EXEUNT

The Carmen Guerrero Nakpil - Cafe Havana group lunch I regularly attend which meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month is a mixture of interesting people. Writers and poets, journalists and pundits, generals and putschists, artists and con-artists (pun intended). But all well-meaning and honorable in their craft.

Last October 14 was a treat for me, after receiving a copy of Chitang Nakpil's latest book Exeunt. Well, it wasn't really for me. It was, as Chitang would warmly write on the first page of her book a dedication for my father: "For Ariel, Best Friend Forever, Chitang."

It took me a few more days until I had personally delivered the book to my father, not to mention the joy of reading a few pages, part of which was a personal account of Mrs. Nakpil of the EDSA 1 revolt. I too have my own, a sort of mental account as well having witnessed many undocumented facts as I had been closely identified then with the Enrile family for many years. But that shall be for a future post. For now, let's go back to the book.

I sat right next to my father as I handed him the book, and I immediately saw a teary smile as he read portions of it, including the chapter where he was mentioned by the author.

He handed me back the book. I turned to the last page and read with much interest to him its entire passage: "And Ermita (Ah, my Ermita! My home-town with the snob appeal, the long gone citadel of urban civility) is now only the anachronistic surname of the recycled general in the Arroyo cabinet, who finagles with an inescapable Batangas accent.

I tremble at the thought of what monstrosities lurk ahead.

Now, that I'm alone most of the time, waiting for what we Catholics invoke as "the hour of our death", I have begun to understand many things, both small and huge, fripperies and profundities, like the nature of our compassionate God, the steadfast qualities of the Christian religion, the peace that sustains all believers. Also, why the millions of sweat-stained driven men on the streets of Quiapo, or the flagellants of Good Friday, maim each other to touch the hem of the Nazarene or to draw blood from their backs, and why God must love them more than He does the learned clergymen and theologians with their Bibles and their ornate vestments.

We Filipinos draw our endless patience, our good nature and our trust in God's master plan from a simple unshakeable faith. I surprise myself by quoting to a distraught son, daughter or friend, Teresa of Avila's comforting lines which I learned when I was 9, "Nada de turbe. Nada de espante." Let nothing disturb or frighten you. Everything passes. God never changes. Solo Dios Basta. God alone suffices.

Exeunt.

No longer restless or fractured, rid at last of all strange gods, this very old heart withdraws into peace.

In the very end, after all is said and done, we need only God. Everything else is Vanity of Vanities. All is Vanity."

We were both speechless after.

(Image from http://www.philstar.com/)

IMELDA: MOTHERING THE RISING SPIRIT

The Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil/Cafe Havana bi-monthly lunch forum I attend is a wonderful mixture of people mostly from the journalism profession, some in the culture and in the arts, business, and still some former senior officials of past and present regimes. Yesterday October 22 was quite a treat for we had no less than Mrs. Imelda Marcos as guest of honor. She was her usual talkative and optimistic self when it came to the potential of our country to be a progressive nation again. And yes, her magnetism was indeed remarkable. Later that afternoon, I sat beside her and Mrs. Chitang Nakpil and listened more from her as she spoke on the Marcos era and the injustice done to them by the very same people who would be doing worse things to our country today. She remembers well how my father set up the Palace-based Evaluation, Research and Analysis (ERA-4) group which helped conceptualize some of her special projects as First Lady and Metro Manila Governor - to name a few, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Film Center, the Green Revolution, the New Society, the patriotic slogan "Walk Proud, You Are Filipino," and the Metro Manila Commission (now the MMDA). I reminded her of the RP-USSR Friendship Society which my father organized as well. She was its chairperson, and among its members were of course Mrs. Nakpil, Sec. Carmelo Z. Barbero, Rep. Roquito Ablan, Salvador Bigay, Sec. Blas Ople etal. This special cultural bond between the two countries forged good friendship and honor, and most especially recognition by a goliath of a nation to a tiny archipelago. The Philippines was for some time in the minds of the old Kremlin comrades of the former Soviet Union - in a friendly way. And then years after, some sinister cop and party would put our country to shame to the new Russia in an attempt to slip out of Moscow a prohibited amount of cash which to this day, none of the officers including the equally-sinister DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno could explain to the public in a convincing manner. Mrs. Marcos spoke of the Philippine economy then as compared to now and how the Filipino had a sense of pride everywhere he went, whether here and especially in a far away place overseas. Today, our OFWs are favorite victims of cruelty from their foreign masters, and still victimized some more by our very own government-labor embassy officials, not to mention the inutile Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). She spoke further on her current dream and project to eradicate poverty in our country which she aptly calls her 'No Filipino Poor' project. Its ingredients are filled with positive steps towards the betterment of the Filipino life, with his now tarnished image brought about by poor governance by a rotten regime. Now, before you start labeling me as a Marcos Loyalist, just make a comparison of life then and now. If you still think our life is better off today under this kakistocratic government, then let me be the one to tag you as a 'Gloria Fanatic.' But over and above all that, it was really good seeing again old (not literally) family friends Miss International Gemma Cruz-Araneta and her mother Chitang Nakpil. They surely top my list as the classiest ladies of our society together with who else, but the incomparable Mrs. Marcos. Others in attendance were former UAE Ambassador Roy Seneres, Philippine Star columnist Jarius Bondoc, Malaya columnist Dahli Aspillera, Commodore Rex Robles, General Sonny Yan, General Jimmy delos Santos, Vic Macalincag, Consul Lynn Gavino, former National Historical Institute (NHI) chief Dr. Serafin Quiason, spy-master and JCI senator Erick San Juan, UP Prof. Rene Azurin, Jose 'Pepe' Rodriguez of Instituto Cervantes, Ateneo Prof. Alan Paguia, Rep. Roilo Golez etal. We definitely missed Larry Cruz of the LJC Group, operators of Cafe Havana. Larry has left this world much too early, and his restaurant isn't quite the same without him there with us. Anyways, yesterday was indeed a pleasant afternoon. After we had all stood up to adjourn the lunch meeting, it was already past three and we escorted Mrs. Marcos to her waiting black Chrysler 300 limousine, and after a few hugs and 'besos,' off she and her security entourage went to an undisclosed destination.

(Image from http://pcij.org/)