Of uncles, speakers, and presidents

A lot of interesting events have happened for the first two weeks of February. As usual, political shenanigans have occupied us, this time the passing of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte. At the center of this political drama is the Romualdez-Marcos family. Once again, this is resonant of the not so distant past, involving various players in families and politics.

The Romualdezes and Marcoses are no strangers to three of the country's top four highest positions. Between the two clans, they have held the positions of president, senate president, and speaker. The first to do so was Daniel Zialcita Romualdez, who was speaker of the House of Representatives from 1958 to 1962. His father, Miguel Romualdez, was the uncle of Imelda Romualdez. In fact, it was Daniel who introduced his cousin to Ferdinand Marcos, who was a young legislator at that time.

Of course, we know that Marcos soon became president, and served as dictator until being toppled from power in 1986. In 2022, some 60 years after the first Romualdez house speaker, the nephew of Imelda, Martin Romualdez, became the second Romualdez speaker of the house and then in 2025 his nephew, Ferdinand “Sandro” Marcos III, was the first to sign the impeachment complaint against VP Sara Duterte. It will be interesting to see how this real-life Game of Thrones will continue.

This week's column is more of a personal write-up, though still about uncles. My mom's brother, Bebot, is celebrating his 70th birthday on Valentine's Day, but we flew to Manila a week before for a surprise party. My uncle has always been close to my mom, both being the youngest in the family; my uncle the youngest son and my mom being the youngest daughter. Over the years, I have seen how protective and generous and caring my uncle is of my mom, and over time I have also received this generosity and care from him.

As a natural family historian even at an early age, I was always asking my grandmother about the family. At an early age, I learned that my uncle was nicknamed “Bebot”, which is quite different from his real given name, because he was a “big boy”, which later permutated to Bebot. At the same time, he has always been someone who embodies the true meaning of the day he was born on. Because he was born in a year that was declared a Marian year, my grandmother gave him a name that reflected this. He became a devotee of the Virgin Mary, and loved everyone close to him like a mother loves her family. Pure, unconditional love.

All his life, he always made sure everyone he came in contact with would be showered with love and respect. I remember a time when I needed three months' worth of rent for a condo, and I asked to borrow the amount from him. He did not ask any questions and simply transferred the money to my account. I tried to give him my payment on Christmas that same year, but he just shook his head and refused the cash I had in my hand and he said "don't worry. That's for you. No need to pay me.” For most of his life, he made sure his family, especially my grandparents, were financially secure and well taken care of. As my mom has always said, my uncle’s generosity knows no limit.

During his surprise party last week, I learned so many new things about my uncle. Even though he worked in some of the largest corporations all his life, my uncle was and has always been a simple and down-to-earth person who never bragged about his achievements. It was refreshing to hear new information about him, because it makes his generous nature become more solid.

Happy birthday, Uncle Bebot, and I wish you more birthdays to come! And Happy Valentine’s Day to the readers of The FREEMAN!