PEACE-MAKER
(We are reprinting excerpts of our much-earlier column dated April 26, 2020 in memory of our dear friend, the late Sen. Heherson “Sonny” Alvarez, who would have turned 85 years old this Oct. 26, 2024).
Former Senator Heherson “Sonny” Alvarez and this columnist saw each other more than a month ago, when he and his beloved wife, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, visited us in our office in Makati.
Cecile, a multi-awarded theater artist and culture and arts advocate, came to discuss with us an “art festival/forum for peace and climate justice” to be held in Manila, hopefully in September this year,which she is spearheading, with the full support of her husband Sonny and various government and non-government institutions.
During their visit, Sonny, as former Senator Heherson Alvarez was fondly called, was in his usual self, especially when he was in the company of friends. He was jovial and loquacious. We reminisced about our respective political battles when we were still active in the political arena. We also exchanged views on national events and global issues. As always, he was profound, eloquent, and passionate.
As both of us are in our eighties (Sonny Alvarez was 80 years old and we are 83), we also talked about our health and daily regimen. Sonny was actually healthier and stronger for his age. Curiously, we did not talk about the dreadful Coronavirus (Covid-19) which, sadly, later claimed his life.
Before we parted ways, Sonny, Cecile and we agreed to meet with our “core group” for lunch or dinner at a mutually convenient schedule. As it turned out, it was the last time we would ever see him.
Heherson “Sonny” Alvarez served our country with great distinction, both in the executive and the legislature, and in his private capacity; before he entered public service and even after he retired from the government.
He was a member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention, two-term senator, Isabela representative, secretary of Agrarian Reform and of Environment and Natural Resources, and commissioner of the Climate Change Commission (CCC).
He was also the founder of Earth Savers Movement, a now 29-year-old organization devoted to environmental protection and the battle against climate change.
As many Filipinos know, environment and climate change are among the issues closest to Sonny’s heart, which he championed at the time when only very few people paid attention to or cared to understand. Truly, Sonny Alvarez embraced causes larger than himself and he was ahead of his time.
As a legislator, he authored landmark legislation, among which, are the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, Department of Energy Law, Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Air Act, National Commission on Culture and the Arts Law, and the Indigenous People’s Rights Law.
A steadfast advocate of democracy and human rights, he fiercely and fearlessly fought Martial Law, endured tremendous difficulties while in self-exile in the United States with his wife Cecile, and served as secretary general of the Movement for Free Philippines (MFP), founded by another great Filipino democrat and father of Christian democracy in Asia, the late Senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Raul Manglapus.
We must confess that earlier, like many of the friends of Sonny and Cecile Alvarez, when we learned that they were in critical condition at the hospital due to Covid-19 and while we offered prayers for their recovery, we were more worried for Cecile than for Sonny. As some may know, Cecile Alvarez is a cancer survivor.
As of this writing, our dear friend Cecile has been discharged from the hospital. Our family and friends continue to storm heavens with prayers for her full recovery and for her emotional and spiritual strength as we know how immensely painful it is for her to lose her beloved husband Sonny.
May Cecile and their children be consoled by the thought that Sonny is now with our Creator, in a place where there is no more pain and suffering.
And so we bid farewell to our dear friend Sonny Alvarez. His remarkable life and outstanding legacy have carved a niche in our nation’s history. He will never be forgotten.