Although the walls, the pillars and the remaining structures are still there, the entire Bulwagang Frank G. Rivera right in the municipal building of Paete, Laguna is gone.
This is according to Frank Rivera himself when I talked to him a few days ago at Room 444-B of the Philippine Heart Center in East Avenue in Quezon City where his friend for life, Jun Laurel, is confined for angioplasty.
"Lahat ng libro, sinalansan na (All the books were filed down)," lamented Rivera, a popular television, movie and theater artist.
"Pati ang museum, wala nang laman (Even the museum has no contents anymore)," added Frank, a Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) alumnus and stalwart.
The story, Rivera said, goes like this:
"Matagal ko nang ideya 'yan. Mga 1980s pa. The Living Museum with living contents. Ang buong bayan ay museo. Hindi lang displey ng mga artefacts o antiques ang museo kundi pati ang mga tao, mga buhay na tao at mga kagamitan ang buong museo. Pero wala na ito (That has been my idea for the longest time. It was even during the 1980s. The whole town is the museum itself. It's not only a display of artefacts or antiques in a museum but it includes the townspeople, the living people and all the things made up the museum. It's already gone)," sadly recalled Rivera, an actor, director, writer, producer et al in multimedia.
According to Frank, he was close and a peer group of Noel Cadayona, the late mayor of Paete who died during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We were best of friends," shared Rivera, a recipient of Gawad Manileno in the past, referring to Cadayona.
"Kaya no'ng binigyan ako ng award ng Maynila, siyempre (Of course, when I was given the award by the Manila government), I wasn't the only one proud of it but the whole Paete as well," recounted the prolific book author of multidisciplinary themes and topics.
There was a big celebration in the whole community.
Frank said that Cadayona had just worked in Saudi Arabia at the time.
"Marami siyang pera (He had much money at the time)," he said.
"'Hayaan mo, Frank, pag nanalo tayo, gagawin natin ang lahat ng sinasabi mo (Don't worry, if I won the election, we would realize what you all idealized')," he echoed.
And so, a Bulwagang Frank G. Rivera was created which was inaugurated merrily.
Frank, the living legend not only of Paete but of the whole world, had a hall in his honor.
Guests abound, most of them distinguished artists and celebrities from Manila like the late filmmaker Maryo J. de los Reyes, entertainment writer Dennis Adobas, among others.
Frank mentioned that Cadayona had a man Friday whom he said was also a friend.
During the time of the former mayor, Mutuc Bagabaldo, the Bulwagang Frank G. Rivera still stood proud.
It was a wealth of information useful not only to the students from Paete but all over the country as well.
"Imagine, all my collections of books were placed there for all to savor and get invaluable information from," exclaimed Rivera, an alliance of the late Superstar and National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor.
"Alam mo ba na, di ba, Miyerkules Santo, namatay si Guy, noong Palm Sunday, nagpadala pa siya sa amin ni Jun ng five thousand pesos kaya nang mamatay siya, iyak kami nang iyak ni Jun? (Didn't you know that Guy—Nora Aunor's nickname--and you know that, she died Holy Wednesday? She still sent us money on Palm Sunday. That's why, Jun and I were weeping when she died)," he recalled.
Now, back to Bulwagang Frank G. Rivera.
"This man Friday of Noel Cadayona ran for mayor against Mutuc and won," quipped Frank who has directed and written a number of films including "Takot Ako, Eh," "Halimaw sa Banga," "Sisa," among others and "Shake, Rattle & Roll 6" as director.
Bagabaldo was mayor of Paete until 2022.
"Ngayon, wala na ang Bulwagang Frank G. Rivera (Now, the hall is gone)," he regretted.
"I don't know but I wasn't feeling alright the last time I met the current mayor. I brought with me books which I gave him. I was wondering why he said 'Libro na naman (Books again).' Hindi siya (He is not) education-driven," Frank sadly said, shaking his head.
But no worries for Rivera.
The world continues to revolve.
At the moment, he is moving heaven and earth to get Jun's angioplasty done.
"Malaking pera ang kailangan namin. Mabuti na lang at nand'yan si Danton Remoto (We need big money. It's good that he is around)," Frank smiled.