A proud moment at the Lapu-Lapu statue

Last weekend, I brought my family to Manila because I realized that my kids hadn’t been to Manila since the early 90s and I thought that the three-day weekend would just be right for us to be non-accidental tourists from Cebu to visit old Manila like the Luneta, Intramuros and downtown Manila, and ride, for the first time for my kids, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the MRT.

As we checked in at the Manila Pavilion Hotel, on top of my mind was to visit the statue of Lapu-Lapu which we fought for in this corner last year and late last week. As the elevator door opened at the 16th floor, we were greeted by a terrific view of the Luneta and the Agrifina Circle where, right at its center, stood the 45-foot statue of Lapu-Lapu, the Sentinel of Freedom, which was inaugurated just last April 27. From my vantage view from the Manila Pavilion Hotel, I could feel the Lapu-Lapu statue beckoning me to come over and be proud; after all, we had a good fight and the inauguration last April 27 gave some kind of permanency to the Lapu-Lapu statue, which by the way didn’t cost the Filipino taxpayer a centavo as it was donated by the Korean Freedom League.

So after we had unpacked, we crossed T. M. Kalaw street and went directly to the Lapu-Lapu statue. Let me say that it was very impressive; I really didn’t think it was that huge! Yes, it was a quiet, proud personal moment for my family and me; after all, I was the only columnist who fought the National Historical Institute (NHI) to have that statue stay there permanently. Of course, I got the full support of Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia and Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Vice Mayor Michael Rama and the fellow who started it all, former Tourism Secretary, now Sen. Richard "Dick" Gordon.

Actually, I got a call from Sen. Gordon last April 27 asking why I was not at the inauguration when Cebu’s top political leaders were there. I told him bluntly that no one sent me an invitation (this got him mad at his staff who goofed!), but then, what’s the point? Sen. Gordon’s invitation wouldn’t have included an airline ticket anyway. So I decided to go on my own, with my family a couple of days later.

While I was looking at the Lapu-Lapu statue, I remembered that one of the arguments why the NHI insisted that Lapu-Lapu couldn’t stay there was that the Luneta was for Filipino heroes. Well, I discovered that indeed, there was an area at the Luneta where the busts of Filipino heroes were all lined up and the bust of Lapu-Lapu was among them. Clearly, this argument of the NHI was indefensible. I reckon the NHI didn’t want the Lapu-Lapu statue there because it was not an NHI project, but a tourism project initiated by Sen. Gordon. Well, as the old saying goes, all’s well that end’s well.

At the Luneta, we also went around the diorama of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal, which had bigger than life statues of his execution and imprisonment, beside the execution site of Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Apolonio Burgos and Jacinto Zamora on Feb. 17, 1872 for their alleged involvement in a military uprising in Cavite. For you Rico J fans, let me tell you that we weren’t chewing Juicy Fruit gum while we were walking at the Luneta.

Later in the afternoon, we dropped by at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros to see its really world-class museum. It was also a personal visit for the family as it was the first time I showed them the grave of my great grandfather, Fr. Manuel Fernandez, the parish priest of the town of Carcar, who sired my grandfather, Don Jose Avila. The Avila name actually came from my great grandmother, Ximena Avila.

Back in the mid-70s, my father, Atty. Jesus Avila, brought me to the San Agustin Church and pointed to this grave as his grandfather’s. So I asked my Dad where he got that story. He answered, "My father brought me here to say that this was the grave of his Papa and like what my father did to me, I’m doing to you." To my surprise, of all my 13 first cousins, I was the only one who was handed down this information directly from my father’s generation. So, here I was doing the same thing to my kids, passing this story to the next generation, which was once a shame and scandal in the family. In fact, this is the very first time I wrote about this story anywhere.

I’ve been to the San Agustin Church a lot of times, but I got the surprise of my life upon learning that the tomb of Spanish Conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was just right beside the main altar. It was a black marble tomb with a life-sized sculpture of Legazpi on top of his tomb. On the side of the tomb is inscribed, "Al Adelantado, Miguel Lopez De Legazpi, Fundador de la Cuidad de Manila 21 Agosto 1572." On the door outside his crypt is a declaration which reads, "Capilla de Legazpi: Here lies a Basque Captain and Mariner, a Spaniard of whom destiny made a Conquistador, although his calling was that of a man of peace. Spain pays homage to the memory of Legazpi and to the order of Saint Agustin which in this historic temple has preserved through the centuries the validity of the mission which brought Legazpi and Urdaneta to these Isles." Indeed, Manila is so rich in history. You guys out there ought to be ashamed of yourselves if you haven’t seen what we’ve seen.

Being with my family in Manila was also a time to visit our old family friends. Foremost among them is the family of Joey and Angie Pineda, who is now a vice president of Star Cinema. Seeing my godson Mic-Mic, Jic-Jic, Mary Clare (Shobie) and Megabar was quite a family reunion. Later my godson drove us to the Ateneo campus where he is a B.S. Biology senior. We didn’t meet Manong Max Soliven as he was in the US.

On Friday, we had a quick lunch with a good family friend of ours, Ricky Delgado, and Stephen Gervase at the Miascor catering facility at the NAIA. It gave my kids an opportunity to have lunch at the facility while the jumbo planes were taking off and landing.

The whole afternoon of Saturday, my childhood friends, Tony and Marietta (Cuenco) Cuyegkeng, drove us all the way to their fabulous Tagaytay Highlands residence and all I can say is, we were thrilled. I didn’t know the Tagaytay Highlands development was so well thought of. We also bumped into an old Plantation Bay friend, Alvin Geronimo, who is now the duty manager of the Sports Club. Marietta gave my son JV his first ride on a horse, which made our Manila visit a very unforgettable one for my children and me.

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.