Let's do it right this Monday

Today is the last day for campaigning for Monday’s elections and starting tomorrow, the liquor ban will be in place until the day of the elections.

We Filipinos will again get a chance on Monday to help shape our future as we choose our leaders. I hope that you will vote wisely and will not allow money or intimidation to change your choice.

While cheating has been accepted as something that happens every time there are elections, let us try to minimize it and hopefully the future generations will not anymore suffer the same fate.

We don’t have to wait for the coming generations to start wiping it out. We have to start doing it while we can.

Today, my entire family will travel to the towns down south to campaign for the candidates that we hope would make our beloved Philippines a better nation. This early, we make sure our kids understand what it is to have the power of choice and how to pick the right candidates to vote for when their time to vote comes.

Starting them young is like getting kids into sports at a young age. Once they know and understand the basics, they will get better when they mature.

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Tomorrow, the world celebrates Mothers Day.

I would like to pay tribute to the sporting mothers, who are among the major reasons why kids participate in sports.

I have met many sporting mothers in the course of my work as a sports journalist and also while I follow my own children when they participate in sports.

There are those that make sure that their kids are always well fed, the type that are noisiest during the games, the one who could be like a mother hen taking care of many of the children in the team, and the quiet ones, who are always there but never try to make their presence felt.

There are even sporting moms, who continue to watch the games of their children, who now have kids of their own.

My mother watched me compete in a judo tournament once, but I guess that experience was too much for her to go a second time hehehe…At least I won two gold medals in that event 21 years ago.

Happy mothers’ day to all of you!

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to my high school classmate Atty. Ernest John B. Montecillo, who turns a year older today.

The same goes to my little sis and fellow sportswriter, Marsante ‘Marsing’ Alison, Jen Vega of our Lifestyle Section, Atty. Briccio Boholst of Mandaue City, anti-drug crusader Atty. Clarence Paul Oaminal, Parklane’s Emilie Florita, and my former judo teammate Jean Ogali.

Tomorrow’s greetings go to Col. Gerry Amante of the Philippine Army and to our fellow La Sallians from Andres Soriano Memorial School Bernabe ‘Sonny’ Salazar and Annaliza Patigayon.

The same goes to Lulette Cañizares, whose birthday wish is to see one of my favorite upperclassmen in the PMA, Ramon ‘Mon-mon‘ Mitra, win in the senatorial elections.

More power to all of you! – THE FREEMAN