Just on time for
Bongkoy's departure

Something was definitely wrong. But I just could not put my finger on it. New Year's Day, I was at a family reunion with my daughter and grandchildren in Dominga Street , Pasay , when I learned that I had been booked for Bacolod on PAL the next day.

It was strange. Among all of us who had gone to Manila , I was the only one who had my booking altered to go ahead of the rest.

It was only later early Thursday morning when I learned that my unease was due to the fact that former Governor and Mayor Alfredo Montelibano Jr. has passed away Wednesday night.

That was for me a devastating news. He should have been 76 this January 7. I never forget the fact that he is six months older than I am. That's why for me, I never forget that Junior was my senior by six months.

What also alerted me that something very wrong was going on was when his brother, Rudy, was on board the same flight. He was nursing a heavy cold and felt uneasy all throughout despite his obvious effort to sleep.

Later, when I asked him about “Junior”, Rudy told me that he was already in Bacolod . I did not ask him further questions about Bongkoy. I knew that he was here to see him. Later, I learned, to bid him farewell.

I consider myself lucky to have been Junior's executive assistant for six years.

He was governor of the province Jan. 2, 1968 up to April 12, 1986 . After the EDSA Revolution, he ran again for mayor of Bacolod and served the post from 1988 to 1995.

But I served with Montelibano from 1970 (late in the year) until 1976 when I resigned irrevocably and returned to journalism.

In short, those were the turbulent years of his career as a politician. I had written a lengthy series of articles on Montelibano for inclusion in a book on his governorship. But this was rejected by Roque Hofileña, the executive director for the Negros Occidental Historical Council, as too lengthy. They wanted me to reduce my article to only about 3,000 words.

And the proof readers and researchers corrected the point that the Paglaum Stadium had hosted both the Philippine Interscholastic Athletic Association games (PISAA) and, later, was the venue of the first PRISAA (Private Schools Interscholastic Athletic) meet.

Well, apparently, they were younger and did not understand the implications of those two events insofar as Junior was concerned.

Anyway, the most important thing I want to portray was the agony of Bongkoy when Martial law was declared. He was abroad. With two of his favorite Mayors – Cauayan former Mayor Ricardo Chua and Pontevedra's late Mayor Itik Suanico in Hongkong.

In short, he could have evaded the roundup of anti-Marcos politicos. And there was no guarantee that his return to the Philippines was going to exempt him from the avenging arm of the Marcoses who were already avowed enemies of the Lopez brothers Eugenio and Fernando, the latter Marcos' vice president.

With telephone contact re-established with the outside world, Junior and I spent hours talking about his decision – whether to prolong his stay abroad or fly back to the Philippines .

Ultimately, he opted to return home despite the uncertainties of his homecoming. He wanted to return to his family and his constituents.

I had assured him with now Judge Demosthenes Magallanes that we had turned over the guns of the provincial government to then acting PC provincial commander, Maj. Mariano Filart. Thus, he had no fear that the military would arrest him for possession of firearms.

His return was tearful. The family breathed a sigh of relief. But that did not ease the pain of his former wife, Mita, whose cousin, Genie Lopez and Serge Osmeña had been ordered picked up by the military.

But that's beside the point. Later, he underwent with Bobby Montelibano, then assemblyman, when they were invited to the Third PC Zone headquarters in Cebu . We spent the eve of the Cebu trip speculating as to the nature of the “invitation.” Amor, later, chirped that Invitation under Martial Law as equated with an order for arrest. What made it worse was that the invitation included the Old Man Alfredo Montelibano, a close associate of the Lopez Brothers.

The late Col. Salvador Abcede decided to come along. After all, he was confident that Brig. Gen. Jesus Amor, being a junior officer, would listen to a mistah whatever may have been the reason for the invitation.

Later, while waiting for the summons from Amor at the Magellan Hotel, Junior and Bobby took swigs of whisky straight from the bottle. They squirmed while Gen. Amor went into a lengthy explanation on why they had been called, then added that a planeload of troopers under Gen. Fabian Ver was standing by in Manila to fly down to Bacolod to inspect the Montelibano firearms cache.

Lucky, unknown to both, I had covered Amor when he was 5th PC Company commander in Alabang under former Col. Rosendo Tiongson. Thus, my speculation as to his intent was correct.

When he started rattling off the serial numbers of guns of the provincial government, I had the originals signed by Filart which I presented to Amor. It seems that Filart had not reported the turnover to him and his subsequent order to Magallanes and me to put them in the custody of the Provincial Treasurer Tirson Santillan.

That ended the “invitation.”

Those are just two major incidents in my service with Junior. But they are imprinted in my memory. One thing I can state without fear of contradiction was his oft-repeated explanation for his sometimes baffling decisions – I have sworn to serve the interest of Negrenses.*

back to top