Having worked close to 30 years as a journalist, I am now the most senior in The FREEMAN newsroom, the only exception being Mr. Juanito Jabat, our publisher, who now prefers to work mostly at home, having apparently become quite savvy with computers.
But age is neither the topic nor the reason for this column. Having accumulated quite an experience as a journalist, I tried to test the acuity of the young ones with a poser pertaining to the elections we are holding today.
I asked the younger journalists what, to them, would be the biggest story to emerge from the results of the presidential race. Quite predictably, the answers I got mostly hewed to what the pre-election surveys have already pre-ordained.
I asked them why they thought this would be the biggest story, and their justifications varied --- from the supposed winner being the second offspring in Philippine history to follow a parent to the presidency, to the seeming improbability of the supposed win, etc, etc.
A few others had different propositions. Some had their supposed winner emerging as a complete reversal of what the pre-election surveys had been saying, while still others painted a comeback by an erstwhile survey frontrunner as their choice of biggest story.
None of the answers, however, suited my idea of what ought to be the biggest story that could emerge from the presidential race. My biggest story, I told my younger colleagues in the newsroom, would be something that even the international media would repeat over and over.
Having worked nearly 20 years on the side as a Reuters correspondent, I have a fairly good idea of what story should be big and interesting enough for the international media to pick up over and above their normal obligation to report out the news of the results.
And what is my biggest story? My biggest story would be a victory by Joseph Estrada. To me, it would be far bigger than the anticipated win by Noynoy Aquino, or a come-from-behind win by Gibo Teodoro, or a dramatic reversal of fortune for Manny Villar.
A win by Estrada will be the stuff of which great stories are made. Here you have a former president who was the first in Philippine history to be impeached, whose term was cut short by upheaval and then forced to leave office through the backdoor.
Here you have a former movie star who played roles of heroes of the downtrodden, whose rise to political power involved almost every step up the political ladder, mostly on no other qualification than his identification with the movie roles he played.
Here you have a person who rose to the top of the heap, only to fall ignominiously with a thud, charged with plunder, convicted and jailed, then pardoned and released, his rights all restored.
Here you have somebody clawing his way back into the mainstream, using the same model he used in his first climb to the top, and by and large getting accepted by a Filipino nation as if nothing happened.
Of course, this is all conjecture, this is all hypothesis. My choice of biggest story must be preceded and qualified by a very big "IF" as in -- IF Estrada wins. And what is my second biggest story? My second biggest story will be an ongoing one, one that still need to be written.
Which brings me to my final word for this election: By now, all Filipinos should have made up their minds who to vote for, and may have voted already. But to those who have not yet voted, remember it is not who you vote for that matters but the consequence of your choice.
Take note that we are not playing a game here, where we need to win with our favorite candidates. When you vote, think of what that vote will do to your life in the next six long years. Don't forget that six years is too long a time to spend regretting.