June Ends

I never get tired of reading those write-ups about people’s encounter with Pres. Noy. Most Filipinos who love decency and the sense of democracy are learning to know the real Noynoy thru their writings. We are still grieving for him. Sad to say though, the troll army of the present administration is busy maligning and destroying his name. Funny that they are afraid of the dead. These trolls are well-funded.

Had it not been a pandemic, his funeral might have been even more touching or it might have equalled the funerals of his parents in terms of people attendance. He was accorded a lovely funeral march by the AFP as should be given to a previous president of the country. People lined up the road where the family, his cabinet. and close friends passed on their way to Manila Memorial Park where he was buried besides his parents. They waved Philippine flags and yellow ribbons. He was also given touching eulogy by his previous cabinet the night before.

I was overjoyed when I saw this photo of a younger Noynoy. He lost his dad when he was thirteen.

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So June ends and this month will always be remembered. Farewell, may you rest in eternal peace.

#thankyoupinoy

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Wangwang, Limo, Counterflow

I promised myself that I would start every first day of the month writing a blog but then I got engrossed  with all the news and happenings lately,  foremost of  which , is  the inaugural of Pres. Noynoy.    Honestly, I was overwhelmed by the number of visits to this site since I blogged about  P-Noy  a few days ago.  And for those not in the know,  the president himself asked all Filipinos to call him P-Noy, a rather informal way of course but the masses whom he wants to reach out to can relate to it, me included.  I’m kinda like the big bad wolf devouring all the news about him, be it on the internet , TV or over the radio.  Yes, I listen to the AM band early in the morning for the news while  watering the plants and at the same time watching our two dogs romp in the garden.   I’d like to think I am not alone because even the neighbors and street vendors I talked to were one in saying that they are optimistic about P-Noy being our new president.

And something that’s been a favorite topic, even at the dining table with the kids is the use of  wangwang (siren to you dear readers).  The past years, we’ve been so used  encountering people  using this device to get through traffic in the metropolis that  it has become a way of life and nobody is questioning why even the lowly politicians, and the big time personages in the government have it in their cars. Why, I am not  even aware of the true and legitimate users of these wangwang except the President, police force, ambulances and fire trucks.  Picture this, because  in the past, some people do get away with it.  You are stuck in traffic  and there is an ambulance at a distance and you hear this  wangwang, a signal for everyone to give way since it is probably an emergency.  Then some unscrupulous drivers veer away from the line of traffic and follow the ambulance  to save on precious minutes.  Isn’t it annoying?  Even in our subdivision, I sometimes hear  people riding in motorcycles making use of  it  and they are not even in uniform. I am glad, just glad that  P-noy is strictly implementing  the anti-wangwang campaign. It’s about time we are taught these simple lessons.

No limo, no counterflow. The president is serious about not using Malacanang’ s limousine on his sorties.  He  said that his car, a Toyota Land Cruiser, is bullet proof anyway so why waste so much on gas when  he  can save a little using his own car?  He was late  arriving at Camp Aguinaldo the other day because he was stuck in a  traffic jam for more than thirty minutes.  It must be a nightmare for the PSG but when people learned that the president was there (somewhere along EDSA), they were waving the Laban sign and seemed even glad that he was following what he was implementing.  He said that he would wake-up earlier so he would not get stuck in traffic.

I believe that there is still HOPE for all of us as long as we  make  promise to help even just in our own little way.  Kung gusto nating umunlad, kailangan din natin ang disciplina sa sarili. The next six years would probably be the start of a new and better Philippines.  I am optimistic, are you?

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The Aquino Grandchildren and My Own Memories of Ninoy

I’ve just watched TalkBack, a program hosted by Tina Monzon Palma on ANC with Jiggy and Jonty  Cruz, Nina Abellada and Kiko Dee.  They were all so articulate and it is interesting to know how they viewed the support of the Filipino people during Tita Cory’s funeral. Nina and Jonty were a bit reserved while Jiggy was so vocal  about his opinions.  I found Kiko having the most charisma among the Aquino grandchildren (the older ones, I mean,  because Baby James can also hold his own, haha).  Kiko is so cute when he smiles, he reminds me of Ninoy.

I am re-posting here the blog I’ve made a year ago during his death anniversary. A few more days to go before his 26th death anniversary. It’s my own tribute to my personal hero.

My Own Memories Of Ninoy August 20, 2008 – (from my Multiply blogs)

My daughter and I were watching Umagang Kay Ganda on ABS CBN while having our breakfast and she asked why they were all wearing yellow T-shirts. and I said, “di ba ngayon ang death annniversary ni Ninoy?”. I told her that, what’s not so good about this holiday economics is,  we could barely remember what we are celebrating  since the holiday has preceded the commemoration of the real event. Like today, who would think that it’s now the 25th death anniversary of Ninoy? It is a regular school day and it is a regular workday too. Then they began playing Tie a  Yellow Ribbon and  I told Nissa that it was a favorite song of Mom (all the apos call her  Nanay, by the way). My mom used to dance to this song every time it was played on radio way back then.

The youth of today would probably remember Ninoy as just a face on our five hundred peso bill or just a few lines maybe in their history textbooks. But for me, Ninoy represents a dream that never came true, a future for the Filipinos that never was.  I have my own memories of Ninoy. I was in third year high school or was it my senior year when Martial Law was declared. Back then, we would always see demonstrations by the Kabataang Makabayan. There was even a time when they entered the UST campus and paraded empty kabaongs – the turbulent times of the Martial Law years. We learned to live with it for more than a decade until the time Ninoy was shot at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983.

I can vividly recall that it was a Sunday, the hubby and I decided to attend an early afternoon mass at Sto. Rosario Church in Pasig and the barker at the tricycle terminal was shouting “patay na si Ninoy, binaril sa tarmac“. True enough, when we reached the church, the priest who officiated the mass confirmed our worst fears, Ninoy is dead.  There were several unspoken  questions like “what will happen now?” Around that time my daughter was just ten-months old. The hubby and I were afraid for the unseen future brought about by the assasination of Ninoy. I remember his rapidfire speech delivery, unafraid, a beacon of hope for the Filipino people.

A year after, Cory’s family set up an exhibit at the Cojuangco building in Makati just behind the Bank of PI head office. There were lots of memorabilia, even including the clothes he was wearing when he was shot, his eyeglasses and other personal effects.  Even the small plywood that he used to jot down his number of days in cell was there too.  It was a deeply moving  experience for me seeing the shadows of a man who could have been our president.  It was around that time that rallies started in Makati. We were always at the forefront because BPI is located at the corner of  Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas where the rallies were held.  We used to make paper flowers from yellow crepe papers and threw them every time a rally is held there. Even our janitor brought us sacks of confettis to use for the rallies. Our shredding machine that time was ultra busy with used printouts  to add to the festive mood of confetti throwing.

I used to collect issues of Malaya where snapshots of what was happening around Metro Manila were published.  I think it was the only paper brave enough to report everything.
I remember the time when Marcos and his family finally left the Philippines for Hawaii in 1986.  Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala invited every employee of the Ayala Group of Companies for a street dance along Ayala Avenue .  And we did, employees in barong and corporate attire dancing in the street to the tune of Tie a  Yellow Ribbon.

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