Practically all my life, I’ve never been political. I could never be bothered to care who was running what and when. Politics – especially Philippine politics – is so messy, dirty, and downright exhausting that it’s hard to keep up, so I never really bothered.

Until now.

I look around at the mess that is my country, and it’s impossible and undeniably selfish not to care. Now, more than ever, we need good, sound, well-grounded leadership, and I believe with every fiber of my being that there’s only one man for the job. That is Gilberto Teodoro, Jr.

I could list a thousand reasons why G1BO deserves to be the next President of The Philippines, but I think I’ve done and said enough on Facebook and Twitter for the past couple of months or so. And at this point, a mere hours before polling officially starts, I don’t think it will make much of a difference.

All I want to say right now – and pardon me for the rather worn-out cliché – is VOTE WISELY! Whatever does that mean these days?

I say it’s looking beyond your personal circumstances and thinking about what this nation needs as a whole. (And really, I’m not talking about how half the population now needs the best fat burners. This country’s needs are a lot more serious than that.)

I say it’s casting aside ridiculous emotions, and recognizing the ones who are deliberately preying on those emotions for no other reason than these are the only aces up their sleeves, the only thing that they can exploit to further their ambitions because they’ve got no skill and no accomplishments to speak of.

Finally, I say it’s voting for someone you truly and steadfastly believe in for the right reasons.

Tonight, I will say a little prayer for My President, My Country, and My People.

We’re being given another chance to do things right. Let us all take it.