In his memoirs “From Third World to First—The Singapore Story: 1965-2000,” Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew recounts that when the island state was forced out of the Federation of Malaysia, his first concern was to build an armed forces from scratch. There existed the danger presented by Malaysian armed units stationed within Singapore.
Last Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino dela Cruz, the commanding general of the Philippine Air Force, hosted a dinner in honor of former chiefs of the PAF and their ladies.
Today our attention is on the Ayungin Shoal in the Spratlys. Fortunately we have presence in this particular area, with Navy personnel stationed on a grounded Philippine Navy vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre. But certain actions have to be taken to strengthen our position here.
Yesterday at Sunday Mass, our parish priest delivered a beautiful homily dedicated to mothers. Not a word about elections, not a word about who to vote for, not a word casting aspersions on those who voted for the Reproductive Health Law. Thank you, Father.
According to news reports, a demonstration was recently staged by the Bacolod diocese featuring Team Patay and Team Buhay propaganda banners. Just as the rally was underway, the heavens opened up and a heavy downpour dispersed the participants, leaving a lean crowd to continue with the meeting.
Sixty-four years ago on April 28, 1949, Aurora Quezon, widow of Commonwealth President Manuel Luis Quezon and First Lady of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944, was ambushed by Hukbalahap elements along the Bongabon-Baler provincial highway in Nueva Ecija.
Two weeks ago, the nation marked the 71st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan, a day dedicated to the memory of our veterans who fought alongside American soldiers in a campaign that from the start had already been written off by Washington. The United States’ secretary of war, Henry Stimson, put it thus: “There are times when men have to die.”
In November last year, I wrote an article titled “Brand-new PMA ‘sup’ retires in five months.” Last Thursday, Lt. Gen. Irineo Espino relinquished his post as Philippine Military Academy superintendent after barely five months on the job.
Seventy-one years ago in 1942, Maj. Gen. Edward King Jr. surrendered an army of 76,000 Filipino and American soldiers to a Japanese force of 54,000 under Gen. Masaharu Homma. Of the 76,000, some 10,500 were American officers and enlisted men. It was the single largest capitulation of a US-led military force in American history, culminating in the Bataan Death March.
At the start of Holy Week, my wife presented me with two choices for Lenten reflections covering Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday. The first had bishops of the Catholic Church as speakers, while the second was a list of Jesuit priests in talks entitled “Faith and Music” to be held at Mary the Queen Church.
As we enter into Holy Week, a time for reflection, my thoughts are with the Navy personnel who, two weeks ago, were placed under arrest by virtue of a court order issued by a Manila Regional Trial Court.
Last Thursday, at the ungodly hour of four in the morning, my son, Francisco, woke me up to announce that we had a new pope. With a broad smile on his face, he added that “Francis” was the chosen name of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina. My initial reaction was to ask what time it was.
