Argao’s Beloved Son

with Cecile M. Genove

In life and in death, the precision and accuracy that are the hallmarks of a professional journalist were evident when Press Secretary Cerge Remonde took his final trip to the town of his birth in Argao, Cebu province amid an astounding show of gratitude from his provincemates. Remonde’s remains arrived in Argao Friday, Jan. 22 after a series of wakes held at Heritage Park, then in Malacañang where he hobnobbed with the powers-that-be and where he made the Palace both as his place of work, as well as refuge for the brickbats the present administration has been receiving lately. Like a trusted watchdog, Remonde staunchly stood up for and defended the Palace tenants with what he believed was the right thing to do.

As our way of expressing our gratitude for some favors and benefits accorded by Remonde to the local media, some members of the Dumaguete Press Club and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas motored to Argao last Sunday for his interment. With the philanthropy of Dante Matiao of Maayo Shipping and the magnanimity of the local government unit of Amlan, Negros Oriental through Mayor Bentham de la Cruz, the motley group, that included some mass communication students of Negros Oriental State University, was able to honor its appointment for a final audience with the Press Secretary.

As accounts would have it, the group from the Office of the Press Secretary and some members of the Malacañang Press Corps who accompanied Remonde’s remains earlier were in tears as they stayed huddled in the C-130 plane that brought them from Manila to Cebu, then to Argao. The atmosphere, although somber, was not one draped in melancholy. Despite what appeared to be the entire populace of Argao, including other visitors from Manila and nearby localities, who came to pay their last respects, there was no pandemonium, and each citizen seemed to be conscious of ensuring that order prevailed in their town as a fitting tribute to its beloved son.

A brother of Cerge, who spoke at the end of the necrological Mass held at the St. Michael the Archangel Church (again, with precision, the cortege entered the church at 12 noon with the Mass starting at 1 p.m. and at exactly 2:30, as planned, the cortege started its trek to the town cemetery in time for the final rites at 3), noted that last Christmas, Cerge stayed with their family in Argao until late in the night, something he was not wont to do. According to his brother, if he came for a visit, Cerge would usually leave back for the city at about 5 p.m.

It was in the same vein that Cerge, together with his good friend Joey Isabelo, general manager and chief executive officer of National Broadcasting Network, attended most, if not all, the festivities in line with the Sinulog two days before he died. And, as reports have it, Cerge composed a prayer in his Facebook account, a day before he died.

“Cerge and Joey were the best of friends, in sickness and in health. Joey was distraught and really broke down when he heard the sad news,” shared Alex Rey Pal, NBN manager in Dumaguete.

Mine B. Chanco Newman, regional director of the Philippine Information Agency, said Cerge must have made amends with his Savior and Maker through the prayer that he composed and shared for everyone to read.

Truly, Cebuanos and Visayans feel the gap created by Cerge Remonde’s passing. Like the dedicated servant that he was, he died with his boots on and his fellow Argaoanons remembered him with fondness as depicted by the white ribbons around the President Diosdado Macapagal Sports and Cultural Complex where he stayed for two nights.

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