BELOW THE LINE
By AMBASSADOR JOSE ABETO ZAIDE
Ambassador José Abeto Zaide
There are two types of machos in our batch.
Gary Lising said, “I wear the pants in the family. Whatever I say goes…and I have my wife’s permission to say so!”
A variation is personified by Florante “Rant” Castillo, who doesn’t talk as much as Gary, but takes things for granted as Filipino machos would.
Rant was an outstanding achiever at the Ateneo -- Class valedictorian in grade school and again in high school. On our graduation, his Barong Tagalog sagged from the number of medals pinned to it. (Classmate Abe Pascual’s proud claim was that he (Abe) took the gold medal for mass servers, and not Rant who was the president of the Sanctuary Society.). Rant continued with the academic success in college, using his math to concentrate on statistics en route to actuarial science.
Rant was not a chummy person. Perhaps because he was accustomed to winning and preened of his academic record; perhaps because others envied him. As deputy commander at PMT in high school, he inspected our uniforms during Friday drills, giving every one demerits for this or that -- except Ernie Fajardo, (whom he favored with most-favored-nation treatment because Ernie was cousin of his current girlfriend).
In college, Rant was our man-about-town, and he drove a Triumph TR4. He was a famous ladies’ man; but he certainly didn’t qualify as a Lady’s Home Companion…
Until he met a collegiala named Livvy LaO, who was also St. Bridget high school class valedictorian. I do not know if Rant was attracted by her looks or by her academic grades. He asked her for a dance, and asked for her telephone number. But, warned of his reputation, she replied coyly, “It’s in the telephone book.” (No, it wasn’t listed.)
But his perseverance paid off. Rant and Livvy ended up as power couple. A match Made in Heaven (as he must have thought of a pairing of valedictorian spouses). The matrimony begat six children, all professionals (Dr. Margarita Castillo dela Rosa, Gerard Jude Castillo; Fernando Antonio Castillo, Regina Patricia Castillo, Josefina Regina Castillo, and Dr. Michelle Castillo).
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FAST-FORWARD AFTER. Several decades after college, Ernie Fajardo ran into Rant, who was trying to dispose of three cars because he needed the money to support a son who was gravely ill. (There was a happy ending to this, because the son miraculously recovered.)
Rant climbed up the corporate ladder. But he would only follow in the footsteps of his wife. Although Rant had a successful corporate life, it was not as much and as famous as his more accomplished wife’s. She was special envoy of the UN Secretary General Kofi Anan; and Rant would get accustomed to being introduced as the husband and “best-supporting-actor” to Mrs. Castillo.
Livvy was one of 28 eminent persons of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB 2004-2015). Ryutaro Hashimoto, former prime minister of Japan, was the first chair (2004 to 2006). When Hashimoto passed away, he was succeeded by King Willem-Alexander (2006-2013), whose passion for water convinced others of the importance of realizing the MDG targets for drinking water and sanitation. Willem-Alexander ascended as king of Netherlands, and he was succeeded by Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan (2013); and the final chair of UNSGAB was Dr. Uschi Eid (2014).
Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan was honorary president of UNSGA for 11 years. As close friend of Prince Willem, he also monitored the water agenda, keeping “a watchful presence on the global stage, addressing major water problems that cause intolerable pain and distress to so many people.” Like his royal friend, Naruhito would also assume the Chrysanthemum Throne as the emperor of Japan.
UNSGAB had 25 high powered meetings across continents from 2004 to 2015 -- at UN New York (3x), Tokyo (3x), Rome, Berlin, Mexico City, Paris, Tunis, Shanghai, Bogota, Riyadh, Sofia, Amsterdam, Singapore (2xs), Seoul (and Gyeongju South Korea), Bonn, Panama, Nairobi, Milan, Budapest. The transformational meetings focused on seven-points -- willed action on water and sanitation; drinking water (more, managed, monitored, safe); mainstream sanitation; increase and improve financial flows; improve management of water resources within/between countries, across sectors; UN focus on pollution prevention, wastewater treatment and safe reuse; protection/prevention of death and damage from water-related disasters).
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In our macho world where men wear the pants in the family, Rant showed how to help the wife blossom and he found a role by her side. Long before ERA became fashionable, Rant wanted his wife to follow her star. She declined an ambassadorship to an important neighboring ASEAN post because she needed to be by Rant. In the last five years, Rant’s health deteriorated, even as he carried on as father of the brood and prince consort to the woman he loved and whom he supported in her missions. He was silently bearing his pain, nursing his constitution and attending to his children.
We missed Rant at our monthly class lunch every second Tuesday at our favorite watering hole, where twice-told tales get better in the retelling. We would later learn of his travails between peaks and valleys. Last Saturday, 26 May, Rant, the classmate we voted among most likely to succeed, returned to his Creator. We were at his interment and we will remember him next Sunday (June 16, Father’s Day).
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