An appeal for football

If there’s one sport that Carlos J. Valdes hopes to prosper in the country, it’s football.

"We’ll never be a world power in basketball but in football, I think we have a chance," said the 86-year-old former Ateneo football and La Salle basketball player. "I understand the international federation gives us a big subsidy every four years. With this money, we could pump up interest in football down to the grade school level. The key is to give the kids a lot of balls to play with."

Valdes also noted the importance of holding provincial competitions, in whatever sport and at any level, to boost public interest stemming from partisan pride.

Valdes mentioned that in Brazil, there are football fields in nearly every open space just like there are makeshift basketball courts in vacant lots here. If only young Filipinos embrace football like they do basketball, Valdes said there could be a future for the country as a power in the sport.

Valdes said after playing football and basketball in school, he took up other sports as he grew older. Bowling and golf were on top of the list.

"After Sunday Mass in the morning, I would go to the Isaac Peral bowling lanes (on United Nations Avenue) and play until nighttime," recalled Valdes. "It was a thrill to see your name in the bowling honor roll for the highest pinfalls for the week or the month."

Valdes became a byword in the accounting profession and enjoyed a pristine reputation as a professor, devout Catholic and owner of the country"s largest accounting firm that bore his name.

So when he polled the highest number of votes as a Manila independent in the elections for Constitutional Convention delegates in 1971, it was hardly a surprise. He went on to become the floor leader of the Assembly.

After accepting the post of Ambassador to the Vatican in 1974, Valdes found less time for sports. He spent 14 years in the foreign service, moving from the Vatican to Rome and finally to Japan.

Valdes was the country’s brightest star in the diplomatic corps during his time. He paved the way for the Philippines to establish a diplomatic presence in Malta and Greece and was at the forefront of addressing the Muslim issue by promoting relations with Libya. He served nine years in Japan, the longest ever by a Filipino ambassador.

Twice, Valdes was offered to become the Secretary of Finance by then-President Marcos but he prevailed upon the Chief Executive to retain him instead in the foreign service where he played a vital role as a prominent diplomat admired by peers and leaders all over the world.

Today, Valdes is often at his Paterno Street, San Juan, home, reading books and newspapers and watching sports on TV. Every Friday, an early morning Mass is celebrated at his residence where his friends and family gather for the service and breakfast–a tradition that started 18 years ago. When he is up to it, Valdes motors to Bagac, Bataan, where he owns a seven-hectare retreat house by the beach.

Valdes’ wife Aida Abad Santos passed away at the age of 77 three years ago. They were married for 58 happy years and blessed with 11 children.

Last year, Valdes–a survivor of 14 heart attacks–was in a wheelchair when he was bestowed the rare honor of being an associate Christian Brother in rites at La Salle.

"That means when I die, I could be buried in a Christian Brother’s cassock, complete with the two flaps in the collar," he said. "It was a great honor. I owe a lot to La Salle where I played for the basketball varsity, earned my undergraduate degree, taught accounting, became the head of the commerce department and got my doctorate. I had a prepared speech, which I ended up not reading during the ceremony. Instead, I spoke from the heart and my son Butch told me it was better than what I wrote in my speech."

When I interviewed Valdes at his home a few days ago, he spoke clearly in his easy chair and recounted details of his early years playing sports. He talked passionately about his love for sports.

"I enjoy watching the NBA on TV and my favorite team is the Golden State Warriors," he said. "But I don’t know how their new coach Don Nelson will do because I think he’s just a businessman who builds up players then sells or trades them. The Warriors used to have a lot of good players but they’re all gone like Arenas and Jamison. I’m partial to San Francisco teams because I lived many years there. I also root for the other San Francisco and Oakland teams."

Valdes said Arenas would’ve been a valuable addition to the US squad that took third place at the recent World Basketball Championships.

Valdes added he tries to catch as many UAAP, NCAA and PBA games on TV.

Of the celebrated college athletes during his playing years, Valdes said Bing Avila stood out.

"Bing should be in the La Salle Sports Hall of Fame," he said. "I don’t know of any other college athlete who was a star in every major sport. He played basketball, football and tennis. He was on the track and swimming teams. Bing was super in all of those sports. He died during the war saving other passengers of the SS Corregidor, which was sunk. There were survivors who related how he heroically saved the lives of others and sacrificed his own life in the process."

Valdes said he has lived a fruitful life and couldn’t ask more from the Lord. He was a CPA at 22, a lawyer at 24, a La Salle accounting professor at 26 and the head of the La Salle commerce department at 27. He established the country’s largest Filipino accounting firm, was a Constitutional Convention delegate and became a distinguished diplomat in the foreign service. He was a shining example of an upright Catholic, a lover of sports and a family man.

The world could only have gotten better since Valdes walked this earth.