"These trips enriched my life."
In my book, “The Road Never Ends,” I missed out on two chapters—my pilgrimages to the Holy Land, to Rome, and the Marian pilgrimages. The other chapter is composed of the many foreign and state visits of former Presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Erap Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which I joined.
I joined those foreign and state visits as both a journalist and member of the business delegation. I was chairman of Metrolink Travel and Tours, a travel agency, and the chairman of the Philippine Telecommunications Communications Co. Inc., (PTIC) when I was then a government nominee of a sequestered company.
The pilgrimages that my wife and I took, often with our daughter, and sometimes with our son and his wife, were interesting and exciting.
Our first pilgrimage was to the Holy Land. We were with travel agents led by the late Ado Escudero of Villa Escudero. We flew Egypt Air. During that trip, we retraced the carrying of the cross by Jesus Christ to Mount Calvary, now inside a grand basilica, where the crucifixion ended. It was the climax of our pilgrimage. We then went on a tour of Jerusalem, Nazareth, Cana and Bethlehem, and other parts of Israel, after which we went to Egypt to retrace where the Blessed Virgin Mary and husband went to escape the bloody killing of innocents after the birth of Jesus Christ. Santa Banana, we even went swimming in the Dead Sea where nobody sinks.
When we got back to Israel, our guide took us to a kibbutz, actually a community of Jews, where they live and work. It was all in all a significant pilgrimage for me and my wife.
The pilgrimages that my wife and I made without our children were as momentous and exciting. We toured France, visited the site of the uncorrupted body of Saint Catherine, the miraculous medal of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the place where Saint Therese was buried, where Saint Bernadette dug with her bare hands a spring that flowed to the town of Lourdes, and where pilgrims like us took a bath. We saw thousands of churches, a testament to the miracles of Lourdes. If you, dear reader, get the chance to go to Lourdes, join the night procession where you can even hear chants in Filipino.
We also went to Fatima in Portugal where the Virgin Mary appeared to three small children. The third message of the Blessed Virgin was the most significant of all, where she foretold the end of the world, which the Vatican did not bear immediately.
No less than 80,000 pilgrims witnessed the “Miracle of the Sun” show over television.
We also went to Rome and saw the works of Michaelangelo. It was all worth it. It was an experience of a lifetime, Santa Banana!
Those pilgrimages that my wife and I took made us reflect on what we were on earth for. Life is just one long journey along a road that never ends. With faith in God, we might just prevail at the end to join him in Eternal Life.
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Meanwhile, joining the foreign trips and state visits of no less than three former presidents was significant in my life as a journalist. I saw places I had never seen before and also witnessed firsthand how a president works when on a visit to other countries.
I joined the visits of Ramos to Hanoi and to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, to Vienna, to Prague, and then on to Moscow and back to Kuwait. We also went to Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
The trips with Erap were just as exciting.
I was actually surprised that in Tiananmen, there is a mall of taipan Lucio Tan and SM also has a shopping mall.
I was glad that I was part of these memorable trips as a member of the business delegation and a journalist. Seeing other countries in the company of a president where we got VIP treatment was a privilege.
It was also a learning experience for me.
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Last Saturday’s 365 Club meeting via Zoom was very interesting with the presence of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, former Nueva Ecija Congressman Rene Diaz, BizNewsAsia publisher, and Manila Standard columnist Tony Lopez in attendance.
On politics we talked about the presidential and vice presidential candidates, together with the names brought as senatorial candidates. And most importantly how much a candidate for mayor, for government, a representative and a senatorial candidate must spend to have a chance of winning.
For a presidential candidate, the figure can go as high as P5 billion. A senator must spend something like P300 million to P500 million. House representatives could spend at least P30 million. This will come from investments by donors and contributors.
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According to official reports, there are about 28 political dynasties nationwide. A family can have three or more members elected or appointed in government. This practice is prevalent. A well-known taipan has his wife a senator, his daughter a mayor, and his son a member of the cabinet, and daughter-in-law an undersecretary.
President Duterte himself has a daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara, a son as vice mayor, and another son as representative.
There must be a law against all these monopolies of power and privileges. I believe it can be done by a president sincere enough to push for it, Santa Banana!