A man in the news
A man in the news
Posted 01:40am (Mla time) Feb 27, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: ublished on page A13 of the February 27, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
EARLIER this week, there was a "breaking news" item on a TV newscast: a news crew, passing by Commonwealth Avenue, came upon a car that had overturned on the overpass and had burst into flames.
Though a crowd of bystanders that had quickly gathered round the burning car saw someone inside, no one dared to go near it for fear that the car would explode anytime. Firemen arrived shortly and after putting out the flames, they were able to pull out the victim. But it was too late by then. The driver, who was alone in the car, was dead.
I remember pleading silently to the TV that the burned corpse not be shown. Indeed, all that was aired of the poor driver was a view of his soles. But even then it was a disturbing sight, as the rubber soles of the victim's shoes appeared to have partially melted.
The report carried the accident fatality's name, but it didn't strike a chord. About the most significant detail I remember was that he was just a year older than me.
But funny (well, not really) how a news item, the like of which would be given in the past only a passing attention and a twinge of sympathy for the dead man's family, is suddenly imbued with significance when a personal connection is made.
The fatality, Venito Atienza, it turned out, was the husband of a distant cousin, Mila Labayen-Atienza. Mila is not just a distant relative, she's a friend from childhood. Since the Labayen house in Cubao was just a street away from ours, and Mila and her sister Maying were roughly the same age as us, my sister Chona and I would either walk the short distance to their home in the company of our “yaya” [nanny], or they would come to our home and there join us in our pretended "grown-up" games.
* * *
PERHAPS our Mama and our Tita Nora Labayen found it amusing that their daughters would develop a fast friendship in the footsteps of their own durable relationship: They were chums from childhood.
The Labayens, in fact, are very much part of the warp and woof of our family fabric: It was Tito Ben Labayen who was responsible for introducing my father to my mother. Tito Ben and Tita Nora married at about the same time as my parents, and had the same number of children. So it was inevitable that friendships between the Jimenez and Labayen children would blossom through our childhood.
Some years back, I heard that Mila, who was by then a vice president of a local bank, had migrated to the United States with her family. Ven, though, had been assigned to Peru by Path, an international development NGO, though he had applied for a transfer to New York after his Peru stint was over.
According to their eldest child who had stayed behind in Manila to finish her medical studies, Ven had flown in from Peru for a weeklong visit -- mainly to attend his high school reunion and also to visit his family. Since Mila was expected to arrive from the United States only late Friday night, the wake at the Filinvest Chapel was overseen by the Atienza and Labayen families as well as by the daughter's classmates at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. I'm glad my siblings and I came as a delegation, for in a way it revived the ties between our families, which we once thought had frayed due to distance and time.
* * *
MY personal condolences also to the family of the late Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena, who passed away Friday evening.
Shortly after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Garchitorena was confined at the Makati Medical Center for five weeks, weakened by radiation treatments and chemotherapy. According to his wife Vicky, Garchitorena had displayed no outward symptoms before his hospitalization. The only indicator that something was bothering him, Vicky said, was some disorientation (he would drive around in circles, unable to find the village's exit) and slurring of his speech.
I had a soft spot for Francis Garchitorena, whom I first met at one of the numerous rallies against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the early 1980s. When he found out I was a journalist on the side of truth -- meaning, with the alternative press -- he regaled me with wild jokes and outrageous rumors. I left the rally, wondering who this garrulous mestizo was.
I wasn't at all surprised when he was given a post in the anti-graft court, for Garchitorena struck me with the zeal he displayed to right the wrongs of the Marcos regime.
After retiring from the Sandiganbayan, Garchitorena found a new calling by joining the ranks of columnists, writing for Today. Even as a social commentator, he managed to keep his trademark acerbic wit and sarcasm. He seemed pleased when I told him I looked forward to reading his pieces. As a friend and a reader of his columns, I will miss the man.
* * *
"THE JOB of nation-building begins with me ... and it begins today." This is the motto of a group of women who wish to promote national unity and love of country. As they proclaim: "...for our sake, let us unite, let us build up our people. For a country is not made up of roads, bridges and structures but a country is made up of people. Lack of faith, lack of hope and lack of purpose destroy a people. But as we build up our people, we build a nation."
For now, the main vehicle through which the women hope to spread the gospel of national unity and common purpose is through the sale of pins that declare "Mahal Ko Bayan Ko." Aside from spreading their message, the pins also serve a good cause-funding livelihood projects for our marginalized countrymen made possible by microfinance. If you wish to wear or distribute these message pins, you can call Soi Nuyda at +632 7358005 or Evelyn Kilayko at +63917 8400417.
Posted 01:40am (Mla time) Feb 27, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: ublished on page A13 of the February 27, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
EARLIER this week, there was a "breaking news" item on a TV newscast: a news crew, passing by Commonwealth Avenue, came upon a car that had overturned on the overpass and had burst into flames.
Though a crowd of bystanders that had quickly gathered round the burning car saw someone inside, no one dared to go near it for fear that the car would explode anytime. Firemen arrived shortly and after putting out the flames, they were able to pull out the victim. But it was too late by then. The driver, who was alone in the car, was dead.
I remember pleading silently to the TV that the burned corpse not be shown. Indeed, all that was aired of the poor driver was a view of his soles. But even then it was a disturbing sight, as the rubber soles of the victim's shoes appeared to have partially melted.
The report carried the accident fatality's name, but it didn't strike a chord. About the most significant detail I remember was that he was just a year older than me.
But funny (well, not really) how a news item, the like of which would be given in the past only a passing attention and a twinge of sympathy for the dead man's family, is suddenly imbued with significance when a personal connection is made.
The fatality, Venito Atienza, it turned out, was the husband of a distant cousin, Mila Labayen-Atienza. Mila is not just a distant relative, she's a friend from childhood. Since the Labayen house in Cubao was just a street away from ours, and Mila and her sister Maying were roughly the same age as us, my sister Chona and I would either walk the short distance to their home in the company of our “yaya” [nanny], or they would come to our home and there join us in our pretended "grown-up" games.
* * *
PERHAPS our Mama and our Tita Nora Labayen found it amusing that their daughters would develop a fast friendship in the footsteps of their own durable relationship: They were chums from childhood.
The Labayens, in fact, are very much part of the warp and woof of our family fabric: It was Tito Ben Labayen who was responsible for introducing my father to my mother. Tito Ben and Tita Nora married at about the same time as my parents, and had the same number of children. So it was inevitable that friendships between the Jimenez and Labayen children would blossom through our childhood.
Some years back, I heard that Mila, who was by then a vice president of a local bank, had migrated to the United States with her family. Ven, though, had been assigned to Peru by Path, an international development NGO, though he had applied for a transfer to New York after his Peru stint was over.
According to their eldest child who had stayed behind in Manila to finish her medical studies, Ven had flown in from Peru for a weeklong visit -- mainly to attend his high school reunion and also to visit his family. Since Mila was expected to arrive from the United States only late Friday night, the wake at the Filinvest Chapel was overseen by the Atienza and Labayen families as well as by the daughter's classmates at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. I'm glad my siblings and I came as a delegation, for in a way it revived the ties between our families, which we once thought had frayed due to distance and time.
* * *
MY personal condolences also to the family of the late Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena, who passed away Friday evening.
Shortly after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Garchitorena was confined at the Makati Medical Center for five weeks, weakened by radiation treatments and chemotherapy. According to his wife Vicky, Garchitorena had displayed no outward symptoms before his hospitalization. The only indicator that something was bothering him, Vicky said, was some disorientation (he would drive around in circles, unable to find the village's exit) and slurring of his speech.
I had a soft spot for Francis Garchitorena, whom I first met at one of the numerous rallies against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the early 1980s. When he found out I was a journalist on the side of truth -- meaning, with the alternative press -- he regaled me with wild jokes and outrageous rumors. I left the rally, wondering who this garrulous mestizo was.
I wasn't at all surprised when he was given a post in the anti-graft court, for Garchitorena struck me with the zeal he displayed to right the wrongs of the Marcos regime.
After retiring from the Sandiganbayan, Garchitorena found a new calling by joining the ranks of columnists, writing for Today. Even as a social commentator, he managed to keep his trademark acerbic wit and sarcasm. He seemed pleased when I told him I looked forward to reading his pieces. As a friend and a reader of his columns, I will miss the man.
* * *
"THE JOB of nation-building begins with me ... and it begins today." This is the motto of a group of women who wish to promote national unity and love of country. As they proclaim: "...for our sake, let us unite, let us build up our people. For a country is not made up of roads, bridges and structures but a country is made up of people. Lack of faith, lack of hope and lack of purpose destroy a people. But as we build up our people, we build a nation."
For now, the main vehicle through which the women hope to spread the gospel of national unity and common purpose is through the sale of pins that declare "Mahal Ko Bayan Ko." Aside from spreading their message, the pins also serve a good cause-funding livelihood projects for our marginalized countrymen made possible by microfinance. If you wish to wear or distribute these message pins, you can call Soi Nuyda at +632 7358005 or Evelyn Kilayko at +63917 8400417.
posted by Dante at 2:14 PM
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