Revolutionary February!

February 4, 1949, was the birthday of my best friend, classmate and fellow traveler, Gerardo ‘Gerry’ Esguerra y Jaminola, from Pulilan, Bulacan.

We met in June 1955 as classmates at the Ateneo de Manila Grade School, grade 1, section c. We lived in neighboring barangays in Quezon City.

He lived on Espana Ext., now E. Rodriguez Ave., Rosario Heights, Barangay Immaculate Concepcion, and I, on Campanilla and Sampaguita Streets., corner Balete Drive and E. Rodriguez Ave., Rosario Heights, New Manila, Barangay Mariana, District IV, Q. C.

We both married Maryknoll College batchmates, class of 1970. He, Cecilia ‘Cecy’ Torres y Vergara, and I, Maria Fe ‘Baby’ Ahorro y Ramos, of Meycauauyan, Bulacan.

Cecy and Baby, both attended Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) summer work camps between their junior and senior years in college, in Bulacan and Laguna, respectively.

Both of them would sacrifice and suffer throughout their married lives because of the activist and political principles and practices of their husbands.

Gerry, Veredigno ‘Vernie’ Atienza y Pesigan, of Lemery, Batangas and I were the Grade School ’62 Silver, Gold & Bronze Medal awardees for General Excellence.

From grade 2 to 7 (sections C, B, E, A, A & B), we belonged to the honors section.

From 1st to 4th year High School (sections B, C, B & A), we remained in the honors section.

We started out at the College of Arts and Sciences in freshman honors sections.

Vernie & I must have been in Management Engineering and/or Mathematics, while Gerry must have majored in History.

Only Vernie graduated from college with our batch, in March 1970.

Gerry dropped out in junior year and joined the FFF. I dropped out in December 1969, at the beginning of my second semester of my senior year.

That was more than a month before the start of the First Quarter Storm on January 26 and 30, 1970.

A third High School classmate from Pampanga, Tomas ‘Tommy’ Lopez, dropped out even earlier than us, in sophomore year, college.

He went on to finish the AIM MBM course and served as the President of the University of Makati, until he died on a February 23, 2019.

Our batch transferred from the Padre Faura campus to the Loyola Heights campus during the semestral break of their prep year.

However, I did not go to the Ateneo for my prep. I went to ’Nena Garcia’s Kindergarten on Apo St. corner Quezon Blvd., together with many of my future batch mates and class mates at the Ateneo.

Gerry went to St. Joseph’s College and Vernie went to St. Theresa’s College at San Marcelino St., Manila.

Most probably, the fact that the three of us did not attend prep at the Ateneo, was the reason why we were not immediately assigned to the honors section in Grade One.

***

On February 5, 1842, the Wilkes Treaty, was signed at Suong, Sulu between the commander of an American expedition, Charles Wilkes, on behalf of the USA, and the Sultan of Sulu.

On Friday, February 7, 1986, the ‘Snap Elections’ for President and Vice President were held under the 1973, Marcos ‘Viva Voche’ Martial Law Constitution.

Under the 1973 Constitution, there was an Article covering Transitory Provisions.

This gave Marcos, residual Legislative Powers even after the election of an Interim Batasang Pambansa (IBP), on April 7, 1978, and the lifting of Martial Law in 1981, as well as the power to amend the Constitution.

After the January, 1980, Local Elections, 1981, Presidential Elections and May, 1984, regular Batasan Pambansa Elections, the next scheduled elections were going to be the May, 1986, Local elections, and after that, the May, 1987, National Elections.

In November 1985, Marcos suddenly announced ‘Snap Elections for President in an ABC interview with David Brinkeley.

This went thru a period of ‘atras, abante!’, ‘hele, hele!’ and was elevated to the Supreme Court.

The original date was pushed back to Friday, February 7, 1986, and the rest is history.(To be continued)