60 years after JFK’s death

It has been 60 years since the death of US president John F. Kennedy, but his words during his inaugural address best describe the relationship we have with the United States today when he addressed the world: “My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

The recently conducted joint maritime and air patrols between the Philippines and the United States in the West Philippine Sea signal the renewed commitment of the treaty allies to continue their efforts in enhancing regional security and cooperation. As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself said, this is a “significant initiative” aimed at bolstering the interoperability of both nations’ military forces and fostering “a seamless partnership with the United States in safeguarding our shared interests.”

The resumption of the joint exercises also underscores renewed efforts to continue securing our borders in every way we can by working with our treaty ally. There are also other like-minded countries that are prepared to work with us such as Australia, Japan, South Korea as well as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, with whom we have territorial disputes.

During an interview with Karen Davila on ANC and subsequently with Pinky Webb on CNN, I explained that this is all part of the President’s desire to reach out to other countries and work with them, including China. As the President has stated on several occasions, we are not looking for conflict. However, he was also clear that “the Philippines will not give up a single square inch of our territory to any foreign power.”

While we have a close relationship with the US, it does not mean we will shut out everybody else, because we will continue to still find ways and means to reach out to China and President Xi Jinping as seen during the recent APEC Leaders’ Summit.

The bottom line, however, is that our national interest is of paramount importance and right now, it jives perfectly well with the interests of the United States. Over the years, the relationship between the two nations has deepened even more, anchored by strong people-to-people ties with over four million Filipino-Americans living in the US and close to 300,000 Americans residing in the Philippines.

It’s no wonder that to this day, I and many Filipinos remember the late president John F. Kennedy or JFK, who was brutally murdered 60 years ago by an assassin on Nov. 22, 1963.

I will never forget that day when my mother, a closed Catholic or “cerrada Catolica” in Spanish, woke me up and told me: “Reza para el presidente de America” (pray for the president of the United States) – the US president had been killed.

Like many of us, that incident remains etched in my memories. When I moved to Washington, DC to take up my post, I had the occasion to go to the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia one weekend to visit the JFK gravesite.

I also had the opportunity to visit many places associated with JFK. When we opened our new Philippine consulate office in Houston, I passed by Dallas, Texas to see the exact spot on Elm street where Kennedy was killed. I also ended up visiting the nearby Dealey Plaza Museum (formerly the Texas School Book Depository) where JFK documents, artifacts, records and memorabilia are kept.

On the sixth floor of the building is the southeast window known as the “sniper’s perch” where shots were fired at the open limousine that slowly passed through Elm street with JFK, his wife Jackie and Texas governor John Connally Jr. and his wife Idanell. I found it absolutely moving to see, from that corner window, the “X” on the street that marked the exact spot where JFK was fatally shot.

In March 2019, I went to Massachusetts for an official visit where I met with then-congressman Joseph “Joe” Kennedy III – the grand-nephew of JFK and the grandson of the late senator Robert Kennedy – at his office in Newton. I then had the opportunity to visit the JFK Presidential Library and Museum that pays tribute to the life, leadership and legacy of the 35th president of the United States whose term in office lasted only a little more than a thousand days.

The museum director ushered me into a small theater to watch a short documentary narrated by JFK himself, and was surprised to hear the lady seated beside me sobbing throughout the whole documentary. It was rather moving to see that decades after his death, people still mourn the loss of the young and charismatic president – his life cut short by an assassin’s bullet.

Even today whenever I get invited to the White House and see the East Room where JFK was laid to rest, I am filled with a deep sadness as I am reminded of a book I read that described a moving scene just before midnight of Nov. 23, 1963. It was at the East Room where JFK’s widow Jackie and his brother Bobby shared a private moment before allowing official visitors to pay their last respects to the slain president.

According to that account, it was the one and only time that Mrs. Kennedy allowed the casket to be opened. Her brother-in-law inconsolably wept for almost 35 minutes, murmuring – “Why, God? Why?”

Even the honor guard from the Army’s Special Forces were so grief stricken to witness Bobby Kennedy crying that they, too, could not hold back their tears. I can only imagine the sorrow that permeated the White House East Room at that moment.

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