Ang tunay na magkaibigan, walang iwanan.” (“True friends never leave each other.”) Thus declared US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires John Law at the US Independence Day celebration at the embassy grounds on Roxas Boulevard.
Trust the US to take the lead in actual, not virtual, national day receptions in this second, more hopeful year since COVID-19 all but halted social gatherings.
And it was well attended — spotted were former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte and many movers and shakers from business, and the academe. (Sanitation “stations” were all over the gathering, much of which was held al fresco.)
“Americans celebrate the Fourth of July not merely to remind ourselves of the accomplishments of our predecessors but also to consider the great work ahead of us,” Law said in a speech at the Charles Parsons Ballroom Thursday. “And we remain dedicated to Lincoln’s great proposition of freedom and equality for all. Our faith in that creed is undiminished.”
The ballroom, as well as the open grounds overlooking Manila Bay, was festooned with red, white and blue flowers, balloons, and firefly lights. Several photos depicting the ties between the Philippines and the US were mounted all over the venue: Douglas MacArthur, Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, President Joseph Estrada with President Bill Clinton, President Noynoy Aquino with President Obama, President Duterte and President Trump, among others. There was even a standee of apl.de.ap.
“Through wars, natural disasters, pandemics, and whatever else may come our way, the US-Philippine relationship is — as Ambassador (Babe) Romualdez would like to say — ‘Thriving at 75’,” he added.
“I have utmost confidence that those ties will continue to prosper and thrive, to the benefit of both our peoples, over the next 75 years and beyond, because, at the heart of those ties is yet another proposition: of lasting friendship and partnership of the American and Filipino people. And to that proposition, I assure you, the United States is and will forever remain dedicated,” Law, clad in a Barong Tagalog, declared.
“Ang tunay na magkaibigan, walang iwanan,” he concluded.
Bert & Lovely Romulo: Walang iwanan din
Statesman Alberto G. Romulo, who has spent virtually his entire life in the service of the nation (from the Batasang Pambansa, to the Senate, to the Cabinet of three Presidents), has an ally who inspires and strengthens him. And what a lovely one she is.
Romulo and his wife, the former Lovely Tecson, celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary last June 29 in the stunning home of their close friend, “Woman of Steel” Alice Eduardo. Chef Jessie whipped up a dinner with Bert Romulo’s favorites like prawn thermidor and risotto.
Their children (except for Lupe, who had gone to heaven, and Tourism Secretary Berna Puyat, who was in quarantine because one of her aides caught COVID), and grandchildren were there to celebrate. Also present were Alice’s siblings Joel Eduardo and Melba Solidum, and brother-in-law Bayani Solidum.
Bert and Lovely were married 58 years ago at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros.
During their 46th wedding anniversary, he walked her down the aisle again, and in the reception at the Manila Polo Club that followed the anniversary Mass at the Santuario de San Antonio, he shared a poem he had written for her, Two Roads in the Woods, part of which goes:
Seems like only yesterday when we were in Madrid, when we were young.
To quote Winston Churchill, “Glorious in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven.”
Yes we were then all young and gay and without a care in the world.
We laughed and sang and danced Spanish and Filipino songs in the Colegio Mayor de Guadalupe and along the bars and cafés of Gran Via and Calle Princesa.
And, it was in Madrid — at the Colegio Mayor de Guadalupe in Ciudad Universitaria — where I first saw and met a radiant and ravishing beauty.
I was smitten — absolutely and totally. From the beginning it was love at first sight. It can truly be said that I have not set eyes on another woman since.
Through all the years — 46 good years — Lovely has been my inspiration, my weathervane, my consigliere and my partner.
Last Thursday, Romulo said he was looking forward to spending their 60th wedding anniversary in two years in Rome, the “Eternal City.”
After all, he and his wife Lovely truly know what “eternal” means, for better or worse.
(You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.)