FVR, media pay tribute to 'Jocap'

MANILA, Philippines – They came in droves to the Arlington Memorial Chapel in Quezon City Sunday night – journalists, former journalists, and a former president – to pay tribute to the late Press Undersecretary Jose “Jocap” Capadocia Jr., who died in the line of duty last week.

The tribute was organized by past and present members of the Defense Press Corps (DPC) led by Manuel Mogato, now with Reuters.

Capadocia was a three-term DPC president during his days as a reporter.

Jessica Soho, former DPC president and now GMA-7 vice president for news, started the tribute, recalling the days the two of them were covering Camp Aguinaldo.

“Pardon the pun, but enjoy your flight to heaven,” Soho said, looking at the Philippine flag-draped white coffin of Capadocia.

She was followed by former DPC member and now PR man Ros Manlangit. Also on hand was Ben Cal, now working for Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process Avelino Razon.

Cal, however, set the tone for the night, cracking the same jokes he and Capadocia would often impose upon fellow DPC reporters while waiting for then defense chief Fidel Ramos, notorious for being late, to start his press conferences.

Charie Villa, now Vice President for News Gathering at ABS-CBN, recalled the days that she and Capadocia were covering the numerous coup attempts in the late 1980s.

Even at the height of the fighting, she said Capadocia managed to play a practical joke on a colleague at DPC.

He was also concerned for the welfare of his fellow journalists, she recalled. Villa said Capadocia advised reporters to sleep in the house of a colleague just outside Camp Aguinaldo at the height of the coup attempt in 1989 after getting a tip that the headquarters would be bombed.

He was also the one who herded them back to Camp Aguinaldo at dawn right after the attack, Villa said.

Glenda Gloria, then Capadocia’s younger partner at the Manila Times covering the beat, said the late journalist never made her feel that he was a senior reporter and allowed her to get the big stories of the day.

Former President Fidel Ramos also arrived to pay his respects to Capadocia.

He recalled the days that he and Capadocia “served together” and the funny adventures they shared in out-of-town sorties.

He said Capadocia left “a legacy of public service of the highest order.”

“We must learn from how he worked for the people,” Ramos said.

Presidential Management Staff chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Defense Undersecretary for Veterans Affairs Ernesto Carolina also recalled the times they worked with Capadocia in Malacañang.

Fellow journalist Arlene de la Cruz said Capadocia, sounding worried, called her recently to ask if she was in Sulu covering the kidnapping incidents.

“He is a tough act to follow,” Mogato said.

Proof of strong ties

The assistance extended by the US government in locating the wreckage of the ill-fated presidential helicopter is an example of strong bilateral relations and cooperation of the two nations, a US military official said.

US Marine Capt. Clint Gebke, co-director for public affairs of this year’s joint RP-US Balikatan, said the operations involving their aircraft show the continuing enhancement of the interoperability of the two nations in responding to emergency situations.

The US military deployed two CH-46 Chinook helicopters to help the Philippine Air Force in locating the Bell 412 helicopter that crashed in the foothills of Mt. Pulag, Ifugao last week, killing eight of President Arroyo’s aides.

“In 2006 we conducted a seamless operation in the landslides that hit the province of Leyte and this year we were able to be of help to the Philippines in searching for the presidential helicopter. These operations are proof of the interoperability of the two countries and strong bilateral relations,” Gebke said. – With James Mananghaya