OLYMPIA HAS RISEN

I have kept for the longest time this Olympia typewriter which belonged to my father who was, for the longest time a newspaperman from the old school. He certainly wrote serious stuff from this piece and, as fate would have it, literally wrote his very last opinion column from this Typesosaur. How much do you think something like this would cost given its battle-scarred condition? But hey, this one's for keeps.

 HAMMOCK

Sometimes you just want to let go for a moment and retreat to a waiting hammock to bask in the sunlight of the day. It is a rejuvenating feeling, plus the fact that a waiting churros con chokolate can never wait for long. Such is life in Vigan.

 YOUR HONORS

With the congressional staff of Rep. Bonito Singson of the Probinsyano Ako Partylist. As a neophyte member of the House, he rose to be its Deputy Minority Leader and thereafter Chairman of the powerful Committee on Public Accounts. L-R: Renz Niro Tenorio, myself, Rep. Bonito, Danna de Guzman, and Warren Bartolome.

 

KPE

Katrina Ponce Enrile, daughter to Juan Ponce Enrile and the brains behind Delimondo your fave corned beef, is a friend of many years, dating back to the mid-seventies. Sad to say, she failed to win a congressional seat for the 1st District of Cagayan Province. Nevertheless, she has handled the Jaka Group well, making it a profitable family corporation.

 HE MARRIED AN ILOCANA UPON RETURNING FROM MOSCOW

My brother Jorge C. Bocobo III aka "Jory," was an exchange student who studied in the Lomonosov University in the old Soviet Union. This was in 1971. When he returned to Manila straight out of Lenin's Kremlin, he pursued his previous girlfriend Leida Valdez of the Batac, Ilocos Norte clan and a daughter of Casimiro "Tata Miro" Valdez and Lucia "Nanay Lucing" Najera Mangapit Valdez. Seen in this photo in our home in San Lorenzo Village, Makati City is Mayor Nemesio Yabut, a friend of my father officiating the wedding rites. Nanay Lucing looks intently from the background. 

 

SENATE JOURNOS

Many, many moons ago, in the time of Senate President Gil J. Puyat, my father, an old school newspaperman (he was proud of the tag), worked as a reporter for the Philippines Herald. From there, he rose to be an editor and thereafter an opinion columnist before joining the Marcos administration. in this photo, he is 5th from right. others are:  L-R: Art Borjal, Isagani Yambot, Cornelio de Guzman, Nereo Andolong, Ben Rodriguez, SP Gil J. Puyat, (Ariel Bocobo), Vito Barcelo, Tibo Mijares, and Jake Clave. They were known as the golden boys of the Senate.

MPR

The MPR or Marcos Pa Rin group which I chair is a formidable gathering of "loyalists" for the Marcos family. Since the beginning of its existence, it has evolved into a gentle giant of patriots and good Filipinos with a pure heart for the country.