Dipolog remembers Joker - JAYWALKER by Art A. Borjal

Joker Arroyo, who is gunning for a Senate seat under the banner of the People Power Coalition, must never have dreamed that the good deed he did almost 20 years ago in a quaint Mindanao city called Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte, would still be remembered by the townsfolk there. And the people there showed their gratitude and expressed their profound thanks when Joker and the other PPC Senate bets dropped by Dipolog a few days in their quest for votes.

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I was there in Dipolog, many years ago, when Joker and his group of lawyers from the Free Assistance Legal Group rushed to that city to extend legal aid to the family of slain journalist Jacobo Amatong, a victim of human rights violation by the Marcos regime. I went there to represent the National Press Club in the effort to give justice to the assassinated media practitioner.

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Memories of that Dipolog visit remain etched in memory. I was in my hotel room when a phone call came from Joker Arroyo. "Art, please join us here at the apartment-hotel of Romy Jalosjos to discuss the Amatong slaying," Joker said. I then rushed to the place where about a dozen people were huddled, and the meeting lasted far into the night.

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At about 11 o’clock in the evening, we heard the crackle of gunfire from a nearby place. Apparently, the heavily-armed martial law soldiers whom I saw roaming the streets of Dipolog earlier in the afternoon wanted to send a chilling message to the visitors from Manila, particularly Joker Arroyo. But we were not terrified. Neither were most of the people of Dipolog, known for its freedom fighters.

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Joker, his lawyer-colleagues and I stayed on for the funeral rites. The ceremonies were held at the cathedral beside the city plaza. After Amatong was buried, there was a well-attended rally at the Rizal Park – and my memory dims as to who spoke at that rally.

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Probably, Joker never returned to Dipolog City after that visit almost 20 years ago. But he was surprised that when he and the other PPC senatorial candidates recently held a rally there, the turnout was huge and the fervor of the people was electric. Joker told me that the Dipolog rally was the best ever in the Mindanao campaign trail. And how the people cheered Joker when he spoke, remembering what he did for them many years ago.

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The relatives of Jacobo Amatong, such as Rep. Prospero Amatong and Isagani and Ernesto Amatong, all top political leaders of Zamboanga del Norte, are going all-out in their support of Joker’s senatorial bid. Even Romy Jalosjos, from his prison cell at the National Penitentiary, has sent a note to Joker, telling him of his support. All this only goes to show that good deeds done cannot fade away just like that. That – just like old, beautiful songs – they come back to extol the virtues of those who without thought of recompense do good deeds for their fellowmen. That is what Joker Arroyo is now reaping.

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Last Monday afternoon, a kind-looking lady got lost looking for my office. Eventually, she found my address, after checking with employees of the Metrobank branch at Sta. Mesa. It turned out that the lady, Mrs. P.P.G., who requested complete anonymity, is going to celebrate her 73rd birthday today, Friday, April 20. "I have so much to thank God for, for all His blessings," she said, as she decided that the best way to celebrate it is to donate P10,000 to the fund that will enable seminarian Abraham ‘Bambet’ Mirandilla Jr. to have his kidney transplant today, April 20, at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute under the control and supervision of that great kidney transplant surgeon, Dr. Enrique Ona, who is the director of the NKTI.

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Mrs. P.P.G. spent some time in my office, to recount that she recently underwent surgery for her gallstone at the Lourdes Hospital. "It was miraculous that I recovered, considering that I am a diabetic," she said. She then asked that I request Bambet to pray for her, as she continues to recover from her March 19 medical operation.

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In the meantime, let me thank the following kindhearted individuals and entities that lent a helping hand to the Good Samaritan Foundation in its socially-oriented projects and in its efforts to raise the funds needed for Bambet’s scheduled kidney transplant:

* Ernesto N. Dinopol Jr. of Florentino St., Quezon City P1,000 (Int’l Exchange 154612)

* Romeo V. Tankiang of Ermita, Manila, P1,000 (BPI 0008629)

* Presy Quiason of Filinvest 2, Quezon City, P3,000 (RCBC 0524074)

* An anonymous lady, who is a regular donor to the GSFund, of San Antonio Village, Antipolo City, P5,000

* An anonymous lady of Pasay City, P2,000 (BPI 0092112)

* E.O.O. of Project 7, Quezon City, P1,500

* Enrique Tarranco of Makati City, P1,000 (BPI 0092211)

* Violeta Tiangco of Forbes Park, Makati City, P10,000 (BPI 042681)

* John Picache of Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, P5,000 (Int’l Bank 00114302)

* Georgia Abad of OWWA Center, F.B. Harrison Blvd., Manila, P5,000 (Metrobank 0079426)

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PULSEBEAT: Young political leaders of great talent and potential are surfacing in Manila. One of them is Atty. Mitch Cuna who is vying for a council seat in the 5th district of Manila. Mitch Cuna’s battlecry is "Kaagapay ninyo – Buhayin ang Maynila." By the way, Mitch is the son of Meralco’s public relations director Elpi Cuna . . . Mrs. Marthie B. Ungco of Pateros, Metro Manila, wrote to decry the proliferation of sidewalk vendors at and near Pateros Bridge. Half of the bridge is already occupied by the vendors, and the mayor of Pateros is doing nothing about it, she said. Mrs. Ungco added that the dike built atop the Pateros river has constricted the dirty waterway. "Cleanliness seems to have no part in the Capco administration," Mrs. Ungco noted . . . The Polytechnic University of the Philippines community in the Sto. Tomas (Batangas) Extension vehemently opposes the school’s absorption by the Batangas State University. "Tuition fees are going to spiral once this happens," the protesters say.

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My e-mail address: <[email protected]>