What If God Were One of Us?
By: Rolo B. Cena
Pulp Bits

We all come to a point that we wanted to quit from doing anything. One day, I took some time out from overwhelming office works and decided to tour around the city and find things for myself, or for my own curiosity.

I took the uncomfortable easy-ride trip to the downtown area. As the trip started to roll, I tried asking myself these questions: Have you ever tried to detach your self from yourself and see yourself from a distance? Have you tried to ask God to come down from high heavens and see for himself what’s happening right here, right now? Weird, isn’t it?

My adrenaline started to secrete when I saw unfinished road constructions along the way. Startled, I asked myself: “Why repair roads only now?” You see, these roads are supposed to connect people to the government. I wonder if you can call it a society when people are not linked to the government. That sounds silly, ha! Or, doesn’t it sound politicking? I wonder how God would react to this if he sees this right now. Whatever!

The easy-ride stopped and I must unload for the next ride. Quickly, I decided to procure for my residence certificate so I decided to proceed to the City Hall traveling via the city-popular peddycab. Pop up! How can this province convince people to make this area into a tourist destination when the means of transportation is very uncomfortable? When it rains, it pours – no, not that old adage. I mean, the rain water pours into your lap when you take a peddycab. How I wish the City Dads plan for this so we can graciously attract tourists.

Oh, here comes the People’s Hall. It’s a romantic building though suggestive of its age. It further reminded me of a theater where stars were ushered at night for the evening show. How lovely they are in midnight blue sky amazingly arranged that in just one glimpse astrologers can tell who the next star joining the next race of star-studded political election would be What a good time to re-write the Milky Way and mandate that stars could no longer run for public office, or maybe those who are intellectually incapacitated or mentally dehydrated, I thought.

Alas I was served! But of course, it was after an hour of waiting. Since I arrived at the Hall early in the afternoon, I had the first hand experience of witnessing in awe those city clerks painting their faces with pastels to make them appear new creation masterpieces. Others were stacked in the comfort lounges for an early typical Filipino siesta thing – I mean, chatting with co-workers about their lives. Oh, Dear! We still don’t change.

I decided to visit the famed Rizal Boulevard and stared passionately at the sea. Yes, that was also interesting. Snappily, I remembered the fabled mermaid who is in conflict with her court and her critically acclaimed nautical highway that’s incredibly connecting territories of raging men. It’s the same highway that is supposed to be free from trouble but brings trouble just the same. Oh, I believe we should get a new Ruler to steer us to another sea of chaos. That’s not bad. After all we are used to it.

From where I sat, I read from a tarpaulin advertising the school’s “affordable quality education.” In frenzied staccato, I subtly reacted: affordable quality education! Perfectly amazing! In this country where commercialism is a curriculum, it is not fitting to say (just an opinion, darling) that there is such a thing. Quality education, which is supposed to be the thrust of the government today, can only be afforded by the rich. Modesty aside, I come from a public school and I could say, I was a product of quality – but that was then.

My databank retrieved one old file: the country’s educational system that claims to be gearing towards Quality Education. Men! Heaven knows that. But the issue is not on the quality thing but this: is the Philippine Education relevant? Why can’t our graduates work? Why can’t they apply what they mastered from school? And look, why do we fail in international contests? Right, that’s relevant – that’s why, here comes a Social Science major hired to teach Physical Education. Or, the story of a college professor who claims he teaches quality education but speaks vernacular to discuss the subject matter. I bet that is still quality expressed in different tone. Quality or relevance? Which is which?

Splashed! The sea water soaked me. In the mid-day right at the park I got soaked. What a mess! Anyway, I noticed one thing; the sea water didn’t smell like the fumes of the great sea. It smelled like the residues of commercialism. Wow! The water from the sea of life became polluted. I thought the locals have safeguarded the Boulevard from massive abuse as what they proclaimed. From the looks of it – if the local government and the people as well won’t start protecting the area, the pristine sea of the Boulevard would eventually become like the waters of Manila Bay.

I was about to leave when I overheard a group of men debating about employment, or maybe, that was unemployment. One said: “I don’t get it. Here comes the president of the country promising a million jobs to the new graduates, yet my son is unemployed until now.” Why, oh, my? I reacted. I was thinking maybe the jobs offered by the Lady from Imperial Manila are not enough for all the unemployed. Or maybe, something is wrong with your son. Mama Mia!

It’s already dark, I didn’t notice it. A girl invited me to buy some stuffs from her store. As she motioned me, I was at this point thinking of a girl who had a mental lapse lately? If I could remember it right, she phoned a poll canvasser and inquired about her score where she’s not suppose to call because of mental conflict. She never realized she was not talking to her college professor asking for her Test Results. I didn’t know whether I got it right, but it sounded alike. What’s the word, that’s the word! Gee, believe I have lapses, too. Must be home by now.

Wait! The girl was insistent so I decided to buy some candies from her rolling store. Great, she’s very enterprising! But wow, looking at my purse, my money was just enough for my fare. What a pity! For years now I was working so hard and yet I have nothing in my purse. How I worked like a dog (barking at the wrong tree sometimes, especially when I was asking for promotions and increases). How I spent holidays in the office trying to meet deadlines and made shifts forgetting wedding anniversary and birthdays. How I tearfully waited for the coming of the payday for fear that we might not be able to pay off honest financial obligations that kept on ballooning after every fifteen days; and how we tried to make both ends meet. Hurting?

As I head back home, I imagined like a superhero doing some good works in the service: re-engineer the bureaucracy and terminate “accommodated” positions or positions created because of “utang na loob;,” downsize the government force and merge related functions to give much load to public servants who, because of light load would frequent shopping malls and movie houses; put into one basket all police powers and functions that can help solve criminality instead of putting tasks forces and agencies with duplicated functions and spend more for the same objective; abolish councils that rake out money from the treasury, councils that are intended to help “them” but not save the ailing peso; re-write the government system to maintain a uni-cameral parliamentary form thereby eliminating one of the houses and effectively reduce pork barrels, and convert them into public funds for social welfare and benefits of the working class.

I even thought of rewriting the Constitution: remove immunity, re-write qualifications of government officials including the president so that at least, we can have a better line-up of laughing stock again.

What a joy ride. I was imagining of writing a book, yeah, my own book. So, I started outlining, re-writing my outline, re-outlining. The process recurred in that order. I have listed twelve to twenty chapters with beautiful titles, and in each chapter beautiful words in my minds started to play. I stroke the first word of the supposed-to-be first chapter. Gosh, believe it! These beautiful words just didn’t fit. It was just like re-writing policies, renaming city streets, re-naming airports, and re-titling programs. Amazingly frustrating, but it works!

Oops, the travel ended! I was home then. I would have to look and sound inspired to my kids. I believe I could inspire people and tell them there’s God; that He’s home; that God’s in the air; just like every time the senators, congressmen, governors, and mayors (too many, can we label them politicians to save on cost?) shout “yes, Lord” to the lords of high heavens, they are really “high” with the lords of gambling, kidnapping, and drugs. Please forgive me, my Lord.

Frustrating! What if God answers my invitation to come down from high heavens, join us and see for himself what’s happening to us right here, right now? Wouldn’t He feel bad about these situations? Wouldn’t He point his magical finger to the defects and change them to normal? What if God were one of us, do you think all these will happen to us?

Now, will you try to detach yourself from your self and see yourself from the distance? Would you dare wish the same wish as mine? How I really wish He were!

Published in “Tuburan” June – September 2007 issue. Tuburan is the Official School Organ of the Graduate School, Negros Oriental State Univeristy, Duamguete City where the writer became the President of the Organization and Editor-in-Chief of the Paper.