Reflections

It may be the first working day of the year but it is already the fifth day of January 2015. That means we only have 360 days left before the start of election year 2016.

The Inquirer front-page photo of the flag-raising ceremony last Dec. 30 at the Luneta was quite revealing and could be an indication of things to come. The picture had National Historical Commission Chair Serena Diokno, MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, Vice President Jejomar Binay, and President Aquino, pulling the rope to hoist the flag. All except the Vice President are looking upwards and upbeat as the flag is raised. Vice President Binay is caught looking down and grim-faced. By coincidence, other major dailies covering the same event also had the Veep looking lost and out of touch.

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If you wish to brush up on one of our greatest heroes, and at the same time extend assistance to the local film industry, catch the movie “Andres Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo.” It stars Robin Padilla, Vina Morales, Eddie Garcia and others, and should be worth your time and money.

“Bonifacio,” one of the entries at the Metro Manila Film Festival that will last only up to Wednesday, was chosen “Best Picture” of the festival, an honor well-deserved.

The story of Andres Bonifacio is also the story of our country and people. Here was a man who was willing to sacrifice everything for a cause greater than his own self-interest. But in the end, he fell victim to the same rivalries that continue to plague and divide the nation, resulting in his death at the hands of fellow revolutionaries. However cruel his death, he is remembered as having led the first successful revolt in Asia against a colonial power.

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In 1990, after a foreign service stint in Indonesia, President Cory Aquino gave me a new assignment as administrator of the Export Processing Zone Authority, the predecessor of the

present-day Philippine Economic Zone Authority. Upon assuming office I made it a point to call on the governors of the provinces that hosted export processing zones (EPZ). The oldest was the Bataan zone in Mariveles where Gov. Leonardo Roman held sway. Cebu, under Gov. Lito Osmeña, hosted the Mactan EPZ. And Gov. Juanito Remulla’s Cavite was the site of another EPZ located in the town of Rosario.

Early on the job, my secretary arranged for me to call on Governor Remulla at the provincial capitol at Trece Martires City. I recall that as I entered the capitol building, I noted a long line of people in all kinds of attire, some wearing only sandals. Most appeared to be farmers. Apparently it was the day of the week for the governor to meet with his constituents and listen to their requests, complaints, or grievances. I followed the long line snaking through the corridor and found the governor at the head of the line, sitting behind a desk looking like a priest listening to confessions being made by his parishioners. It struck me that he was not behind closed doors in some air-conditioned room but out in the corridor.

When he saw me, he stood up and took me aside to another area of the building while we exchanged pleasantries. Keeping in mind the long line of people wishing to talk to their governor, I immediately mentioned that I was there mainly to pay my respects and possibly take up mutual problems concerning the export zone at Rosario. He was wearing a shirt-jack polo barong which fit his athletic build, a little heavyset but appearing to be in good shape. There was nothing particularly important to discuss. Sensing that he had other things to attend to, I proceeded to express my hopes that we could continue to cooperate in the business of attracting new industries to Cavite. I then said my goodbyes. The good governor made it a point to walk me to the steps leading to the ground floor of the building. I then left for Manila via Rosario.

During the drive back, I thought of the man I had just met, and he struck me as being in the mold of a man of the masses—energetic, constantly on the move, reaching out to his people, and looking after their welfare and wellbeing.

In the years that he had served as governor starting in the early ’80s, he had changed the image of the province from that of a haven for smugglers, car thieves, bandits and the like, to that of one of the most industrialized provinces in the country. Several industrial estates, including the Cavite EPZ, and many other manufacturing corporations were located in the province, providing employment for thousands of workers not only from Cavite but from nearby provinces and Metro Manila as well. They were attracted to Cavite by a “law and order” man who guaranteed industrial peace and who went out of his way to attract and lure foreign investors to Cavite. He was not content with simply relying on national government programs and periodic investment missions.

Whenever we had occasion to inaugurate a new company in the Cavite EPZ, the governor was invariably invited to be the guest of honor. I recall on one occasion he was proudly relating to the audience how during his youth, he and provincemates used to trek across the bridge at Zapote in search of jobs in Manila. These days, he declared, it is people from Metro Manila and surrounding areas that cross the Zapote bridge looking for employment in Cavite.

On one of my trips to the United States, we found ourselves together on the same flight. He was on his way to Stanford University for a medical check-up, and so we spent a good portion of the long flight reminiscing about the work we put in toward providing more job opportunities for our people. He may not have been in the best of health. But he continued to exude the same strength and confidence of the man whose efforts on behalf of his provincemates I had learned to appreciate.

Johnny Remulla passed away last month.

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A Happy New Year to all. May the Good Lord bless us with peace and prosperity throughout the coming days.