‘Heroes’

The biography and short stories about the life and times of one of our Filipino revolutionary heroes, Gat Andres Bonifacio that we studied in elementary and high school have served as great influence to my young mind during those times as a student of history.

The Filipino nation observes today his birth anniversary – Bonifacio Day in honor of the man who was assassinated by his fellow Filipino revolutionaries in a side battle for glory. Yes, the battle for glory can be as deadly as what befell Bonifacio, even if he was among his comrades in war fighting to gain the nation’s independence from its colonizers.

It was, however, our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal and Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. whose assassination triggered the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, whose memories were honored at the formal opening ceremonies of the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held at the Quirino grandstand last Sunday.

With our Philippine heroes in the backdrop of the SEA Games opening rites, I watched with pride while Filipino athletes carried our tri-color flag during the traditional march of all the participating athletes.

The individual Filipino athletes and sports teams participating in the SEA Games have become sources of comfort and inspiration for us during these times of deep divisions among our political and national leaders down to our local government officials, and if I may add, the rift even among our sports officials.

Teamwork and unity are the standard battle cries in sports team events. But the battle for sports domination in this part of the world is a team effort for all the Filipino athletes and sports officials under Team Philippines.

As I was writing this column yesterday, the Philippines had so far chalked up a total of 49 medals since the SEA Games started last week. This consisted of 24 gold, 11 silver, and 36 bronze medals.

Philippine sports officials were counting upon our athletes to haul as much as 120 gold medals at the end of the SEA Games on Dec. 5 to become the overall champion in the final standing among the 11 participating nations.

All our athletes, win or lose, but especially if they are medal winners, have become our modern day heroes. The triumphs of our athletes fortunately overshadowed the intramurals that marred the preparations for the SEA Games while some of the politicians-turned sports officials in the Philippines bask in glories borrowed from our SEA Games heroes.

A month before the SEA Games kicked off, preparations for it got the much needed shot in the arms from President Arroyo’s husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, as chief de mission of Team Philippines. Taking a "damn-the torpedoes" attitude, the First Gentleman ended his self-imposed exile in the US, returned and is staying for good in the country, back in the arms of his embattled wife.

For most of the Filipino athletes, the First Gentleman was their hero who saved the day for them from the politicking Philippine sports officials. And for that alone, he deserves a pat in the back. Amid the continuing personal attacks against him, the First Gentleman is also gallantly waging his own political battles to win while trying to manage a respectable finish by the Philippines at the end of the SEA Games.

The early haul of Philippine medals at the SEA Games came from our track team. Two of them are female Philippine Army personnel – Maristella Torres and Lerma Gabito, who got the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the women’s long jump.

Thankfully, our women soldiers need not spill blood in armed battles just to become heroines. But the honor they brought to our country in the field of sports will be long remembered in the annals of the SEA Games.

Torres and Gabito were among the nine female Army soldiers who are members of the 91 Army men and women fielded in the SEA Games, quite a number of them were in boxing competitions. But almost half of the athletes in the Team Philippines, or a total of 332 come from the major services commands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Of this total, 144 athletes were from the Philippine Air Force and 97 come from the Philippine Navy.

The Army’s stellar performance at the SEA Games aptly lived up to their headquarter’s name, Fort Bonifacio in Makati City.

For her gold medal feat, my good friend, Army commanding chief Maj. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. promoted Torres from private first class to corporal. She beat Army Staff Sergeant Gabito, who was the defending SEA Games champion on long jump. On another track field, Army man Sgt. Danilo Fresnido won the gold in the men’s javelin throw. Army Corporal Rosie Villarito got the silver in the women’s javelin throw and Corporal Medel Diquez also got silver medal in the 800 meter run.

Himself a hero of sort during his stint in the capture of the MILFs lair in Camp Raja Muda in Cotabato in 2000, and the rescue in Basilan of a good number of Abu Sayyaf kidnap victims from Sipadan in 2001, President Arroyo designated Esperon to become the Commander of her Presidential Security Group (PSG) in January 2002.

It was from Gen. Esperon that I learned the term "use of overwhelming force" (to defeat the enemy) when he transformed the Palace into a fortress. It was during Esperon’s stint at the PSG where the grilled fences that encloses the Palace were turned into electrified ones. It was the idea also of Esperon, whenever there were mass protests in Mendiola, to deploy container vans and the use of concertina wires as added gate security measures to prevent another breach of the Palace.

This is why, I think, incumbent PSG chief, Brig. Gen. Delfin Bangit had permanently closed down this gate for a good measure of security amid continuing anti-government mass actions against President Arroyo. This was her lesson learned from the May 1, 2001 siege of Malacañang Palace when Erap loyalist supporters breached the security gates facing Mendiola.

While President Arroyo and the First Gentleman traipse and lead in cheering our athletes at the SEA Games being held in various parts of the country, the PSG continues their cat-and-mouse game with anti-government protesters still trying to sneak in and battle with them on the so-called calibrated preemptive response (CPR) in Mendiola. But please, don’t make heroes out of these people.

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