Politics in the Family

Been quite a while since I last blogged. Had a lot of things to do - from work to a lot of personal commitments. Anyways, no promises but would like to be regular from now on in putting across thoughts especially on how they impact our lives as Ginete Family.

This August saw us in one of the most politically active months of the year - as a Filipino. Cory Aquino the symbol of democracy who put her life on the line in 1983 and 1985 - 1986 to wake Filipinos up from their apathy during the Marcos regime (1965 - 1986), died from a cancer of the colon. As a sign of respect to the lady, a lot of Filipinos braved the rainy weather in August 5, 2009 to pay their last respects to her. While she had a spotty record as a president (her indecisiveness against power failures, coup plotters, etc.), she is fondly remembered for her courage and determination especially in the early days of 1983 to 1986.

I have attached some pictures of the parade honoring Cory Aquino.

The "people power" revolt in 1986, as it came to be known, was widely admired for its being non-violent. I participated in the rallies after Ninoy Aquino's assassination - the funeral march, the kapit bisig movement in Makati to protect ballot boxes, the Luneta miting de avance with Cory and Doy Laurel up until the breakout of EDSA revolt. Those were heady days, with the increasing number of people feeding one's bravery and guts.

Cory Aquino was naturally someone everyone could identify with in those days - widowed, belittled and yet eager to face her tormentors. So when she assumed the presidency, the expectations were very high - fairly or unfairly.

Six years into the presidency later, Cory was a defiant person - because primarily people were not satisfied with how she governed - they were describing her as weak (because she did not take the opportunity to dismantle a lot of the structures that continued to shackle us despite her emergency powers), there was a power outage that lasted years (until Fidel Ramos, her successor, solved it). In short, as she said she has done her best, invoking God as her witness, and would leave it up to the Filipino people to decide her fate in history.

Time indeed leaves a rose colored tint in one's eyes. A nation this August is respectful and acknowledging of she has done; the adoration is reminiscent of EDSA days (sometimes, it went over the top). Cory deserves the gratefulness of a nation if only for the fact that she was our beacon in the dark days of Marcos dictatorship. She had the courage (balls, if you will) many men did not.

I am certain that Filipinos 10 or 15 years from now will do the same to Gloria Arroyo. She is a tough lady. Many do not agree with what she has done; many in fact want her down. But give them a decade or so and they will realize that she has done much to keep this country whole.

I will post another blog on how politics in the Ginete family runs.

Ginete Solidarity Foundation

There's an organization for the whole of Ginete brood in Bulan, Sorsogon Philippines called Ginete Solidarity Foundation. I think this group has been existing for quite a while already and the next reunion event is on May 24 in Bulan. The objective is of course to keep the fire of being a Ginete alive and burning well among its members. There are also some programs that benefit the membership. Oliver Ginete, grandson on the late Geronimo Ginete, now heads the group as president. So if there's anyone out there who would be interested about the Ginete Solidarity Foundation, perhaps you can course your queries thru this blog so we can relay them to the officers.

May Titang

Mamay (or Auntie) Titang Ginete (center) is a daughter of the late Geronimo Ginete, if you are following the thread below. She is one of the many children of Geronimo.

May Titang, as we fondly call her, never married. When she was living in Manila in the late 1960's, my brother Manoy Dagoy (left) lived with her in Carola Street in Sampaloc. She is a strict, upright and religious lady. Probably she took a lot after her father in terms of these urbanidad qualities. Yet she never loses her sense of humor and affection for others. That's why perhaps she is well respected. With her and Manoy Dagoy in the pic is Manay Salem, Dagoy's wife, who is also very close to May Titang.

Bulan Sunsets 2

This is still sunset in Bulan's pier side. Look at the Mayon volcano in the background. Yes, from the pier Mayon can be seen and when you make a slight turn to the right you can see Bulusan volcano. How's that for two volcanoes in one site?

Bulan Sunset

This is a view from the Bulan Pier. The ship on the left is loading bags of cement and it seems it's the only activity today in this pier.

Trip to Bicol

Just got back from a trip to Bicol (Bulan in particular) to attend the funeral of Papay Etong Lopez, husband of Auntie Feling Ginete-Lopez. It was of course an instant reunion time with many of the Ginete family members in attendance. In the pic you'll see (from L-R, front row), Manoy Arthur, me, Manoy Dagoy, Auntie Feling, Bing Ginete Valdez and Manang Mildred, cousins from La Union, Manay Nola Ginete and husband Manoy Ben. At the back (L-R), Manoy Pancho, Michelle, Manay Salem, Bong Ginete's youngest son, Manay Eden, Manoy Bando, Marife, Bong Ginete and wife May, Bing's hubby, Aris, Manay Pin (wife of Manoy Dan), and Manay Titang (widow of Manoy Bimbong Ginete).

It's a big family all right. And we did not disappoint someone like Auntie Feling who would be very appreciative of relatives coming to her at this time. The last night of the wake started with an outdoor Mass by a priest-friend of the family's. They said that there have been a numebr of Masses held since the wake started. The crowd attending the Mass was huge. It seemed all of zone 4 in Bulan (Chito's bailiwick) was in that area. And the food...

Food was in great abundance, proof I guess that a lot of people cared for Papay Etong and showed appreciation for what he has done when he was alive. I heard from Chito Belmonte, Auntie Feling's son-in-law and Mary Ann's hubby, that many fishermen who were their customers sent in a lot of their catch. It was a heartwarming show of appreciation.

We, the Ginete side of the population, also showed up in droves. For the first time in 5 years, I saw again a lot of my relatives: Patching, Manay Daday, Manays Norma, Nacy, Papay Pepe, and a lot more.

The funeral mass on April 21st also was well attended up until the time whe the casket was lowered to the ground. This picture was taken right after the funeral where we had to pay our respects to Auntie Feling, Chito, Mary Ann and the family.

Where are You From?

This is the natural first question when meeting someone surnamed Ginete. Seems like there's an instant need to connect. My side of the Ginete is from Bulan, Sorsogon where our family has lived at least since 1800's. My father, Manuel Gueta Ginete, used to tell us that his grandfather is someone named Victoriano Ginete. He was a cabeza de barangay during the Spanish times and he would usually be on his horse patrolling the village of Gate, then a prominent trading post between Filipinos and Chinese.

Victoriano, according to my father, was quite a personality. He carried a whip and would not hesitate to cane anyone found drunk and disorderly. He was upright and had social manners, urbanidad, as they would say then. One of his sons, Geronimo, apparently took after him in being upright and strict. Geronimo's reputation among his brothers was that nobody could talk while having dinner and everyone was on their toes at all times. I couldn't imagine how this would work today.

So if I am from that branch of Victoriano, where are you from?

Will continue this later. In the meantime, appreciate your comments.