Light at the End of the Tunnel by F. Sionil Jose

Being this ancient, I have a lot of hindsight, although of course we all know that hindsight is the lowest form of wisdom. I am old enough to have heard Quezon before World War II deliver those fiery speeches at the Luneta then divide Quezon City — named after him while he was still alive — among his mestizo friends.

I knew of how the late President Sergio Osmeña, a very honest man, would go down to Malacañang to check that the GI sheets in the grounds had not been pilfered. Then President Quirino, who was wrongly accused of having bought an expensive bedpan; and on to that greatest of all our presidents, Ramon Magsaysay, how the masa adored him! Then the disastrous regimes of Ferdinand Marcos, Cory Aquino, Erap Estrada, and now, Gloria Arroyo.

Being an unsinkable optimist, I’ve pinned hope on leaders like Raul Manglapus, Pepe Diokno, Emmanuel Pelaez, but they never got to be president.

The list is short — I had hopes, too, for Haydee Yorac, Richard Gordon, Oscar Orbos. Now, here comes Gilbert Teodoro, Jr.

I first got to know Gilbert when I saw him and his wife on one of those asinine TV talk shows in mid 2009. His answers to the vapid questions were sensible and well thought out. Aside from these qualities of intelligence, he exuded sincerity. I called his office and asked to see him and he readily agreed.


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