NOTHING BUT EMBERS of a love once fought for a greater cause shall remain if the youth fail to wield their power with discernment, mistaking blind devotion for civic duty as they champion their chosen candidates for the upcoming 2025 midterm elections. 

Fascinating how, time and again, history has its way of reminding us that the campaign season mirrors the risk of ruin that one usually finds in romance. 

Filipina poet Ophelia Dimalanta once spoke of love as “a kind of burning.” And isn’t it true? When we demand change, when we cry out to be seen, we become “hapless lovers in a wayward world in all kinds of ways.” Love can linger with this comforting warmth, especially in times when the world grows cold. It is no coincidence that love is so often likened to fire. However, if love is fire, one must also expect for it to burn, to consume, to insist transformation. 

“…if the youth were to burn for this country, let it not be a fleeting blaze of infatuation.”

Likewise, should be, are Filipinos in the heat of campaigns, a courtship of the masses, where leaders stand upon their pulpits, calling out to the hearts of the people. To be steadfast in one’s causes despite every rousing speech, every sweeping promise, and every intoxicating rush of ambition that are meant to woo them.  

Yet, akin to lovers who cannot let go of their tragic past, Filipinos continue to adore, believe in, and set their hearts ablaze for the same names, the same dynasties, who promise the world only to betray those who placed them in power.  

The Marcoses, who once plunged the nation into tyranny, now reclaims the highest seat in the land, as if the blood they spilled has been forgotten. The Dutertes, who built their reign on bloodshed, remain entrenched in Davao. The Villars, the Romualdezes, the Tulfos, the Cayetanos, the Ejercitos, the Singsons, the Ampatuans—the list goes on.  

To treat the government like an estate to be inherited, ensuring power never strays from within their grasp, is a true mockery of democracy. And still, Filipinos love them. Still, Filipinos believe. Still, Filipinos burn. 

As early as young, one must learn that flames of admiration must never be left unchecked, for where there is public trust, there must be accountability. Whether you are a voter or a candidate, if you dare to stand for progress, understand that this idea of having the passion to serve the people is not that essential anymore, for no fire, left untended, burns forever. 

As the 2025 midterm elections approach, witness as the youth flex their selfies with their senatorial bets or flaunt their ink-stained fingers like badges of honor, taking pride in believing they are part of the change they protest to demand. But let’s be practical. Claiming to love this country or being willing to die for it has never been enough to exact change as love that is genuine persists. It fights.  

For many, the temptation is great to take the path of least resistance: to vote, to trust, and then to fade into silence. For some, it may be convenient to accept the world as it is, to surrender to the weight of history and call it fate. But love, if it is real, cannot be passive. Love moves, love acts, love rises. 

So, if the youth were to burn for this country, let it not be a fleeting blaze of infatuation. Let it be a kind of burning that demands, seeks, and reminds leaders that they are put in their positions to serve the masses, to honor the Filipino people. 

To lead solely with the heart is no longer enough. Not in romance, and certainly not in politics. 

email me at thebedan_managingeditor@sanbeda.edu.ph