On a poet and friend’s passing away

I was out of the country when Sedfrey A. Ordonez passed away Nov. 18, 2007, at age 86. A light had been dimmed, I said to myself. I recalled what a fine man he was, how gentle and kind, how he always had a good word for people, how he brought  cheer and hope to political activists during the martial law years, how his prose and poetry and plays glorified his hometown of Laur in Nueva Ecija, and upheld the concepts of freedom and democracy. Many miss him — among them officers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and his co-members at the SIL Advisory Council, including this columnist.

Ordonez was in the hospital when SIL, Philippines observed its 40th anniversary celebration at its offices in San Juan, Rizal. The guest of honor and speaker was Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, but much of the evening was understandably devoted to reflections about Ordonez.

John Strawser, Asia area external relations officer for SIL International,  spoke about his friendship with Ordonez, who became his “mentor and dear friend.”

When the two were having their first breakfast together, John said people kept coming up and stopping by to greet Ordonez. They read like  – a who’s who of the Philippines. After they left, Ordonez would tell John who they were and how they were connected. “It was mind boggling. This happened over and over again as we traveled to places together.”

“I was glad he had good hearing,” John continued, “I realized I was in the presence of greatness but he was so humble and didn’t forget his roots. I was in awe that he would come to pick me up, go places, check on me. The first time he picked me up at 3 a.m. to go to the airport, we were flying to a dedication (of a translation of a book in the Scriptures), he didn’t realize I travel with lots of stuff, and he had to bend over to put it above his head!”

John said he arrived late from the US the night before the celebration. On the flight back he was thinking of words which describe Ordonez. The words came swiftly: faithfulness, humble, family, public servant, dignity, wisdom. Others would be cheerfulness, smiling, integrity.

On one of his visits to the Ordonez home, the two reminisced about their times together and Ordonez’s life. John looked around the room and walls, and saw many shells, artifacts primarily from the Philippines, a book on Jose Rizal and Rizal’s bust, a book about Pope John Paul II, nice paintings, one on a long thatched boat on a river near Laur.

As John left, “God prompted me about what we could do and the idea of honorary membership came to mind, though a bit strange, but it had surely been done.” He sent emails to the three Philippine branch directors, and found out that Ordonez had been honored with a Philippine branch honorary membership but not on the international level. After sending many emails to past SIL leaders of the Philippines and Asia, with each one supporting the idea, finally, a few days before the 40th anniversary celebration of the SIL advisory council, Ordonez’s honorary membership  was confirmed.

Ordonez liked to talk about his homegrounds in Nueva Ecija. He adored the pastoral life in his poems; a book of poetry on Laur is in deep Tagalog. His published works have been set to music as opera by renowned composers like Francisco Feliciano, Jeffrey Ching, Dr Lucrecia Kasilag.

Ordonez finished liberal arts at the University of the Philippines, and obtained a bachelor of law degree from the Manuel L. Quezon University School of Law, and a masters in law from the Philippine Law School. He also received a degree from the Ateneo University Graduate School of Business.

He was managing partner of the Salonga, Ordonez & Yap law offices, which gave free legal assistance to throngs of anti-Marcos activists. I recalled going to his office to provide information necessary in court litigations, and the physical needs of political detainees in Fort Bonifacio. He was all ears and jotted every complaint I relayed to him by prisoners who had gone on hunger strike.    

He taught remedial law in various universities, and many of his involvements had to do with arbitration and dispute resolution. He served for six years with the UNESCO Conciliation and Good Offices Commission, and he was chair of the Commission on Human Rights from 1992 to 95.

He held significant positions in the government. Delegate to the 1970 Constitutional Convention, representing the second district of Nueva Ecija. Solicitor General in 1986. Secretary of Justice from 1987 to 1989.  Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN and concurrently, Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary from 1990 to 92.

He is survived by his wife Josefina Ordonez, and sons Roberto and Philip and daughters Christina and Helen.  

Before Ordonez went away, granddaughter Rina Hubilla, who lives in Calgary, Canada, wrote a blog about her Lolo Sed.

 “I recall the first of many postcards I received from him whenever he was traveling. I was 5 years old then and I received a postcard from him of a slab of prime rib with a note at the back about the cows in the family farm in Nueva Ecija. I am now in Calgary where the province holds pride in Alberta Prime AAA grade beef. Now, every time I go to the market I have a visual recollection of that postcard. I cannot remember where the postcard was written from but I certainly remember that slab of beef. He must have known then that I’d grow up to be a food enthusiast.

“To my family he is an anchor; the captain at the head of the dinner table. The loving husband, who throughout their years held hands with my grandmother, kissed her goodnight, dedicated his books to her and cherished her. The father, who supported all his children’s endeavors, be these in business or other pursuits. The grandfather who took his grand kids to lunch dates and watched their recitals and school plays with pride. To my daughter, his great-grandchild, he will forever be ‘Lolo Sed’.

“To the people who have known him throughout his career in private practice and civil service, they know that he will only stand for what is right and true and just. Defending in court those who could not be heard, his passion for civil liberties and human rights borne out of years of fighting the dictatorship. His  battleground was not on the streets, they were in the hostile territory of court rooms where you were never sure where or who your enemies are.”

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