I went to see him with my daughter. My purpose was two-fold: first, an interview for my column in Panorama Magazine; and, second, to gauge for myself whether this man is for real. I achieved both objectives in a matter of minutes.
Jun wore his white kamiseta shirt with slacks. He called my daughter and I by our first names and was as engaging a person as he is seen on TV. I told him that my interest does not lie with the nuts and bolts of the broadband deal. I was interested in his own story as a person.
My first question was, “What if they had not abducted you or allowed you to pass through the immigration just as you expected?” He said he was already willing to play along while in Hong Kong. He was billeted in a hotel in a suite with its own valet. They gave him P500,000 through his brother for spending money but that he used his credit card instead. But he thinks that there would have always been a breaking point, if not the abduction, then something else.
But the people you worked with in government speak as if they know you well. All these philosophical musings that you now espouse, did it happen overnight as a result of the abduction? They only know me superficially, Jun replied. They don’t know my fondness for Rizal, my deep ties with my father, and the fact that I nearly died three times; that long road trip could have been the fourth time.
Three times? Yes, three times.
First was when I contracted a mysterious disease that none of the doctors knew the source or treatment of. I couldn’t raise my head. It was heavy like a rock. Every time I try to lift it even a few centimeters, I would be nauseous. I was using the bed pan, and was bedridden for weeks. Then I felt a certain lightness in my head. I shot up from my bed and my family was shocked. Then I took my IV and walked to the toilet to relieve myself. Everyone was amazed and no one could explain it. But I am fatalistic and I thought that God may have his reason.
Second was when I went to Hong Kong. I was in my 20′s but I had lots of money because I was earning a lot as an IT engineer in Saudi Arabia. I was spending a lot and sending money also to my siblings. Then when I was in Hong Kong, I fell ill and had to come back to Manila. I found out it was Hepatitis-B, a communicable disease. My parents took me in and I lived with them in Bicol. The doctors told me that if I don’t get antibodies in six months, I’ll die. So while I was in Bicol, they would check every two weeks if I had regained antibodies or not. The first month was negative, and so was the second month. My father who was in his 80s then expressed aloud his wish that God take him in lieu of me. He soon died of a massive heart attack. I was there when he had the attack. We brought him to a hospital and I saw how his health declined. Then my antibodies returned. That is why I keep saying that I cannot dishonor my father.
The third was after the accidental killing of my brother. He was just promoted as the F&B Manager of Mariott Hotel for Asia-Pacific. He was bringing my niece and her best friend to a debut party. The cops were looking for a blue car where there was supposedly ransom money inside. My brother was driving a blue car. They shot at him and only our niece survived. Even her best friend died. Since I was the only one among our siblings who can afford to stop working, I pursued the case. I received death threats and there was one incident where someone stopped my car and was about to shoot me at close range. A little voice warned me that he would pull the trigger. I hit the gas and sped away. The bullet entered through my door handle and dropped from the arm rest.
Jun also shared with me the teachings of Rizal that now resonates with him at this point in his life.
Jose Rizal asked his brother Paciano: “Ang mga Pilipino ba ay sadyang nilikha ng Diyos na maging mahirap, api, mangmang o dahil ba sa ang Pilipino ay walang pagkakataon na magkaroon ng tamang pamumuno?”
Paciano said he doesn’t know the answer but encouraged Rizal to go to Spain to look for the answer. Once he found it, Rizal was to share the answer with Paciano.
Rizal then went to Spain, studied and made friends there, and traveled across Europe. After some time, Dr. Jose Rizal wrote his brother and said, “I now know the answer to my question. It is the latter.”
According to Jun, what Rizal discovered more than a hundred centuries ago, still remains true to this day.
Jun said that his life experiences and having Rizal as a personal idol have steadied him throughout the crisis. “Huwag sayangin,” he intoned, while lamenting that people get the government that they deserve.
To young Filipinos, he gave this advice: “Act together. Let little acts of goodness shine through and scare the creatures of darkness. Your inaction today will become more expensive because the institutions are increasingly unable to differentiate between serving political masters and serving the people.”
Perhaps to illustrate how difficult his life and that of his family’s have become as a result of the broadband hearings, he told me of the question raised by his son: “If they all say that you did the right thing, then why are we the ones hiding?”
Why, indeed.
