From rebel soldier to soldier of God

Photo of the week.

There is an ancient Chinese saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Last week, President Duterte received in audience a Chinese delegation led by Communist Party of China Central Committee member Meng Xiangfeng, who was accompanied by Ambassador Zhao Jianhua of the People’s Republic of China.

The Palace photos showed the President greeting the delegation with his barong tagalog sleeves not rolled up. In contrast, a few days earlier, the President received the credentials of a foreign envoy with his barong sleeves folded up in the manner seen quite often these days. In many countries, the presentation of credentials by an ambassador to the head of state is a formal occasion. When I presented my credentials to Indonesian President Suharto, I was fetched by protocol officers at my residence and escorted by police vehicles through Jakarta’s horrendous traffic to the presidential palace. President Suharto was in coat and tie and, after the ceremonials, speaking through an interpreter, he recalled that several years back he welcomed my father, Modesto Farolan, to Indonesia. Today he was delighted to extend the same welcome to his son, and wished me an enjoyable stay in the country.

In another photo with the same group, the President is shown striking his signature closed-fist pose with the delegation members following his lead. The only other foreign envoy I have seen going along with the President in this regard is Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev. The pictures indicate how much the President holds China and its leaders in high esteem. It is also a measure of the progress made in strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

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Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio decided to skip the House impeachment hearings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. Let us see how the other justices conduct themselves at the House hearings or, will they follow Justice Carpio’s lead?

The patron saint of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is
St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus. The youngest of 13 children, he was baptized Iñigo, which later became Ignatius. At 17, Ignatius joined the army and fought in many battles without suffering any serious injury. But at the Battle of Pamplona against French forces, a cannonball hit him in the legs, requiring several surgical operations that ended his military career and left him with a limp for the rest of his life.

The cadet chapel in Fort Gregorio del Pilar in Baguio City, home of the Philippine Military Academy, is named after St. Ignatius. The only cathedral found in AFP camps nationwide is located in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, and is also dedicated to the soldier-saint of Loyola.

Sometime in 1996, I attended one of the first Masses of a newly ordained priest, Fr. Gregory Ramos, at St. Ignatius church. (This was before its being designated a cathedral.) In attendance with Father Ramos were Fathers Victor Apacible and Jose Alan Dialogo. The presbyteral ordination of the three priests was held earlier in July, at Manila Cathedral with Jaime Cardinal Sin as the ordaining prelate. Prior to joining the priesthood, Father Vic was a dentist, while Father Jose served in his community as a schoolteacher.

In the case of Father Gregory, he entered the PMA in 1977, joining Class of 1981. Among his batchmates was Catalino Cuy, the first captain of the cadet corps. Incidentally when Cuy was first captain, one of the men under him was a third-class cadet private by the name of Eduardo Año. Año who almost failed to make it to the PMA because of height requirements, would move on from cadet private to AFP chief of staff, presiding over the liberation of Marawi City prior to his retirement last October. He now serves as secretary-designate of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Cuy, on the other hand, vacated his DILG post to become chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board. Which goes to show that life is a journey of ups and downs, and that the people you meet on the way up are bound to be the same folks you meet on the way down. The class valedictorian was cadet Thawip Netniyom from Thailand.

At the time of the Edsa Revolution, Father Greg was a first lieutenant serving as assistant G-3 (operations) for the Philippine Army Light Armored Regiment at Fort Bonifacio. If the attack on Camp Crame had materialized, he would probably have been in the thick of the action considering his unit.

In 1989, Father Greg now a captain, was a company commander of the Second Light Armored Battalion stationed in Davao City. When the coup broke out in December, this time he joined the rebel forces and went underground. It was during this period after months of searching for a more meaningful life, that Greg decided to apply at a prenovitiate house run by the Society of Jesus. However, because of his background, he was referred to The Holy Apostles Seminary for professionals. This was in 1991. Five years later, he was ordained along with 20 others.

Fr. Greg Ramos is one of only two academy graduates to convert to a religious life. A number of his classmates have described him as a quiet, reserved person given to helping others, and his change of profession did not come as too much of a surprise for them. In church for his first Mass at Camp Aguinaldo were his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alberto Ramos, along with many of his classmates who had gathered to listen to his homily and receive the blessings of the newly ordained soldier of God.

Almost five years later, Father Greg was diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow. He would survive this initial battle with the disease going into remission for a number of years.

In November 2017, the results of serum protein tests showed that the cancer had recurred. He is still active but has limited his work to lighter loads like saying Mass in the morning and in the afternoon at BF Homes Parañaque. Father Greg would be most grateful for any assistance as he faces another battle with the
Big C. He can be reached at (0917)8438368, or at the PMA Alumni Center in Camp Aguinaldo at Tel. No. 912-5074 or 912-9318.