The legend of the unsullied collector

Very often, when my husband Orly and I sigh over the futile

attempts to clean up the Aegean stable that is the Bureau of Customs, we pine for the days when Guillermo Orbos was the much-respected Collector at the Port of Manila.

Orly told stories of Orbos’ legendary integrity; how he even refused invitations for dinner but accepted only those for lunch at simple restaurants. The Orbos siblings inherited an honorable and unsullied name.

—FLERIDA RUTH P. ROMERO