together with that Lesbo chick, Jamby Madrigal.

I don't know much about Miriam Santiago or the bills she authored. One impression I will always keep is her penchant to switch allegiance from one power block to another and her often biting remarks that occasionally appear in local news.

Bentang-benta ang islogan mo ngayong eleksyon ah! "Miriam: tagapagtanggol ng konstitusyon," tsk. Sino nga ba ang hindi mapapaniwala mo dito e halos sa buong panahon humarap ka sa TV ay puro pagpapaikot sa konstitusyon ang ginawa mo. At alam mo ba Tita Miriam, yung Maria Clara outfit mo sa poster e pinagkakaguluhan ng mga bading dun sa may kanto. Balak daw nila gayahin sa darating na sagala pagkatapos ng eleksyon. Kaso nga lang, dun sa Makati, pag nakita ang poster mo, kulang-kulang na masukahan iyon dahil napakaterrible daw ng itsura mo.

I remember the article not because it was written in a crass, immature manner, but because I am already coming into terms with her contributions - not as a lawmaker but a striking icon who never veers far from the headlines. The favorite aunt will always say the Senator has given much to improve the facilities of a government hospital along Taft Avenue and that I can never contest, but to see a Senate session without her colorful presence (including claims of being a Harvard fellow) would be utterly dull and boring. It's like a frenemy (because she stood up for some things I agree as well) has left and my life had just become

empty.

So now that I have the right to choose the people to represent me, she will top the list of Senators I will put in my ballot. If in my younger years, all I saw was her ugly, tactless and annoying face, now I begin to appreciate that behind the controversial figure - Tita Miriam will always mirror the state of the nation.

I may not know how the next government will run the country,





but at least I'd be amused knowing someone in the Senate would still go ballistic when a careless government official or a colleague crosses her path.

Hanggang dito na lang Tita Miriam. Ingatan mo sana ang baril mo, baka bigla itong pumutok habang dini-display mo muli sa harap ng media. Ang pagsisinungaling, galing-galingan mo naman sa susunod, para di ka nakakahiya sa tao. Ang masa, huwag na huwag mo sanang kalilimutan.

Nagmamahal,

Ang kabataan