AS I sat down to write, I realized this is not just a new year, but a new decade.
I looked back and realized I have been writing this column for this paper for most of the past decade, starting in 2011, took two years off and resumed in 2015 up to now.
I remember my first piece was about being stranded in a flooded night in the city. That topic has come back often in this column. Because climate change and calamities are no longer about the future, it is the present.
That present has brought lessons and fears. Sendong and Pablo showed Mindanao is not spared from the changes in the weather, and the neglect of caring for nature and the people have shown who is accountable for this.
But has the change happened? The late Gina Lopez was the change we hoped for from this government, but was stopped by Congress who want their profits for mines to go on. Indigenous tribes are driven away because their lands bring profit. 2019 ended with quakes and fears of the high-rise buildings.
This new decade means this struggle continues. But writing about this and other things have been a challenge.
For one, people believe in other “truth-tellers,” the bloggers and defenders of this government, who created false divides, fake narratives and false heroes.
Then, there are leaders who seem to be "running up the hill backwards" as that song from Bowie sings, "While we sleep, they go to work... Earth keeps on rolling, witnesses falling" as in truth-tellers from environmentalists, journalists, community defenders, and missionaries are being silenced in many ways.
It's 2020, these issues still remain. How do we keep going?
It's hardly a magical time the past year. The Christmas season was sober. Do we still make resolutions?
Are we on the right track of change? Surveys show the ratings of our leaders are up, but our reading comprehension and knowledge on issues are among the lowest in the world. There's a correlation.
The most important figures are how much money do we have in our pockets amidst stagnant wages and inflation, while the oligarchs and politicians have their pockets filled from pork to land.
Do we have a 20/20 vision of progress, freedom and change?
Another Bowie song, in collaboration with Freddie Mercury, says "Can't we give love one more chance, and love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night."
I guess for this New Year and new decade, we resume what was began. To write, to choose. Life, change, community, love.
"This is our last dance. This is ourselves, under pressure."