Yeng Constantino could not have put it
more perfectly when she said that Froilan
can last the gruelling songfest finals
even after having been booted out
by the general text votes, even if
the judges favored him among them all.
Still humble, he was cool and collected
as he slowly and surely cooed, nay, lulled
the audience with a ballad as haunting
as his previous pieces. It was, aptly,
a lullaby, Ugoy ng Duyan, hummed
to amazing lows and highs, perfectly.
As perfect as his response when asked why
he chose the song: to recall his mom by.
He was a winner instantly, confirmed
no less by the standing ovation he
was accorded by the panel wiping
their tears as the song and the applause died.
Which heart was not moved to not remember
the heart that loved and nursed the child beside
her. I was transfixed, too moved to deny
the flood of memories that merely serves
as link to whom I can no longer love
for fleeting is the mind, so bless the heart.
The contest did not only pay tribute
to the talents it created but, too,
the import of their quest which was, at best,
the values they held dear and imparted.
Abraham de la Torre
