Remembering the ‘Honorary Woman’

History is being written every day. We remember men and women who have contributed to what is now history and honor those who have made a difference in the lives of the people they vowed to serve.

We would like to remember the late Sen. Raul Roco, especially now that we are about to end the month dedicated to women. From his youth, he distinguished himself as one with exceptional intelligence and a passionate drive to help his country. He will surely be remembered for being named an "Honorary Woman," not without reason. While it was accidental that he was called such (when he was asked to speak at a Soroptimist gathering and in the Senate where he took over from then Sen. Leticia Shahani in presiding over one particular session), the monicker, is most apt for someone who subscribed to giving dignity to women, in the course of his work as a public servant.

This man believed in the triumvirate called family, the husband, the wife and the child/ren. In his native Bicol, he was nurtured, in mind and body, by his parents, a farmer and a school teacher. They taught him the basic principles of truth, honesty and humility. His father Sulpicio, taking him around a farm, made him notice that the rice plants, when full, would be bent and when empty would stand up high. That spelled a lot – the humility of those who have and the arrogance of some who have nothing.

He read a lot of books (one a day) from the time he was a young boy, encouraged by his mother Rosario. He stored knowledge whenever he could and in the course of his career, imparted it to those who needed to be enlightened. This unselfishness stems from his belief that when one imparts what he knows, he does not lose anything, but the recipient of that transfer of knowledge would benefit.

His crusade was based on the search for truth, believing that truth is very essential in a democracy. He called that the "sunshine principle" because the sun highlights what is real and the dark covers the bad. In other words, transparency. In all the years that he has been a public servant, he made an impact in his crusade to give the people a truly concerned government. One incident comes to mind, when he was secretary of Education. There was this public teacher who had to travel on foot, a few kilometers from her house in a barrio to the school where she taught. Hearing about this difficult situation, Raul found the school near where the teacher was living and transferred her there. He threw out the loan sharks and the corrupt in the department. He implemented the Ganzon Law prohibiting the collection of fees from parents and students, a hindrance to enrolment, especially for the poor. In his brief stint at the DepEd, he turned it around.

The woman is one special person to Raul, counting among his most treasured ones his mother Rosario Sagarbarria and wife Sonia Malasarte. He espoused women causes in the bills he passed and helped pass – the Nursing Act, the Anti-Harassment Law, the Anti-Rape Law, the Child and Family Courts Law, the Women in Nation Building and the creation of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the last two putting women on equal standing with the men.

The youth pinned their hopes on him, and in turn he strongly put the hope of the country on the youth, not for the future but today. He saw them as the force that would bring about change, not in some distant future but "here and now." He taught them to serve the country selflessly. Volunteerism was inculcated in their minds and he harnessed them so well that his group composing the Aksyon Kabataan were so driven to do their bit for the country without counting what they would get in return. Perhaps they knew that the reward for honest work is a country every Filipino will be so proud of. In many of Raul’s sorties where the young participated, they would not wait for anybody to pay their meals, they’d line up and spend their own money. I admire Roco most for making the youth believe in good government.

Roco was a religious man, anchoring his faith in the Lady of Peñafrancia, and taking care that his family lived the simple life he knew in his childhood. We see Sonia now leading her brood, still looking up to Raul for guidance and wisdom.

Roco was really an ordinary man who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life – sharing a pizza with family and friends, savoring mami and siopao in a Chinese restaurant, enjoying a serving of his favorite adobo and fabada at dinner in the family home in La Vista, choosing the cotton floral printed material for his signature shirts, buying food stuff in a weekend market, composing a song in his creative moments, which he titled Isang Dasal to mark the 11th birth anniversary of his youngest daughter Synara, and spending a quiet day with his apos in that special place in Antipolo he called Maogmang Lugar (Happy Place).

I remember him for his wit, the way he would quote from literary masterpieces during conversations with journalists. The last time I saw him was at a dinner hosted by Max Soliven in early 2004 at the Tower Club for the leading presidential candidates of the May 2004 elections. Present were Fernando Poe Jr. (who would pass away in December 2004), Sen. Ping Lacson and Roco. President Arroyo did not attend.

"If we unite here and now," Roco said, "the elections would be decided tonight."

Well, they – FPJ, Ping and Roco – did not unite behind a single candidate that night. And the rest is history.

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