A FARMER’S JOURNEY TO THE SENATE By Josa Bernadette A. Piñol, MD

(My second daughter, JB, a medical doctor who is completing her 4-Year Specialization in Pathology at St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City, ended her self-imposed leave from Facebook, to write this beautiful piece about my run for the Senate. I am sharing this with you, my dear followers.)

Today is the start of a long and winding road. My father has always been passionate about agriculture, rural development and public governance.

From his unexpected replacement as mayor to his journey to the halls of the Philippine senate, I have done nothing but stand in awe at the ideas in his head. because one, I can’t understand all his revolutionary and maverick ideas and two, his foresight for agriculture and the future of food production for the Filipinos spans farther than the horizon.

I would like to personally thank all the nameless faces who have been with us from the very beginning, starting in 1995

and all our new supporters who have unabashedly defended him on social media, to posted about him in various groups. They are composed of farmers, fisherfolk, the indigenous, husbands, wives, widows, young students, and the like.

They are all hopeful, optimistic Filipinos who put their faith in my father’s ideas, because they believe in his competency, his skills, and his practical solutions to decades-old problems surrounding Philippine agriculture.

Will the road be tough? Absolutely.

My father is a senior citizen and I am all but unaware of his aches and pains.

Will the road be hard? Of course.

Marami tayong babanggain. from the rice cartel to the importing syndicates, fellow legislators and even people at the palace. Not to mention the red tape and bureaucracy.

Will the road be hazardous? Oh yes.

There are always threats of assassinations, character defamation and attacks in the comments section of his social media.

But will he persevere through all of that?

You bet your carabaos he will.

It is your support that gives him strength. your faith that gives him courage.

We do not have the proper funding to stage a nationwide giving of posters, tarpaulins, fans, t shirts, slippers, caps and the like. But we very much appreciate those who make and improvise their own. It warms my father’s heart, I assure you.

I have always believed in an everloving and everlasting God, who watches over and protects his people like a shepherd to his flock.

But I have also believed na nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.

We must be the change we wish to see in this world. If we are sick and tired of trapos, then we must discern better.

If we want a genuine Mindanaon, a true farmer, with maverick, unconventional, but practical and long term ideas, then we must be strong and carry on until May 9, 2022.

If you believe in his advocacies and wish to see Philippine agriculture grow and develop to its fullest potential not only for us but for our children and our children’s children, then please join us.

You are given the freedom to vote for whomever you want. The power to change history rests in your hands. Nasa inyo ang kapangyarihan at wala sa mga pulitiko. Kaya nila tayo nililigawan eh, because they know how powerful our vote can be.

To the farmers who toil in the fields all day, with aching backs, just to plant palay, only to be shortchanged, this senatorial race is for you and your children’s future.

To the fisherfolk who brave the angry seas just to catch hulking nets of fish to sell back to shore, this senatorial race is for you and your children’s future.

To the young agriculture and non agriculture students who dream of sustainability and revolutionizing decades old techniques of farming, along with the chance to grow their own food, this senatorial race is for you and your children’s future.

To the city folk who have always wanted to be farmers, to have the chance to own their land, to love, live, and earn off of it, this senatorial race is for you and your children’s future.

To those who dream of making agriculture into a full time career, to be able to make, sell, trade and grow their own produce, this senatorial race is for you and your children’s future.

Para sa bawat pilipino na nagmamahal sa ating magandang lupain, this senatorial race is for you.

My father is just a vessel in which to carry all your hopes, dreams and aspirations. Use him.

Hindi si papa ang bida dito.

Kayo. Kayo ang bida.

Instrumento lang siya na pwede nating gamitin para maiparating ang boses niyo sa kongreso, sa senado, at sa palasyo.

I am not a farmer. I am not my father. I will never be as brilliant as him.

But I am and will always be,

A farmer’s daughter.

Let’s all vote wisely.

, JBP

(Papa loves you very much, my Doc Liit.)