FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio


PAST AND PRESENT EVENTS PREDICT THE FUTURE

I don’t think God will allow fire and brimstone to rain over the Philippines despite the corrupt ways of her leaders. There are still a few good men and women who can save her from total destruction.

During my recent stay in MetroManila, I received a gift of two books written by Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel and his wife, Bing, that put God first in their life. Sen. Pimentel’s book , “Invoking God in a Secular Senate” and that of Bing’s “True Love Within Our Reach” are both their true life’s experiences testifying about God’s greatness and love through His Son, Jesus Christ.

I believe there are more Filipino national leaders and their families like the Pimentels that would stop a Sodomic disaster to happen in the Philippines. That is what God wants from his creation: praise, worship and adoration. It’s that simple, my fellow beings, isn’t it? And you’ll be blessed and be saved from damnation.

Yet the reality of man’s wickedness seems to be out of control for now. That’s the way it is anywhere in this world. I don’t know why God allows Satan to rule for just a little while. But I really don’t need to reason why. Only God knows what He’s doing. What I can do as a Christian believer is just believe and hold His hand. For in the final conflict, as it is written, Satan will be chained and thrown down to the bottlomless pit. This is the quintessence of Christian Faith.

Not getting younger caused me to reminisce about time past:

After the Americans rescued Marcos from the wrath of the Filipino people during the people power revolution in 1986, Cory, the widow of the assassinated senator, Ninoy Aquino, became the revolutionary president.

Cory later went to Washington, D.C. and spoke at a joint session of the U.S.Congress. Herbert Rickman, then Special Assistant to New York City Mayor Ed Koch, talked to me in my capacity as the Mayor’s liaison to the Filipino community in the city and expressed the Mayor’s interest to invite Cory to New York as a conquering hero. He wanted to give Cory the symbolic key to the City of New York as a recognition of Cory’s restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

The event turned to be one of the most spectacular events in the history of the Filipino community in New York that paved the way for the annual Philippine Independence Day Parade and Street Fair in Manhattan.

Before Cory’s visit to New York City, the Benigno Aquino Triangle was already in place. The New York City council passed the legislation naming a public vacant land after the assassinated senator who died for freedom and liberty. Mayor Ed Koch signed the legislation also to honor the contributions of the Filipino community to the city.

Before the Council approved the legislation, I and the late Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations had to justify before the Committee on Parks and Recreation the importance of granting recognition to the Filipino martyr who used to stay in Queens, New York before he returned to the Philippines n 1983.

By the way, I must say that remembering the past helps a person prepare for the future. And past events normally cannot be erased from the mind.

End