Write like Lydia Pendon but don't die like a pauper

"Don't send me flowers when I'm dead. If you like me, send them while I'm alive." -- Brian Clough

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If she were a college professor, students of Ms Lydia Pendon would have called her a "terror" or "Miss Tapia" (a tough contrabida teacher in a Tito, Vic & Joey comedy sitcom, "Iskul Bukol").
If she were a parent, Ms Pendon would be the "stage mother" type: strictly no boyfriend or girlfriend for my son or daughter; no dating; no courtship. 
If she were a wife, Ms. Pendon, a tall woman, would not hesitate to wring the neck of a philandering husband or send to the emergency room first a wife beater before he can clobber her.
She was ultraconservative and had no mercy for "mga ikratan" (flirt girls) and would side with the accused in rape cases. She hated political butterflies and admired a lot Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, the last person who gave her employment when income in the newspapers couldn't anymore sustain her basic needs.

FEARED

Ms. Pendon, who did not teach in school, never had a child, and never married, was one of the most "feared" senior media practitioners in the Philippines. Feared both by her colleagues and corrupt public officials.
Colleagues got ribbed with a mouthful if their jokes could not pass her standard. She once devoted an entire column lashing at a city councilor for calling her "la on" (unmarried old lady) in a Christmas party hosted by Vice Mayor Vic Facultad.
She was also among the most popular. Former Senate President Nene Pimentel and former President Gloria Arroyo called her "Lydia"; former Senator Nikki Coseteng addressed her as "Manang Lydia", among other national figures during press conferences.
In 1992, when she quit from Panay News to join us in the News Express, Ms. Pendon stirred the hornet's nest when she convinced business manager Mariano Malones (now mayor of Maasin, Iloilo) to purge the paper with "reds" or "left-leaning writers like Pet and Alex."
Pet Melliza, now a lawyer, was the editor, and Alex was yours truly, then staff member and sports writer.

SACK

Atty. Melliza forgave Ms. Pendon when she told colleagues about a joke that she once saw him "carrying a sack full of firearms and grenades" after a press conference in Hotel del Rio, but wanted "to teach her a lesson" for calling us "communists"; ergo we had no business staying in the paper.
To make the long story short, she was in, the "communists" were out. 
The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) awarded us with damages. The "communists" were vindicated.
It was not until 2004 when Ms. Pendon and I were reunited again in one newspaper. Daily Informer publisher Bernie Miaque convinced me to take the portfolio as editor-in-chief, to work with my one-time "assassin" Ms. Pendon, who was the paper's associate editor.
I had no problem working with Ms. Pendon, who was so tenacious and treated her job as her own baby. 
It was in the Daily Informer where we strengthened our friendship and camaraderie until 2008 when the paper made its dramatic exit from the public.
Ms. Pendon, who started her career as photographer during the Marcos years, was a good writer. Her prose and style were so simple that even those who have not gone to school could appreciate her articles. 
She died a pauper. She never had a car. She never owned a house and lot. When she decided to devote her life in mass media, it's tantamount to making a vow of poverty. 

GLAMOUR

Her life as a journalist was glamorous. Public officials, business leaders, and socialites admired and respected her as a person. Press releases sent to the editorial room carried notes like love letters to "Inday Lyds."
She was a hero to her family. With her meager income as a newshen and, later on, as casual employee in city hall, Ms. Pendon helped sustain her family financially and otherwise--and probably forgot that she, too, had a life to live.
It was retired city hall public information officer Amante "Boy" Espejo who informed me that Ms. Pendon had collapsed in the city hall comfort room several days before she succumbed to brain aneurysm on Oct. 21, 2016 while confined at the St. Paul's Hospital in Iloilo City. He also informed me that she was already 70. She should have retired a long time ago.
The younger generation in Iloilo media lost a "mother" in "Mommy Lyds". We lost a media warrior, a fighter in the arena of public service and journalism.  Rest in peace, Inday Lyds. Thank you for the friendship and for being an inspiration to us.