Olongapo On My Mind

Saturday Stories

January 5, 2019

I

One of my favorite songs from The Beatles is "In My Life" – "There are places I'll remember ... all my life, though some have changed ... some forever, not for better ... some have gone, and some remain..." And one of the places that is special to me is Olongapo, where I once stayed near a beach called Driftwood. I'd take one of the blue-colored jeeps from the town, and on the highway going to Zambales, the sea would be on my left, and on my right I would pass the cemetery built on the side of a mountain.

II

The last time I was in Olongapo was in 2011, when I had the honor of meeting the three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Fr. Shay Cullen, the internationally revered child rights advocate and founder of the non-profit organization PREDA Foundation. He gave me a signed copy of his book "Passion and Power: An Irish Missionary's Fight Against Child Sex Slavery," and we talked about the Juvenile Justice Act authored by Senator Francis Pangilinan. Our interview was published on November 2012 in Philippine Panorama where I wrote: "This writer spent a beautiful Sunday with Fr. Cullen at the PREDA center, perched on a hill with a breath-taking view of Subic bay, a perfect place for emotional healing."

III

In Olongapo I had a rather cheesy experience way back in 1997 but it will stay with me forever. I was on a Victory Liner on the highway coming from Bataan, passing through Old Cabalan as the sun began to rise. I still remember how happy and peaceful I felt as I saw mountains all around me. Then the bus radio played a song which gave that moment a sense of pure perfection – "Isn't it a wonder as a newborn baby cries ... isn't it a wonder with the sweetness in my eyes ... isn't it a wonder on the crossroads of my life ... isn't it a wonder ... isn't it a wonder to me..." 🎶

IV

I have good memories of Olongapo, and this is one of the reasons why I love "Gapo," the now-classic novel by Lualhati Bautista. It was my wish at at our recent Christmas party exchange gift at work. And in my mental movie version, it shows "Directed By Huggybear," inspired by Lino Brocka:

Modesto – Christopher De Leon

Michael – Gerald Anderson

Magda – Mylene Dizon 

Alipio – Ricky Davao

Steve – Jeremy Renner 

Igna – Vhong Navarro

Jun – Martin Del Rosario

William – Leonardo DiCaprio

Richard – Matt Damon

Johnson – Josh Brolin

Sam – Will Ferrell

Irene – Desiree Del Valle

Modesto's wife – Jacklyn Jose

Javier – Joel Torre

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia