What comes to mind if the name and images of Los Baños are mentioned?
First, my townmates from Lopez, Quezon who graduated from the University of the Philippines-Los Banos like Levi Florido, Oscar Arela, Virgilio Villancio, all agriculturists and others.
Of course, my friend Alejandro Allan Suaverdez from Infanta, Quezon who finished Agricultural Engineering from the state u.
And from my colleagues in mass media, we have the late Mario V. Dumaual, Luchie Aclan Arguelles, Cherry Cornell, Margaret Gil, and Mackay Quadra.
Those were the days.
These days, though, I went to Los Baños thinking of the successful theater group and the advocacy on grassroots arts of Edward Perez, the Art Research and Training Institute.
I also went to Los Banos for an eye check-up, hoping I could go under the knife for my cataract.
But it was too laborious, so I had to cancel it.
I just gazed at the Lopez Avenue (a portion of it) of LB and thought of the freedom seeking and fighting militant LB students who are still very active in street mass actions for truth, justice, democracy, accountability etc.
I saw that not a few establishments along the road were tacked with posters of black backdrop and white letters of "Mga Kurakot, Managot," a battle cry shared with the national sentiments about anti-corruption in government.
The heart of Los Baños is congested but I hope its congestion is teeming with intense pursuits of societal change for the better.
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