Rift will be far from over

“We gotta stop fighting amongst each other. I think the only rift should be when take it the stage and try to out perform each other.”

—Grandmaster Flash

By Alex P. Vidal

THE heated arguments between supporters of the top two Philippine presidential candidates, former Senator Bongbong Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo, have continued to dominate the social media and other public and private gatherings. 

Especially now that both Robredo and Marcos Jr. gained hugely in their simultaneous show of force grand rallies on April 23 respectively in Pasay City and Sampaloc, Manila.

With less than two weeks before the Election Day, the animosity won’t end immediately after the winners (including the race for vice president and the senate) have been declared (assuming the election won’t be called a “failure”) since protagonists from both camps might still cry “we wuz robbed” as what usually happened in the past post-election scrimmages.

It’s actually the morning after the winners have been known that is the most difficult to tackle for die-hard fans from both sides. 

Filipinos have always been accustomed to going for a win, regardless of what kind of race they are in. 

Even in basketball, Pinoy fans continued to grapple—sometimes literally—even after the Crispa Redmanizers had won the PBA championship over perennial rival, Toyota Tamaraws, vice versa.

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If the elections were fought fair and square, there’s no assurance the results would be gamely accepted, at least that’s how some supporters reacted based in the previous elections.

If a suspected fraud attended the electoral process, expect more displays of bellicose attitude from unsatisfied and irascible supporters.

It took years—not days, weeks or months—before supporters of defeated presidential candidate, the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago, simmered down after her controversial loss to Fidel V. Ramos in the 1992 presidential contest.

Fans of the late Fernando Poe Jr. or FPJ were restive and truculent for decades after his controversial defeat to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 presidential race.

Filipinos have a long history of belligerence when they couldn’t get what they wanted, or when their chosen bets in sports, politics, and even beauty contest failed to bring home the bacon.

So it’s far from over as far as the hostilities between supporters of the lady Leni and the gentleman Bongbong is concerned.

For the meantime, let’s remind the supporters from both camps to calm down and avoid engaging in any drawn out election-related rift before, during, and after May 9. 

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I had a very unique mission last Friday (April 22) afternoon in the Lower Manhattan: an appointment with the medical center for two vaccines not related to pandemic.

These vaccines were tetanus vaccine and MMR vaccine, both were taken on the same afternoon on the same arm.

Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid, is a toxoid vaccine used to prevent tetanus. 

Was I “late” for this vaccine? I was supposed to take this during childhood, where five doses would be recommended, with a sixth given during adolescence. 

Had I taken the tetanus vaccine after three doses as a child, I would have been almost initially immune, but additional doses every 10 years would still be recommended to maintain immunity, according to health authorities.

The MMR vaccine, on the other hand, is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles) or what registered nurse Paris had told me was a “three-in-one” vaccine.

The first dose is generally given to children around nine months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to six years of age, with at least four weeks between the doses.

Again, was I “late” to take this “three-in-one” vaccine?

As the saying said, better late than never.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)