The Decision to Run for Mayor of Manila
High school was the best time for us. That was then. This is now. Tess is Tesay and is running for Mayor of the one of the largest cities of the Philippines. Through emails, Tesay shared the new Tess. She is running as an Independent and is campaigning on her own. Here I am, from the other end of the world, sharing to you, people of Manila, who Tesay Glinoga is.
Kilalanin po ninyo si Tesay Glinoga Hizon….
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
I love my name, Tess. There is a certain mystery in it— in the person who owns it. However, not in this part of the world, it isn’t! Nakakasira ng araw, no matter how Juliet rhetorically asks: What’s in a name? A rose is a rose and will smell as sweet. Dito kahit sa mall, sa kalye, sa palengke, if someone calls, “Tess,” sampu kaming lilingon. Sayang ang energy na lilingon ako’t sasagot tapos hindi pala ako. Nawawala ang uniqueness…and identity! I was in Australia n 1998. A group of excited children were running towards me and calling out, “Tess.” I thought: Aba, bakit ako kilala? Then I was taken aback when I realized they were running after their pet rabbit! Hanggang Australia ba naman?
Of course, we mean different to different people. So no matter how you call me, Tess or nog-nog or knogs, or nogs, or Teresa, Theresa, terry, or tesay would not matter nor change how you feel about me. I am so happy, thrilled, in fact, that you remember me.
TYPHOON ONDOY, THE TIPPING POINT TO RUN FOR MAYOR
That Saturday during the onslaught of the typhoon, I was trapped in San Carlos Seminary from morning till afternoon. The rains were strong and the traffic was not moving anymore. A neighbor called me up to inform me that floodwater was rising to knee-deep. I was not really worried kasi mataas ang lugar ng office. When there were floods in the past, people took shelter in my office. Nagpapainom pa nga ako ng kape pag minsang merong stranded sa harap ng office. But not this time; my office was not spared. Anyway, I could not return to check my office; everywhere was flooded. I went home to my condo unit here in Legazpi Village. I was able to check on the office on Monday afternoon yet.
I saw everyone was cleaning in the streets, nagbibilad ng mga gamit. When I opened the door of my office, it was like a tornado hit the place. The smell was like estero already. Black, everything was black from mud na madumi. Everything was damaged.
It so happened, that another condo unit in Quezon City, where I kept my belongings, was sold already. I had to move all my stuff from that condo to my office. So kung kelan ko pa nilipat mga gamit, dun pa nabaha. There was no memory of everything I worked so hard on—my personal effects, writings, everything. I just scoured through the ravage for my children’s photos and dried them.
That was the tipping point of my decision to file my candidacy for mayor.
I took it as cleansing of the past and starting with a new life. We all have to let go. I felt light actually. We have a strong tendency to be so attached to the past: Past glories, memories etc, for posterity. But posterity for what? I had a truckload of garbage I had to dispose.
SEMI-RETIREMENT IN QUEZON
Even before that, sumisiksik sa isip ko mag-mayor. It was not in Manila, though. I was about to buy an ancestral lot in Quezon. It is at the foot of the mountain, overlooking the Pacific. I planned on building a modest nipa hut with a roof deck for my meditations and a clean toilet. My uncle and other relatives used to be mayor there. Para kaming dynasty doon. Haha. Pero good kami ha. Walang nagpayaman. Yung mga associates ng uncle ko, pinipilit akong mag-mayor dun; they will support me. Ako naman, umandar na naman ang utak. You see, people there are starving. You know— the big farm owners, (isa kami dun;) and the kasama, the farmhands. I envisioned the things I’d do to make the place a big tourist attraction. Sayang ang tubig-dagat at mga isla na idle lang dun. I thought of national and international regattas, waterfun, etc. Ang laki ng potential. It’s mainly fishing industry there na hindi naman naalagaan ang dagat at isda. So I will come up with a scheme na maalagaan ito, at idevelop pa.
NO CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
Walang ganung programa ang Quezon, o ang ibang probinsya, o ang Maynila, kahit ang bansa. We’re stuck as a people, I see that clearly. Walang creative process na nangyayari kaya tayo mahirap. It is the perennial inferiority complex as a people that we accepted it as a fact that we are perennial victims of the West. Hindi tayo aware doon; but it is in our psyche.
If we assess our past actions and directions as a country, we are wasting our gifts as a people, as individual persons, as a country.
NO TELEVISION
So, going back to earth… I’ve not had television for the past 5 years or so; a personal choice. It’s trash. I just have a regular solicitation of Inquirer and Newsweek and other stuff. I have a decent library na nadurog sa baha. Nakakaiyak kasi I packed some books to donate them. Well…
GANG WAR
One day, I was reading the newspaper and I saw a seven-year old boy armed with rusty icepick on one hand; and a broken beer bottle on the other; geared for war. Gang wars, fraternity wars happen every night in places like Baseco, Parola, Sta Ana, San Andres, Moriones. Hindi na mapasok ng pulis yan. All police and the local government can do is impose curfew. By now, as we know from martial rule, curfews can only ba effective to a certain point. It’s band-aid solution, that’s all. Buti pa ang Newark, it is virtually a ghost town at 5pm. I’ve been there; I’ve seen it. Only the warring factions are seen in the streets at night. But here, it’s alive every night. People co-exist and they have accepted the situation as part of their life.
ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN
When I see street children, I cry a lot; and I really do not have an idea where all those tears are coming from. I have so much pity for them. If they are given opportunities, who would want to scavenge through the garbage?
I trained as Casa Gal or Court Ad Litem, where we are the voice of children in court. The training was undertaken by no less than the Supreme Court, Ateneo Law School, and the Unicef. But I was never called to duty. I don’t even know now if it was ever implemented in juvenile courts.
I was deeply involved in the Consortium of Metro Manila NGOs for children. But I was disappointed how the officers of the various NGOs used the money to suit their personal needs when I was sincere in giving my services for free to help them. Corrupted na rin. Actually there are many fly-by-night NGOs; however, even legitimate NGOs use the funds for their personal end. The NGOs would just report anything to justify their programs to their foreign donors who are most of the time clueless and approve their expenses which run to millions.
The system hurts me. Any system that is tainted with corruption hurts me. I decided to go solo.
One day I had a wishful thought: If only I could be a little like Mother Teresa who embraced smelly dirty children and touched and cared for the sick, then my advocacy would be complete. The rest of the story—I hope to tell you later, in person. Again, it was a mystical experience.
The advocacy for children, I called it Kulay Malaya. I expanded it to those “Mangangalakal” or those scavengers; and those who live in “kariton.” I called the project “Lambong,” or Mantle. I did my own research on them. Interviewed them one by one and each has his own problem.
So I concluded that the solution to poverty cannot be just linear. The solution should use social engineering to identify the problems; and address them accordingly. Hindi pwedeng housing lang; or feeding; or giving land titles. Those are band-aid solutions.
BILANCIA
That’s when I decided to put up Bilancia, Italian word for balance, our zodiac Libra, balance as in dance, or balance in music as in a symphony, balance of the mind-body-spirit. I set up Bilancia to house everything I do from arts and crafts, fashion design, to psycho-spiritual counseling that I designed myself , my advocacies for street children, abused women, abusive men, and any Juan and Juana who need to talk, healing, house visits for the sick, praying for the sick and the dead, and those who have various wishes.
Tesay Glinoga
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