The Ghost in You, He Don't Fade

I met Erap face to face last July 4, at the MRT station in Kamuning.

I buy stored tickets riding the MRT. I tend to be smart enough not to fall in line every time I ride it. But on that particular day when I was at the MRT Kamuning station, I realized it wasn’t with me. A moment of clarity made me remember it was, well, at my room, somewhere.

The good thing with the Kamuning station is that it’s one of the least populated stations, so there was no long line as punishment for my mistake.

That is when I got to meet Erap.

You can’t mistake it. Same mug, same hairdo, same sneering smile… wait a moment, same job description? The one trip only MRT card I was holding was the one with Erap when he was still “His Excellency, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.”

I thought it funny, God’s version of a joke considering that we want GMA to step down after finding evidence of her cheating her way to the presidency. Yup, finding the face of the former president who was disposed off suddenly appearing again in these times sure was sago to the Zagu shake.

A week later, at Makati Cinema Square, Jo and I heard this foreign couple talking about the card the guy had in his possession. I looked closely and it was a five hundred peso stored MRT. Yes, Erap’s mug was there too. I felt a sense of communality and approached him out of the blue, asking if I could see the card closely because like him, I too once had Erap on an MRT card. We talked a bit more then parted ways as strangers again after.

By last week I saw Erap cards everywhere. I didn’t feel special anymore. All of a sudden, it wasn’t God having a sense of humor, but some unknown distabilizer who had a subversive streak up on his/her veins.

GMA finally took notice of this small irony happening along the EDSA highway by the end of last week. She ordered all Erap cards taken out. Confusion and panic ensued as Jo witnessed it riding the MRT last Friday.

Of course, the most obvious reasons why they were being used, one I didn’t mention first hand because it was boring, is that there is a shortage of MRT cards in circulation.

Glad the former president could help.