Joseph and I are not what you may call – long time friends. But in a relatively short time that we knew each other, we became very good friends.

I met Joseph in 1985 when he and several others visited the office of my superior at the Philippine National Bank. It was a very casual and brief meeting, just enough time to exchange smiles, not even to say hello. However, from among the crowd, his friendly smile was the one that I remembered, not even his name.

After that, we never had the occasion to see each other again until about six years later, when I was no longer with the bank but was actively involved in the consulting business. Joseph called that second encounter ‘providential’, which led to my professional engagement as his consultant. But still I did not know Joseph that well. My more intimate and personal introduction to him was made by his mother – Basing, a very warm and endearing lade. She asked to see me personally, when I happened to drop by the Marañon condominium in Makati. She told me that she was happy to know that a son of an old friend of hers was helping her own son.

Then she went on to, in a sense, lengthily introduce her Joseph to me with whom she was obviously pleased. And, when I was about to leave, she made me promise not to abandon her Nonoy Joseph because he was not only a good man, she said, but a VERY good man. I dismissed then that character assessment with a bit of cynicism because it was exactly what you would normally expect to hear from a mother.

However, as I came to know Joseph and worked with him and got introduced to his family and friends, I began to understand what his mother meant. He was, just like his mother, a truly warm and endearing person, with a friendly smile and a kind heart, who listened to everyone and anyone. He was a good communicator. He spoke in a manner and language  everybody could understand. He did not have the brilliance of a ‘rocket scientist’ but had an excellent grasp of the practical. He was not a technocrat but had an uncanny ability to appreciate things with a lot of common sense. But, he was also Joseph the dreamer who had dreams for his beloved Negros, which unfortunately were beyond his reach.  He had a great sense of humor. He was a man completely without pretense which enabled him to comfortably transcend any social divide. He was compassionate when needed but exercised political will when required. And, most of all, he had an exceptional talent to recognize the greater good with a kind bias toward those who have less in life. All of these qualities are what made  Joseph a great friend and leader.

When he was elected governor for the first time, he telephoned me to proudly proclaim that ‘your friend is now a governor. For the first time in the history of the province, he said, someone without a pedigree is governor of Negros Occidental”. Then, in his usual humble way,  he asked me if I could make myself available to him during his governorship. And, of course, I said yes. Very few men could say no to Joseph and I am not of those very few men. He influenced and convinced people with his charming folksy ways and humble persuasion.

And, when he took his oath of office for the first time, I was among proud relatives, friends and  supporters who were in attendance. His only regret during that important day he publicly proclaimed, was that he could not share the honor with his mother, who was absent sue to some medical reason. His inaugural speech was full of hopes and promises for the province and his people. And, Joseph did not disappoint them.

During his governorship, Joseph Marañon did not only talk of great things for his people, he did not only think of great things for his province. Joseph Marañon did great things for his people and for his province. He vigorously pursued  his seven priority agenda. He introduced agricultural reforms and technologies to encourage diversification, achieve higher productivity and obtain   added value to agricultural outputs.

Health and social services were made available and delivered to more people and more places where they were most needed. Infrastructure development, environment protection, education, tourism and investment promotion were given more emphasis and generously supported. He restored the Provincial Capitol as the seat of government and gave the Negros Museum a fitting home to display the province’s history, culture and heritage, among many others.

However, it was in the redevelopment of the Mambukal Resort that I and my wife Estela, who is a master planner and architect, were deeply professionally involved and personally committed. The undertaking was a campaign promise which Joseph wanted to fulfill early in his first term. Under his determined and inspiring leadership, wholeheartedly supported by Vice Governor Isidro Zayco and the Provincial Board with the cooperation of the local government units, Mambukal was re-opened  to the public after less than seven months of planning and construction, a remarkable feat even for a private enterprise. Again, Joseph’s instincts proved to be right. Since it was re-launched in 2003, Mambukal has entertained more than 1.1 million local and foreign visitors. It its 52  months of operation, the resort generated more than P80 million in revenues to make the government enterprise not only self-sustaining but profitable. Under his watch, Mambukal regained its former glory as the premier tourist destination and attraction of Negros Island.

To the very end, his thoughts and concerns were for his beloved province and his people. Even when he was already critically ill, he still spoke to me about the need to complete certain projects which were already initiated. One of the proposed undertakings in a menu of legacy projects for his last term in office conceptualized in 2006 and formally presented in 2007 was the Negros Occidental Training Center for Language and Cyber Education. He gave his  project the highest priority for implementation within the first quarter of 2008 because he saw the urgent need to upgrade the competitive skills of those without means to access modern technologies and acquire excellent language proficiency.

Joseph indeed made his life sublime and left several footprints in the sands of time. He left a big shoe to fill, which even Ronald McDonald or Jollibee with their enormous feet may find difficult to fit.

Joseph may not have lived a long life but he lived a good life. So while the province and its people feel the loss of a beloved and well-respected leader, and his family deprived of a loving father, grandfather, uncle and brother, and his close associates the absence of a loyal and caring friend, we find consolation in our faith that he will find his home farther than his world he tried to make better, safe in God’s kingdom, where Joseph the dreamer can finally fulfill his dreams which were beyond the reach in his mortal lifetime.

I will miss Joseph, who like his mother rightfully said, was a very good man. I bid you goodbye my friend. You have done well, truly well.

The writer is a former vice president of the Philippine National Bank. He has been in the consultancy business since he left the bank in 1988 and holds office at the Philippine Stock Exchange Centre. He is the son of former Superintendent of Bacolod City Schools, Dominador K. Lopez and Gliceria J. Hilado.