Lazarus

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.

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Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas, is the home of the PAF Flying School, one of several training facilities that make up the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) of the Philippine Air Force. The base is named after Lt. Col. Basilio Fernando who perished in an air accident in January 1946 while undergoing refresher pilot training in the United States after the end of World War II.

For many Filipino aviators, Fernando Air Base represents hallowed ground.

On a personal note, this is where a young boy’s dreams came true. After serving as a platoon leader with the 4th Battalion Combat Team of the Philippine Army, I reported to Fernando Air Base for flight training. And here, I was introduced to a wonderful machine, the PT-13, an open cockpit biplane that served as the primary training aircraft for aviation cadets and student officers at that time. Today the PT-13 has been relegated to air museums although you might see one or two being flown during air shows or being used for crop-dusting over large agricultural plantations.

Let me say something about flying in one of these dinosaurs of the air age. Nothing but nothing beats the feel of the wind rushing against your face as you soar into the heavens with the world beneath your wings. And nothing you will ever experience can compare with that first solo flight as you break the bonds of Mother Earth with only your own skills and abilities to ensure a safe return.

Last Saturday, the PAF Flying School Alumni Association (PAFFSAA) led by Capt. Nilo Rodriguez, chair, and Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado, president, hosted the annual gathering of airmen who have passed through this 60-year-old training installation that boasts of the only golf course in the world with a Par 6 Hole. “Balik Fernando 2013” saw the return of more than 400 pilots who started their flying careers in this city. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, AFP chief of staff, was the guest of honor.

Captain Rodriguez, Class 1962, is a younger brother of my classmate, Diosdado Rodriguez Jr., who died in an air crash while returning from a mission in Mindanao. Their sister Carmen Rodriguez Garcia was the class sweetheart of our batch. Nilo left the Air Force after graduation and joined the world of commercial aviation.

Major General Delgado, PMA Class 1982, won his wings with PAF Flying School Class 1983. He is currently the AFP deputy chief of staff for Plans and Programs (J-5) and is rated a strong contender for the post of PAF chief and possibly AFP chief of staff, depending on how the winds of fortune blow in the months and years ahead.

The AETC is headed by Maj. Gen. Edgardo Rene Samonte, my loyal and dedicated senior aide when I was chief of the Air Force. His wife Marilou, an English professor at Assumption Manila, is the youngest daughter of the man who released me for my first solo flight, Col. Juan Estoesta, a decorated Mustang fighter pilot.

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An election story.

In 2009, Mark Sanford was the Republican governor of South Carolina, known to many Americans as the Palmetto State. Earlier, he had served as a congressman in the state for six years. His conservative credentials were impeccable and he was being mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012.

Suddenly, he disappeared from office for six days, his whereabouts unknown to family, staff and even the police. At first, the explanation given was that he was “hiking the Appalachian trail.” Later, at a press conference, he elaborated on his mysterious disappearance. He left for Argentina to visit a journalist girlfriend and he talked about true love and “how the journeys we make in life have to do with the heart.”

Sanford, 52, was able to serve out the remaining months of his term, but received a censure and was fined $70,000, the largest in state history for questionable expenses during his “Appalachian trip.”

On the domestic front, wife Jenny, an investment banker and his political strategist, divorced him and threw him out of their house. She then published a book describing him as “emotionally clueless, selfish, and a cheap phony.” For all intents and purposes, it was the end of a promising political career. As Sanford himself put it, “We take sinners out in body bags in South Carolina.”

After he left the governor’s mansion, he kept his head down and busied himself with house building and staying in touch with his four sons.

Four years after the scandal, his old congressional seat was vacated and a special election was called for May 7, 2013.

With a 56 percent disapproval rating in his district, his chances of successfully getting back into politics were considered by many as a long shot, particularly in a heavily conservative community. In campaign sorties, he told his audience that part of the problem of his past was that “I pretended to be perfect.”

Guess what?

Last week, Sanford won with 54 percent of the vote. At his victory celebration, he told a cheering crowd, “Some guy came up to me the other day and said you look a lot like Lazarus,” referring to the man Christ raised from the dead. Sanford added, “I’ve talked a lot about grace during the course of this campaign. Until you experience human grace as a reflection of God’s grace, I don’t think you really get it. And I didn’t get it before.”

Standing next to him at the podium was his Argentine girlfriend, whom he referred to as his “soul mate.” She left immediately after his victory speech.

Here in the Philippines, extramarital affairs by politicians are never obstacles to a successful career. In fact, they add to the charisma and attraction of the individuals involved.

In American politics, Sanford is probably one of the few to survive such a widely publicized marital indiscretion.

Was his victory an act of forgiveness or was it merely a product of name recall?