I also went to Las Vegas, Nevada, Dallas – Fort Worth and Waco in Texas, Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan in the USA and Windsor, Niagara and Toronto in Canada.
My constant hosts and/or guides were Charlie Avila y Roberts, St. Scholastican Lulut Valte. Senator Raul Manglapus, Major Boni Gillego, Steve and Precy (Lopez) Psinakis, Congressman Raul Daza, Q. C. civic leader Charito Planas and AIM Professor Gaston Ortigas.
In our March 1982 trip, Nene and I were flying from San Francisco to New York after our meeting with Ninoy. The day before, I booked Nene on a ‘red eye’ (midnight to morning) flight.
However, I decided to chance so as to make it more difficult for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and/or Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) to track me.
I then asked Evelio to buy me a ticket with his credit card under the name of ‘Al Cruz’, the FBI agent assigned to keep tabs on Steve Psinakis and Charlie Avila.
The ticket agent asked for an I. D. and that really scared Evelio. However, since my family name is ‘Alcuaz’ which sounds like ‘Al Cruz’, we were able to get away with my prank.
On February 16, 1986, a Sunday, Cory and her allies and supporters held the biggest protest rally at the Luneta, dubbed the ‘Tagumpay ng Bayan’.
During the rally, she announced a Boycott Campaign against Marcos Cronies’ companies and products.
The whole Luneta was packed all the way to Taft Avenue. Cars, jeepneys and buses were parked all the way to the Cultural Center in Pasay City.
Because of the success of the rally, the planned assassination attempt of Ronnie Nathaniels was called off.
On February 22 – 25, 1986, the withdrawal of support by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and AFP Vice-Chief of Staff, Philippine Constabulary Chief and Integrated National Police Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos y Valdez and People Power at EDSA, overthrew Marcos and installed Cory as President in a Revolutionary Government. (To be continued)