Ilonggos must bring back the Gonzalezes

“I can assure you, public service is a stimulating, proud and lively enterprise. It is not just a way of life, it is a way to live fully.”
--Lee H. Hamilton

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- It’s not good for the memory of the late former Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez Sr. that nobody from his offspring is being considered by leading political parties today for a higher elective position in the May 2019 elections.
Although the official filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) for all candidates in next year’s polls hasn’t commenced yet, the Ilonggos have yet to hear some major political parties or groups of political impresarios cajoling or endorsing a Gonzalez daughter, son, or his wife, Dr. Pacita, to run either for city mayor, vice mayor or House representative.
Since Gonzalez Sr., a true-blue Nacionalista Party (NP) stalwart, absorbed a heart-rending defeat to neophyte Jed Patrick Mabilog for city mayor on May 10, 2010 and his son, Rep. Raul Jr., relinquishing his post to Jerry Treñas in the May 10, 2010 elections, the effervescent Gonzalez clan hasn’t won a major election in Iloilo City in the Philippines.
Does anybody, from among those who have reaped favors in whatever means from the Gonzalez patriarch, still care?

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Dr. Pacita and their daughter, Dr. Marigold, tried their luck in the succeeding elections but were both pulverized one after another by the same rising political stars who pummeled the Gonzalez patriarch in the previous elections.
They were aware how much Justice Secretary loved the Ilonggos the reason why they have bandied about time and again the decision to resurrect the good Gonzalez father’s patriotic duty.
Clan members normally “preserved” the political memories and continue the legacies of their fathers by securing higher elective positions thereafter, when the patriarchs have retired or died.
But how can they do that if they are not elected, or if they perpetually lose in the regular elections?
If the Ilonggos think they have something to pay back for the late Justice Gonzalez as an “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude) for his lofty public service, they must support and elect a Gonzalez family member in the May 2019 elections.

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I have covered several reports about “bomb threats” in Western Visayas and other parts of the country in the past.
None of them was authentic, so far.
The threats, delivered via phone calls in colleges and universities or even in the Hall of Justice, are normally done by pranksters and those with hanky panky motives.
They don’t normally come from serious terrorists, jihadists or extremist groups with intention to create confusion and mayhem.
If a recalcitrant student is in trouble in the dean’s office or is being investigated for an internal misdemeanor, he or she may resort to a phony bomb threat to divert the issue and delay the imminent disciplinary action to be meted against that student.
Or, in the case of the Hall of Justice, the prank call is normally masterminded by relatives or supporters of accused in criminal cases with intention to delay the trial or to scare prosecutors and witnesses. 
Whatever the idiots can't get, they avenge by making hoax bomb threats.
Just the same.
Over the years, bogus bomb threats make school authorities and judges postpone the day’s important activities and suspend classes and trials.

We hope there will be no regrets

“When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough.”

--Maurice Maeterlinck

By Alex P. Vidal

NEWARK, New Jersey -- If Iloilo City in the Philippines is a human face, the condemned Iloilo Freedom Grandstand sitting on the area of the 600-square meter Sunburst Park, serves as the face’s mouth.

It has been one of Iloilo City’s most prominent landmarks facing the “eagle” building on J.M. Basa Street for more than 50 years now.

In the name of development, it will soon disappear and relocated to Muelle Loney, adjacent to the waterfront area of Customs House Plaza, Sunburst Park’s old name.

Because of its intrinsic value, many Ilonggos have considered it as part of the metropolis’ tangible past.

Owing to its cultural and practical values and especially that it’s not an eyesore, some Ilonggos are sad that after the face of

“The Most Loyal and Noble City” or “La Muy Leal Y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo” has undergone a major surgery this year, its mouth, a reminder of the metropolis’ culture and complexity, will no longer be found under the nose.

In one of his “farewell” visits in various places in the Philippines, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, accompanied by President Carlos Garcia, set foot at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand on July 10, 1961 and delivered a nostalgic speech.

This event will forever be etched in the memory of the Ilonggos.

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We just hope that there will be no regrets after the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand has been demolished.

It can’t be denied that the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, renovated by the late Rep. Raul Gonzalez Sr. several years back, has brought character and certain charm to the neighborhood that Ilonggos had lived in ever since the late political maverick former Senator Rodolfo Ganzon gave it a sparkling name nearly 60 years ago.

Once it’s gone, there is no more chance to restore or save one of Iloilo City’s most memorable historic sites.

Once a major bureaucratic decision has been made with finality, no one can be certain what will be valued in the future.

Once a piece of history is destroyed, it is lost forever like a member of the family who passed away.

The memory of the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand has taught us about the history that happened before we were born; its imposing image has promoted the respect for those who lived in different times and different political and social climates not only in the city and province of Iloilo but also in the entire region.

It has cultivated pride of our past and heritage making the Ilonggos unique in the world.