My mother did a little landscaping on her portion. In the process, she recruited an Igorot worker, William Catanes. Eventually, we brought him and his family down to our farms in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan (1956 to 1958) and Pililla, Rizal (1958 to mid - 1990’s. He died three decades ago. His widow, Irene Catanes, only died last year, on October 1, 2025. Their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren still live in Pililla and other towns of Rizal as well as in Metro Manila.
Unlike Tagaytay, which we have tried to visit at least once a year (except during COVID), there were long periods when we did not manage to visit Baguio: 1957 to 1962, 1964 to 1965, 1969 to 1982. In the summer of 1963, I joined our best friends and neighbors, Dr. Jose “Pitong” Moreno and Rufina “Pinang” Moreno as well as my Ateneo batchmate Raymond Moreno y Miller in their apartment near Session Road.
In 1966, I entered College at the Ateneo de Manila College of Arts and Sciences. I also joined the Philippine Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (PAF ROTC) as a Cadet Officer. We visited the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) during the 1966 and 1967 semestral breaks in November. In 1966, a few of us stayed in the Day Room of the main Cadet Barracks. In 1967, we stayed in a private residence owned by the family of one of our fellow cadet officers, Rafael ‘Rafa’ Cacho.
During the 1968 semestral break, five of us, who were, later, baptized as “the Big Five” stayed at the Torres (parents of Cecilia “Cecy” Torres Esguerra) vacation home. We intended to write an article, “Down from the Hill”, for our Ateneo College newspaper, the “Guidon”. We were, poet Alfredo “Freddie” Navarro Salanga, poet and martyr Emmanuel “Eman” Flores Lacaba, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) scion, Leonardo “Leony” Quimson Montemayor, classmate (from grade one to third year college) Gerardo “Gerry” Jaminola Esguerra and me.
In the 1980s my father - in - law, then Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police (PC/INP) Deputy Chief for Police Matters (DCPM)/Deputy Director General, Brig. Gen. Hermilo “Milo” Ahorro y Noriega brought his family, including my wife, Baby, and our four kids, to Camp John Hay. We stayed in a small, two – bedroom cottage. My four children – Pip, Cuchie, Mikko and Lucky enjoyed it very much.
After the EDSA I/People Power Revolution, my wife, Baby, worked as a Protocol Officer in the Office of the President at Malacanang Palace. Since her father was in the military and Baby was a certified “Army brat”, many of the military activities and events of Cory were assigned to her. In March 1986 (PMA Graduation), our family rode in an OP Toyota Land Cruiser “Blackbird”. We stayed at the Cordillera House near Mansion House. We encountered some spirits in that house.
(To be continued)
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