A fond farewell to Ka Blas, our kulog from Hagonoy

He died "in action", as we say of soldiers on the battlefield. Many people will say that our Foreign Affairs Secretary, Ka Blas F. Ople, died because he pushed himself beyond the limits of his physical endurance. If this is the case, then it was inevitable that Blas would succumb at a "young" 76, since in everything he did, from his earliest years he pushed himself beyond the limits: In hard drinking (which he perforce gave up in recent years), in chain-smoking, in ideology, and in unremitting effort.

Having known Blas since you-know-when (we came from the same outfit, the TVT, or the old "Manila Times), I confess this writer had serious misgivings when President Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Blas, better known for his labor activism from his fiery, alcohol-incendiary youth, our Foreign Affairs minister on July 30, 2002.

But no sooner had he taken over the helm of the DFA than Blas dispelled all doubts. He proved himself not merely competent and brilliant, but a great Foreign Secretary. He was courageous, firm of purpose, ready to speak out, at times even undiplomatically. Just one instance was when he stood up in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to demand that fellow ASEAN-member, military Myanmar (Burma), release the imprisoned pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from prison where she was being held (up to now, I must add) for no other reason than that her nationwide popularity and her bravery threatened the ironclad rule of the generals.

President GMA, of course, trusted Secretary Ople completely – which entitled him, at times, to take initiatives from the heart without her "by-your-leave, Ma’am". He drew on the huge reservoir of affection she had for him, I gathered later, for they had sat beside each other in the Senate when she was a fledging Senator – and he had coached her, and helped her along. (I got this from GMA herself.) So, there you are.

And now, Ka Blas is gone – to where Happy Warriors go, in a cloud of cigarette smoke. San Pedro, probably, will have to take down the "No Smoking" sign, to accommodate our stentorian-voiced (cough, cough) Kulog ng Hagonoy. Otherwise, Blas will be making more kulong in heaven.

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It was fitting, perhaps, that Secretary Ople died on a last mission for GMA. He left the meetings they held in Tokyo Saturday evening (6:55 p.m.) aboard a Japanese Airlines (JAL) flight, bound from Narita to Bangkok, where a change of planes would take him to Manama, Bahrain, to pave the way for the arrival of the President in that Arab kingdom (emirate).

In mid-flight, Ople started choking in his seat (it was reported), and the JAL pilot immediately sought emergency clearance to land at the nearby Taipei International airport – from where the DFA Secretary was rushed to a private hospital, I think it was the Ming Shing.

In any event, it was Bulacan Congressman Willy Villarama who tipped me off yesterday morning about Blas’s "very critical condition". He walked into the McDonald’s where I was having coffee with our joggers’ group (not joggers anymore really, but . . . well, limpers) to inform me that Blas was not merely in the hospital in Taiwan, but might die.

We immediately got on the cellphone to Ms. Weng Sanchez (Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez), his Chief Coordinator at the foreign office, and Weng confirmed that Ople was in serious condition – then gave me the cellphone number of Minister Carlos "King" Sorreta, the DFA Secretary’s special assistant, who had been with Blas on the plane, and was at his bedside in Taipei.

Sorreta said that Blas was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), in a respirator.

"What does it look like, King," I asked.

He replied, candidly, "it doesn’t look good."

He promised to keep me posted, and I rang up Felix de los Santos at our "STAR" desk to put our newsroom on alert. We spoke to Weng again, and she promised to let me know whatever happened.

In the meantime, Willy had learned Blas’s wife, Susan, and Toots Ople, his Chief of Staff, were rushing to Taipei on the private jet of businessman and ICTSI tycoon Ricky Razon (owner of The Manila Standard). The anticipated phone call came not long after 11 a.m. yesterday that Ka Blas "had passed on".

His body was brought home last night on the Philippine Airlines (PR 899) from Taipei. At last, his non-stop journeys were ended – and he has flown to eternal life. To the many friends and admirers who wish to pay their respects to Kuya Blas, his body will lie in state at Christ the King Church, Green Meadows Avenue, Quezon City. The schedule of neurological services to be held at the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Senate (where he was Senate President) will be announced today. Then, Blas will be brought back to his hometown of Hagonoy, Bulacan, for his interment at the memorial park there.