August, the Ghost Month

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
Linggoy Alcuaz
8/15-21/2011



I heard it before but it did not stick. To Chinese-Filipinos, August is the month of ghosts. However, I always thought that the week where October 31 to November 2 fell was the very short season of ghosts.

And so, we were pleasantly surprised when researchers of a mass media organization came last week to survey our Balete Drive (Baranggay Mariana, QC) home to research on the White Lady of Balete Drive.

It used to be that ABS-CBN and GMA would come and shoot ghost scenes in our eighty-five year old house and garden as well as in the surrounding streets – Balete, Campanilla and Sampaguita – in October.

These were intended for their Halloween shows.

White Lady of Balete Drive
In fact, the lady researcher had heard about my column, “The Lady of Balete Drive” in the November 1-7 issue, # 11 of our weekly OpinYon.

She was also able to get the name of the most popular ghost in the whole Philippines, Leni Recto Garchitorena.

When I could still see and talk with former Batangas Vice Governor Ricky Recto, he confirmed to me that she was their cousin. Her mother was Maria Cristina Recto married to a Garchitorena from Tigaon, Camarines Sur.

Ricky’s father, former IBP Assemblyman Raffy Recto, owned the house that she lived in.

My friend, former Caloocan City Congressman and NAIA General Manager Romeo Santos, is married to Magdalena “Meg” Garchitorena whose family used to own thousands of hectares of land in Tigaon and neighboring towns.

Former DAR Undersecretary Pejo confirmed to us that he knew the parents of the White Lady.

We hope soon to interview someone who knew Leni when she was still alive or was related to her.

Different versions
I have heard two versions of how and why she died.

In both she met a vehicular accident.

In one she escaped from her home just to join her friends for a joy ride.

In the other she was eloping with her boyfriend. In both versions, her parents did not allow her to go out.

The story goes that she owed money to the class fund and that was why she could not rest. When her parents settled the debt, she went to rest.

Well, things are happening earlier this year. Usually, radio stations start playing Christmas carols in September.

Even that is too early for me when I‘m broke. They remind one of the bigger expenses during the Christmas Season.

Last month they started playing them already. It’s good that I’ve gotten insensitive to fears of going broke.

Ghosts and Death
Our family is also insensitive to fear of ghosts.

We consider and feel that the ghosts that reside in our home or nearby are friendly to us.

In fact, my brother Mano, who died last July 24, and I experienced the same kind of kindness from the ghost.

It opened our garden gate for us. What was the difference? He saw her. I did not, because it was raining very hard when I came home.

Other families have different experiences with ghosts and death. The Sumulong-Cojuangco clan just last month saw brother Don Pedro “Pete” Sumulong Cojuangco and sister Josephine Sumulong Cojuangco Reyes died in rapid succession.

The latter collapsed at the funeral mass of the former.

August 21
Their father, Don Jose, and Josephine’s husband, Narciso Reyes (one of the owners of the Far Eastern University) both died on the same month and day as “Ninoy”, August 21.

Ninoy had originally planned to come home on August 7, 1983.

However, then President Ferdinand E. Marcos, through then Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile requested Ninoy to delay his arrival by a month due to security reasons.

Ninoy complied halfway. He postponed his homecoming by only two weeks and not a month. That is why we have August 21 to commemorate.

Worst day
In 1980 (November), 1981 (September) and 1982 (March), I visited Ninoy three times.

Twice, I went to Boston. Once, I met him in his sister, Lupita A. Kashiwahara’s, townhouse in Pacifica, southwest of San Francisco.

During one of these trips, I saw a Vendo machine that analyzes your luck for any given day based on your birthday. I inputted Ninoy’s November 27 birthday paired with three dates, August 7 and 21 and September 5. Of the three, the best day was the 7th.

The worst was the 21st. The 5th was midway between the 7th and the 21st.

We can only imagine what would have happened if Ninoy had come home on the day he had originally planned.

Instead, he came home at the worst possible time. Marcos was in the middle of a kidney transplant. If Marcos had been in command and control of his senses, Ninoy might not have been assassinated at the NAIA.

He could have been jailed again, assassinated elsewhere or even allowed to go free.

Most probably, the situation would not have developed into EDSA I.

Without Ninoy as martyr, there would be no President Cory. Without martyr Ninoy and saint Cory, there would be no P-Noy today. Good or Bad? Without a Noynoy candidacy, we are not sure that GMA would not steal the presidency a third time. However, without a President Cory, there would not be a President GMA either. It’s getting too complicated. Let’s drop it. Let’s look for other ghosts of years past.

Another ghost
I noticed that the PNP celebrated its anniversary last Monday, August 8. I thought that the foundation day of the PNP was in January 1991, when the Local Autonomy Act was passed. This law created both the DILG and the PNP.

August 8 is the foundation day of the old Philippine Constabulary. This reminds us of another ghost from the past.

On August 8, 1970 or 1971, as Operation Bantay, under the sponsorship of the Christian Social Movement, we went to visit the burned out sitio of Ora Este, baranggay Ora, municipality of Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

In the November 1969 elections, Liberals Sergio Osmena, Jr. and Genaro Magsaysay challenged re-electionist Nacionalistas Ferdinand Marcos and Fernando Lopez and lost.

Crisologos and Singsons
At the provincial level, the Crisologos ruled Ilocos Sur. Carmeling was the governor. Floro was a ranking congressman.

Now Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson dared challenge the Crisologo monolith in the 1969 elections.

The Bulletin captured on camera a tense arms-drawn physical confrontation between Bingbong Crisologo and Chavit.

Bingbong’s goons, called saka-sakas, burned the sitio of Ora Este, Chavit’s bailiwick.

My classmate and National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) president Edgar Jopson evacuated the residents turned refugees to the Ateneo de Manila Prep School near Gate 1 of the Loyola Heights campus.

Among their PC security then was future NPA rebel Lt. Victor Corpus.

After the summer vacation, we brought them back to Ora Este.

Periodically, we visited them. When necessary, we escorted them. The 554th PC Company of the 55th PC Battalion was assigned to secure them. The Supreme Court granted a change of venue of the trial to Baguio City.

Eventually, Bingbong and his cohorts were convicted and sentenced. They were sent to Muntinlupa.

Forgotten victims
However, in August 1971, the crime, the victims and the accused seemed forgotten.

To bring attention to them and bring them back to mainstage, we planned a mini rally at each of the two main political parties’ proclamation Rallies.

I was the head of Operation Bantay. On the night of Saturday, August 22, I was late arriving at our assembly place at the Plaza Lawton (now Liwasang Bonifacio).

I went ahead of our main party of about 50-100 people to cross over to Plaza Miranda. Just then two grenades exploded.

Fortunately, I was running late.

On the way to Plaza Lawton, I had stopped by the house of my colleague, Raymundo Accas Tan at Unang Hakbang in Balic-Balic, Quezon City.

I was doing some coordination and preparations for KASAPI’s first anniversary celebration on the next day, Sunday, August 22.

If I had been on time, I might have been behind the stage.

Or worse, our mini-rally might have served as a diversion and helped the grenade throwers do a better job.

Radicals and Moderates
KASAPI stood for Kapulungan ng mga Sandigan ng Pilipinas.

We had been formally organized the year before in Santa Mesa.

However, our core group had been in existence much longer. I had been recruited four years before when I started college in 1966 by Fr. Jose Blanco, S.J. and Ateneo History Professor Rolando Quintos.

Since then, we had spread out to the University Belt. We had an office in front of UST.

Almost every weekend we had live-in general orientation seminars. It was obvious we were competing with the Communist Youth and Student Organizations. They were Radicals. We were Moderates.

We were also called Christian Democrats/Socialists, Democratic Socialists and Social Democrats.

In August 1970, I had been elected the chairman.

In September 1972, I resigned in order to focus and prepare for the November 1973 national elections. These, however, would be interrupted by the declaration of Martial Law on September 21, 1972.

(To be continued)