Letter To The Editor from Maryland: A hand-shake with Cerge
In the late seventies, Cerge and I worked together for sometime. He was twenty and I was thirteen years older than him. My cubicle was always open for him. At that time, I was the BFAR assistant regional director. He was one of the seven very talented hired from about fifteen I had interviewed. They became part of my team. To digress, one of my team became a mayor in Bohol. I knew his humble beginnings, his struggles, his idealism and his unique competence. We pioneered the putting up of the Ang Mangingisda, a monthly publication that featured the totality of the Central Visayas fishing industry and BFAR rank and file.
Inside my cubicle, sometimes, we wasted time creatively by discussing ideas or anything under the sun: The counterbalances of life, some bits of wisdom nowhere to be found in books, etcetera. I treated him as a younger brother and a friend. For sure, he got a glimpse of a microcosm of how government operations work and the interplay of survival and some real life lessons in a bureaucracy. While I was at DAP Tagaytay City taking up the CESDP course he wrote me a letter that he was leaving BFAR. I knew his vast potentials and he would stagnate at BFAR.
Years later, he invited me and some of my fellow ARENA board of Directors at DYLA and he took pride in telling us that he had a newscaster who needed no notes in doing his job. He was referring to Leo Lastimosa who showcased his wares in our presence. Once in awhile I invited him to special occasions at my office which is only stone’s throw from DYLA and in my home.
After my early retirement in 1994, my wife and I built his modest house in Banawa complete with a concrete fence. No written contract, only a handshake. We named it an A-house because of its roof design but he seemed not to like the plan at first. It was Marit who chose the model. We were promptly paid after it was completed with a bonus and he tendered a “formal dinner” at his home only for his builders.
Several months later, I requested him to be one of the sponsors to my son’s wedding in Pampanga without any idea that he would rise someday to national prominence and at the vortex of power. He gifted the married couple an image of Sr. Sto. Niño. They brought it with them to America.
‘Pare Cerge, I will pay you a visit in Argao sometime.
Fernando P. Bernardino
Maryland, USA
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