Think about it
Our aborted meeting with Ninoy at Baylor Hospital
By Jun Velasco
“The Filipino is worth dying for”—Ninoy Aquino
WHY do we remember our national heroes?
Well, for one, they are our moral compass, our guiding stars, our inspiration.
It was most fitting that the nation observed the 30th death anniversary of former Senator Ninoy Aquino on August 21.
In more than one occasions that we shook hands with than Senate’s “Wonder Boy” in the 60’s, we felt his heroic presence. He seemed always in a hurry but wasn’t tense. His goals, objectives, programs were well defined. He was visionary, heroic, passion personified in crushing graft and corruption in government.
Sometime in May 1980—after participating in a 6-week Rotary Group Study Exchange in Washington DC and Maryland—we flew to Dallas, Texas in hopes of interviewing our Super Senator who was confined at the Baylor Hospital.
An appointment was made with his physician, Dr. Rolando Solis, with the help of our Mesquite-based high school buddy Leo Palaganas, Methodist Pastor Leo Tipay, and Baylor’s nursing staff. We thought we’d be the first Filipino journalist to interview the convalescing senator, but on the senator’s advice himself Dr. Solis told us his patient was under strict orders from President Marcos to avoid the media at all cost.
But we were able to fax do the Manila Bulletin a story datelined Dallas with facts given by Dr. Solis about his health status and from what we got from US news papers. Our story was on page one with our byline in the Bulletin. It was then the first ever news article about the senator at the time.
Our visits to the libraries of D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New York gave us a lot of material about Ninoy, Martial Law and the anti-Marcos movement many of which came from Senator-in-exile Raul Manglapuz.
During our week-long stay in Dallas, we visited the exact spot where President John Kennedy was shot. We were also a guest speaker of the Dallas Filipino Association in which our introducer was the late Pastor Silverio Ignacio. We saw our US.-based countrymen’s graphic disgust of Marcos’ martial law regime.
Of course, the staunchest and fiercest critic of Marcos and Martial Law was than Senator Aquino.
Three years after, the senator decided to come home against the advice of his family and friends.
The rest is history.
* * * *
We were dismayed by President Pnoy’ cool attitude to the pork barrel scam, exposed under the auspices of Janet Lim Napoles’ group including many fake or bogus non-government organizations.
The President’s seeming disinterest must have been influenced by his own standard as a trusted and trustworthy government official, apparently failing to discern the insatiable greed among many politicians.
It’s true abolishing the pork barrel will not solve the problem, for what would prevent our legislators from coming up with a similar sinister money-making scheme?
What to us would be a most sensible strategy is to limit the role of legislators to plain law-making, away from the funding business. Most politicians are likely to abuse their privilege of administering public funds.
The “corruption curse” is so ingrained in our national psyche that no less than our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, has deplored in his writings.
But the “enemy”—abetted by an insidious media—is pervasive. It will take a miracle to expunge the evil during our lifetime.
We pin our hopes in the Christianity movement, but it is also littered with bad eggs who may block the attainment of much needed reforms.
But let’s play the Gimper who assiduously and unceasingly works for attainment of our goals and pray harder for God to do the rest.
* * * *
NOTES: Dagupan’s fishpens will definitely go on August 30, a Friday. Foofadci (Fishpond Owners, Operators and Fisher folk’s Association of Dagupan City Inc.) reiterates its appeal to Mayor Belen Fernandez to implement her Executive Order #2 to dismantle Dagupan rivers’ No.1 pollutant and preserve the world-famous Dagupan bangus…. Col. Marlo Chan, police provincial director, says his critics are barking up the wrong tree for unsuccessfully kicking him out. He told media he will only obey orders from his superiors at Camp Crame being a good soldier….. Congressman Pol Bataoil will be the guest of honor and speaker of the AFP Retired Veterans Association headed by Col. Simplicio Duque of Alcala, Pangasinan. Venue is the AFP Commissioned Officers Club in Camp Aguinaldo.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
