Sports Eye

Remembering FPJ

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

I’M making this piece on Friday, December 14, the third death anniversary of Fernando Poe, Jr., better known as FPJ and considered as the “King of Philippine Movies”.

Yearly, his relatives, close friends, supporters and admirers converge to pray for the fallen hero in movie-making. To this day, most of his avid followers believe that the fellow from San Carlos City was the winner in the 2004 presidential elections.

The unexpected and sudden demise of this San Carlenan is still the talk of the town every time December 14 comes and especially now that some of his films are being replayed on television.

The author with FPJ taken on the last week of
June 2004 at the Dagupan City Cathedral.
(File photo by Cesar Ramirez)

People from all walks of life are still wondering why the guy they call “Da King” met his untimely death and was not able to wait for the official verdict from the Supreme Court anent his protest against GMA in the 2004 presidential polls.

“Napakaraming tao naman dito sa atin na masasama ngunit bakit siya pa,” Senator Panfilo Lacson once said.

Many articles were already written about FPJ after his death, especially his generosity and his kind-heartedness to the common tao. Those were not printed prior to the elections. Why? Because according to the scribes whom I had talked to, he didn’t like it. That was his attitude and the media respected it. Meaning, ayaw niyang magyabang to use media mileage to his advantage during the 2004 campaign period.

Allow me to share with you a few of my encounters with “Panday.”

It was on the last week of March 1958, evening of Mapandan fiesta celebration, when I first saw the very handsome FPJ together with his friend and movie ‘side-kick’, the late comedian Dencio Padilla talking to then Mapandan Mayor Cerame at the back of the town’s plaza. The mayor was convincing Poe to attend the night affair.

Unfortunately, FPJ humbly declined. I can still recall that the Mapandan town fiesta coincided with the town (now city) fiesta of San Carlos, the birthplace of his father, Poe, Sr. His movie titled “Duke de Borgonia” was being shown in one of the theatres in Dagupan City during those days and I did not fail to watch it, being one of his avid fans.

On that same evening of the Mapandan fiesta, his rumored girlfriend, the late Charito Solis, was the crowning guest of Miss MAVI (Mapandan Vocational Institute). I guessed that’s the big reason why the mestizo macho hombre still went to Mapandan, something not known to the public but only a few of us, his fans, knew.

The second time was in summer of 1970, after our cycling event at the Rodriguez Sports Center in Marikina. Together with my teammates, we watched how his FPJ Productions basketball team trounced the highly touted Clark Field Diplomats made up of tall black and white Americans.

That FPJ squad was composed of him- as the court general – Diaz brothers Paquito and Romy, Salvador brothers, Miguel Bilbao, among others. (Sorry I forgot the names of the others.)

He was also involved in cycling and formed an FPJ Prods team that competed in the 1968 track cycling championship held at Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium.

Despite beating my team which I skippered, his boys unfortunately were not able to win the championship. FPJ never attended the battles of his boys.

I didn’t see him anymore until the year 2004 when I met him twice in Dagupan City and Calasiao during the campaign period.

I met and talked to him personally during his quiet visit with Archbishop Oscar Cruz here in Dagupan City, around two weeks after GMA’s proclamation. It was a brief and cordial meeting with the guy adored by millions and considered as the truly elected president of this republic. Now he’s gone and gone for good. But his memory and his generosity to the Filipino people will never fade as long as this planet exists.

(Readers may reach columnist at biking.jess@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/sports-eye/
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