Mayon in Naga

Making mistakes is better than faking perfections.”

Last week, after trending online because of the recognition awarded to me by the UST Alumni Association (which I have since returned), I trended yet again for erroneously saying that Mt. Mayon is in Naga, rather than in Albay. Since then, myriads of memes have been created and hurtful comments have been hurled toward me, and these came from people who do not necessarily have a stand, but are only after having the last laugh. And if you look closely, this shows more of their flawed characters, worse than mine.

I made a mistake, yes. That is clear and I admit to that. But the context of my message is still the same: let us focus on more important things, in particular, how we can help the people of Albay.

Another message that I want to send to everyone is that while I may have made an error in my post, it does not outweigh other real issues that we should be talking about; this error should not be used to drown problems like Dengvaxia. However, nobody seems to care that today’s headlines that focus on me and my geographic error are rather petty compared to the nation’s real concerns.

This is exactly one of the reasons I decided to return the award given to me by the UST-AAI. I don’t want to be used as a way to cover up the current issues our country is facing. If some people can stand up and unite to ask for the resignation of the UST-AAI officers for giving me the award, and if they also have the time to make memes about “Mayon in Naga,” then for sure they can also protest and ask for the resignation of UST Law Dean Nilo Divina for the hazing issue, and as well as to speak up against the past administration for the Dengvaxia fiasco.

But alas, I noticed that these attacks thrown at me continue even after I have already returned the award, even after I have admitted to my error. This begs me to ask: did these protesters really got together to stand up for something, or is this just another typical elitist attitude, to mock and attack those they deem are beneath them? I hope not, because that is the last thing we need right now.

I clearly understand that for some people, making fun of my mistakes are probably much more important than helping people in need. Nevertheless, I can take these jabs against me, and I am glad that I was able to amuse them for a while. At the end of the day however, we have bigger challenges to face, from bringing justice to the victims of Dengvaxia to helping the people affected by the Mt. Mayon eruption. I hope that when the time to act comes, you are already done mocking and laughing, and start helping.

To end this article, I would like to encourage everyone once again to use your strengths, passion, and intelligence to help your countrymen, instead of just putting someone down. If you can stage a rally  against the award given to me, it is my hope that you can also rally behind the innocent lives taken by Dengvaxia; if you can unite and stand up for a cause, I hope that would be to help our fellow countrymen in Albay.