Volunteering for GIBO!

I just want to start this post with my starstruck moment.

This "moment" came when I approached Gibo to sign Sam's photo.

Hanna (holding a Sam-Gibo photo from Zamboanga): Hi Sir, may I ask you to sign this photo for my husband?

Gibo: (look of recognition!) Oyy! Si utol ko ito ah! NAVSOG Class 67! Nasaan sya?

Hanna: (starstruck) Naku on assignment po, sa ______ po sir.

Gibo: Ah, sa NAVSOG _______ ! Paki-kamusta mo ako ha? Ikamusta mo ako!

awww. (I'm not posting the whole photo for security reasons...)

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Okay. On with the story.

A fun run / pep rally for presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro was held this morning at the Fort. "Takbo para kay GIBO, Takbo para sa Pagbabago" was co-organized by several GIBO volunteer groups. Registration was P100.00 - which also buys runners a shirt, a race bib, a volunteer pin, a bumper sticker, and a calendar ---> while supplies last! We were lucky that we registered earlier so we got the complete set.

I wanted to do more for the Green Team, so when they "Facebooked" a call for volunteers - I signified my intent to man the registration table. The catch was, I couldn't run :-( Oh well! My mom also forfeited running and decided to volunteer with me. The call time was at 4 AM at the NBC tent!

People came trickling in at around 5am , then there was a surge of registrants a few minutes before the race started! The crowd was large, but wasn't that large to merit "We're gonna win!!" and this just shows that we still have a long way to go!!! The spirit was very positive and people were very optimistic that we can still have Gibo converts. A lot of people were heard saying, "Win or lose, GIBO pa din!" ... "Ang boto ko kay GIBO ang testamento ng pagmamahal ko sa bansa"

It was a good experience, being there and seeing all the other people who believe in Gibo. The crowd was not rowdy and you can see that people came out of their own free will (I was able to talk to someone who came all the way from Vigan... an old man who said he went to 4 malls wanting to buy a Gibo shirt ... a balikbayan couple buying a lot of shirts to distribute for free... a group of teachers saying they were "mga Guro para kay Gibo) .

And take note, again, that this run was organized by volunteers, paid for by volunteers ... and Gibo was just invited (who gamely ran with the crowd.. even if he was being mobbed once in a while...)

I look forward to doing more stuff for the Green Team 2010! More photos at

Check out www.pacua.multiply.com for more photos...