PEACE-MAKER
Losing friends is a heart-wrenching experience that leaves us grappling with profound grief. Each loss is unique, leaving behind a distinct imprint on our hearts and minds. The passing of friends reminds us of the fragility of our existence and the impermanence of the relationships we hold dear.
In our interconnected world, friendships serve as pillars of support and repositories of shared memories. It is the enduring legacy of friendship that transcends the boundaries of time and space. When death claims a friend, it is as if a piece of our own identity is suddenly torn away.
Recently, we and our wife Gina were stricken with sadness with the sudden passing of our dear friends.
First was Nellie Valdez, wife of legal luminary and educator Amado Valdez or Mading to all of us. Nellie and Mading are members of our so-called ‘Core Group’ that has remained close and intact for many years now.
We will always cherish Nellie’s well-meaning advice, sincere affection, and thoughtful ways. We will always admire her dedication to her husband, Mading, and their children and grandchildren.
She grieved with us and wife Gina when we lost our 16-year-old youngest daughter KC in a fire that destroyed our home in 2004. She stood by us during our most challenging moments. We will forever treasure her great friendship, which has truly stood the test of time.
Our wife Gina and we also convey our deepest sympathies and prayers to former Ramos administration Interior and Local Government Secretary Rafael ‘Raffy’ Alunan III and his family for the demise of his beloved wife, Elizabeth Jalbuena Alunan.
Raffy’s wife Elizabeth and Gina are friends and classmates from Grade 1 at the Assumption Convent.
Both Mading Valdez and Raffy Alunan are our colleagues at the Rotary Club of Manila.
We also mourn the passing of our old friend and fellow Pangasinense, Art Valenzuela, a low-key but sharp political analyst and pollster, whose scrutiny of issues and survey results never failed to astonish us. He was also a writer and photographer.
Art and we have known each other since the 1970s and have remained friends to this day. He always supported us, our wife Gina, and son Christopher in all our political battles. We will miss his political insights and, most of all, his gentle demeanor and reassuring presence.
Art is the son of renowned “Dean of Press Photographers of the Philippines,” Marcial S. Valenzuela, who covered all Philippine presidents from Manuel L. Quezon in 1935 to Ferdinand Marcos in 1965.
Indeed, the death of friends serves as a stark reminder of our own mortality, urging us to cherish every moment and to live with greater intention and purpose.