Ghosts of assassinations, bombings, coups, demos, EDSA's, elections, fraud, rebellions, & seditions

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
Linggoy Alcuaz
8/22-24/2011



Don’t ever make the mistake of inviting me to any of the above. I’m a joiner and a perennial supporter. And if nobody else wants to lead, I will always be available to do so. I might just honor your invitation.

Then you will have to feed my appetite for activism, adventure, advocacy, danger, defeat, excitement, helping lost causes and “talunans,” history, love of country and politics, passion to do good and bad, patriotism, romance, success, victory.

Seven years ago (around FPJ’s August 20, 2004 birthday), fellow OpinYon columnist Herman “Ka Mentong” Tiu Laurel invited me to have lunch with Erap in his Tanay farm resort. Accepting that one lunch invitation led to my having lunch with Erap in Tanay once a week for the next three years and two months.

And the rest of the week, I had lunch with Erap’s younger brother, Jesse, and Erap’s battle staff, at 409 Shaw Boulevard.

When Erap was released on Friday, October 26, 2007, it became daily weekday lunches at Erap’s clubhouse at 1 Polk Street, North Greenhills, San Juan.

More accurately, we would assemble at the office at # 15 Hayes Street and walk over to the clubhouse next door.

A Yellow Ghost
The day before Ondoy, Friday, September 25, the yellow ghosts made me say goodbye to Erap. That farewell showed me that there is no more gracious gentleman in the world than Erap.

Lunch with Erap had become my social, political and business routine for five years.

I gave that up for a Noynoy that I did not believe was prepared for the presidency. I had campaigned and lobbied from August 8 to September 9, 2009 for him to run for Vice President instead.

When my enlightened efforts failed, I joined the unenlightened mob and supported Noynoy for President. “Bahala na kung anong mangyari!”

Not just one, but several invitations plucked me away from Erap and thrust me back into the mess that the Aquino–Cojuangco clan is.

On Saturday, September 11, former QC Mayor Brigido “Jun” Simon hosted a small dinner for his friends and political colleagues.

Former QC District 2 Congressman Tony Aquino was to deliver the pitch for Noynoy. He would be assisted by former QC District I Councilor Emil Tamayo. At the end of the meeting, Tony invited Jun and me to a meeting of the 1987-92 batch of Congressmen at the BMW coffee shop along E. Rodriguez/C-5 in Libis, QC on Tuesday, September 14.

On Friday, September 17, I was invited to a reorganization meeting at the AIM lounge of the old FPJ Movement (2003) now to be called Sulong NOYNOY.

Later, it would be renamed Sulong NOY-MAR. Its chairman was Manny Portes.

Noynoy for VP
Finally, on Saturday, September 18, former Caloocan City Congressman and NAIAA General Manager Romeo Santos invited me to the birthday party of former Tarlac Congressman Jose “Peping” S. Cojuangco, Jr.. There, I managed to introduce myself to Noynoy as the campaign manager of the “Noynoy for Vice President Movement”.

With so many colleagues and friends from past battles, I became comfortable and confident with the movement and the organizations supporting Noynoy. I forgot that I was not confident and comfortable with the candidate for the position he was running for.

Way back in 1997, the same thing happened to me. My wife and I had made “paalam” to Miriam Defensor and Jun Santiago in December 1995. That was seven months after we had helped Miriam become a Senator and almost four years after I had left Speaker Mitra and the LDP to join Miriam and Jun in the PRP.

In 1996, we joined Erap thru Reli German and Robert Aventajado.

However, they did not bring me into the PMP or JEEP ni Erap. They assigned me to a special operation on my own.

A Heart like Erap’s
After a whole year of doing nothing, I tried to transfer to the PMP under Chairman Neptali Gonzales and Secretary General Benjamin Abalos.

However, they both resigned to be replaced by Orly Mercado and Lito Banayo. By then, nalipasan na ako ng gutom kay Erap (Not in the sense of food and money but rather mission and work.).

So I left Erap and went to GMA and Kampi in 1997. I supported GMA not due to her own worth but because of my colleagues of the past who were now with GMA and Kampi.

Almost a year after leaving him and his group, in September 2010, I was again invited to have lunch with Erap.

That has led to Wednesday lunches with Erap for the past 11 months.

Now, it is Wednesdays and Fridays.

It is not at all surprising for Erap to forgive and renew friendships with those who have left him.

What is surprising is that in my senior years, I developed many physical aches and pains during the year that I was not eating Erap’s rich cuisine.

They developed during the time that Noynoy was not nurturing comradeship, friendship and “pakikisama” with me and my comrades.

Sticker King
On December 30, 2002, the Philippine Daily Inquirer featured me on its front page holding a new black and white “Question Mark (?)” sticker.

That same day, at Rizal Day Ceremonies in Baguio, GMA promised not to run in May 2004.

On January 2, 2003, I blew the whistle on many anomalies at the PCSO where I was a member of the Board of Directors. To GMA’s credit, she said that she would not interfere. She did not replace me until January 16, 2004, a year and half a month later.

By that time I was well on the way to establishing myself as the Sticker King.

Eventually, I would produce more than a million stickers of about five hundred designs for FPJ and his organizations and supporters.

Noted: FPJ for President
In the following months after my PCSO expose , I frequented the 365 Club at the Jeepney Bar Coffee Shop of the Intercontinental Hotel.

There, I met again an old colleague from PDP Laban (1982-1985), Ver Tordera.

Together with former Makati Assemblyman Architect Gaite and others, Ver had organized the FPJ Volunteers Brigade. They were the Chairman and Secretary General.

I joined them and we worked first to convince FPJ to run for President. When FPJ agreed to do so in October, November and December 2003, we worked for his election.

We won but GMA stole the Presidency a second time.

The National Board of Canvassers, the Congress Majority just “Noted” us.

Last Saturday, August 20, FPJ’s birthday.

We went to the Poe Family burial plot at the Manila North Cemetery to honor the King who would have been President.

Anti-FM
For a detailed explanation of how his and our dreams were thwarted by GMA and her Garci, read my eldest brother, Mano’s (who died Sunday, July 24.) article “Fraud in the 2004 Presidential Elections” in the “Talk of the Town” section, pg. 14 of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sunday, August 14.

Yesterday, August 21, was the 31st anniversary of the start of the bombing campaign of the April 6 Liberation Movement.

This campaign culminated in the bombing of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) convention at the PICC right after Marcos finished his speech.

The A6LM was the most cost effective violent anti-FM liberation movement.

It came into being after the earlier and older “Light a Fire” freedom fighters were caught and neutralized in late 1979.

P-Noy’s Ks
Tuesday, August 23, is not only the actual date of the first anniversary of OpinYon, it is also the first anniversary of the Luneta Hostage Massacre.

That grandmother of all “kapalpakans” is what reopened my eyes and opened my mouth about P Noy, his administration and his k’s...

From September 26, 2009 until August 22, 2010, I supported Noynoy.

After May 11, 2007 until August 22, 2010, I refrained from criticising P-Noy and his officials.

Sometime in June last year my suppressed feelings about P-Noy crossed paths with a would-be publisher of a weekly opinion paper.

The rest is history – of OpinYon’s Linggoy and “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”