Mitra's last farewell

He has finally gone home to his Creator, and his passing away cannot but evoke memories of the kind of man that he was. Humility was one trait that my friend, former Speaker Ramon "Monching" V. Mitra, had plenty of. I personally saw how humble Monching was, even at the height of his political power.

During the early years of the Aquino administration, when he was already Speaker of the House of Representatives, I had, in several Jaywalker columns, criticized him severely. Instead of using his tremendous power to get back at me, Monching remained humble.

One day, late in the morning, Monching suddenly appeared in my very modest private office near UERM Medical Center. He was all by his lonesome, without any bodyguard in sight. He came to say hello, and to present his side on the issues I had raised against him. Monching was not, in any way, confrontational. He was so humble that I began regretting why I had been that harsh to him.

Monching's unexpected and unannounced visit to my office began to change my perception of the man. And as the years passed, and as I had greater contact and interaction with him, I realized that here was a man who has the attributes of a great leader.

Another admirable trait of Monching Mitra was his dogged determination to make things happen. Knowing my active involvement in matters affecting persons with disabilities, Monching decided to recommend me to sit as sectoral representative of the disabled in the House of Representatives, after Esty Juco passed away. Getting the President to affix her signature to my nomination became a big problem for Monching. Then President Cory Aquino was reluctant to appoint me as Esty's replacement.

Many times and at various hours, Monching would call me up, to say he was doing everything to get President Cory's signature. Finally, after many months, early in the afternoon, I received a telephone call from Monching. "Art, I'm on my way to Malacañang. I think I will finally get Cory's signature on your appointment," Monching said. He confided to me that the presidential signature would be in exchange for the House's immediate approval of billions of pesos of calamity funds for the earthquake-ravaged Central Luzon.

Monching's perseverance and determination to give congressional representation to the disabled sector, after Esty's death, made me more appreciative of the man. And when he went out of his way to help me get congressional approval of the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, in the dying days of the 8th Congress, I knew Monching's heart was in the right place. In my book, Walking Through the Pathways of Life, which is now being distributed in the Metro Manila branches of National Bookstore, at Powerbook outlets, at the La Solidaridad Publishing House at Padre Faura, Manila and at the Ateneo Alumni Affairs Office at Loyola Heights, Quezon City, I included several essays about how Monching Mitra helped make Republic Act 7277 happen.

I had already published this particular essay in a previous column, about Monching's last farewell to his colleagues in the House, after his defeat in the 1992 presidential election. I republished it, after I bumped into him at the Garden Cafe of EDSA Shangri-La, sometime in the early weeks of January, 2000. Let me reecho it now, because it is so appropriate, with the passing away of Monching.

Here is how I, in Walking Through the Pathways of Life, described Monching's last farewell to the members of the House of Representatives, in one of its final sessions:

Speaker Ramon V. Mitra got a prolonged round of applause as he ascended the rostrum to preside, for the time, at the final sessions of the First Congress under the 1987 Constitution. "All good things must come to an end," he said in his last message to his colleagues in the House. He then pleaded with them to canvass the votes "faithfully, objectively, and with all deliberate speed."

Many in the House were misty-eyed as Monching gave his thanks and bade farewell to colleagues of the past six years. "Let me thank -- from the bottom of my heart -- all of you who supported me in the last campaign. It seems our winning was not written in the stars. But the dream we shared will never fade. And I believe time will prove correct our policy advocates," he said.

To those of this House who were not with me -- perhaps in another time -- in another lifetime -- events and circumstances will bring us together. Samantala, paalam na muna at salamat sa inyong lahat, Monching added.

As Monching stepped down from the rostrum, all the solons, to a man, gave him a standing ovation. "Sayang, Monching was such a good man," Rep. Bonifacio Gillego, the nationalist-legislator said, with a sad look in his eyes.

Today is a red-letter day for Mayor Vicente Eusebio and the city government of Pasig. At 3 p.m., they will inaugurate the Pasig City Library-Learning Resource Center, which is probably the most beautiful and biggest public library in the entire country. How this cultural undertaking happened, within such a short period of time, is worth retelling.

It was during a Tuesday Club gathering at EDSA Shangri-La, about eight months ago, when I suggested to Mayor Eusebio, who was seated beside me, to put up a library, as part of his city government's cultural development program. "Yes, that's a good idea, and I will put it up," he answered. And right on schedule, Mayor Eusebio's promise has come true.

I had initially thought that the proposed Pasig City Library would be a simple venture: a one-story building, with a limited collection of books and magazines. But no, what Mayor Eusebio has come up with is not only a library but a learning resource center as well, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. And book donations have come from many parts of Metro Manila, including an entire van of books that came from an enthused businessman. And believe it or not, the edifice is a four-story structure with modern architectural features.

What is noteworthy about this project is its demonstration of the fact that happy things can happen, so long as there is a political will on the part of the leadership to make these happen. That Mayor Eusebio was able to construct the Pasig City Library-Resource Center, within such a short span of time, shows his mettle as a dreamer and as an administrator.

Art A. Borjal's e-mail address: <[email protected]>