Mets George Angel, Learns Some Arts on Politics and Saw Some Business Ventures

M E M O R I E S:  Life and Time of Pastor Rudy Berna, his  Glimpses on History &

                         The  People’s Struggle for Liberation

Chapter 20 –  Mets George  Angel,  Learns  Some Arts on  Politics and Saw Some Business Ventures

 It was   at Lyceum of the Philippines  that I met    George Washington Angel. We became friends  It’s a friendship that lasts  for years. He and his wife, Helen lives  in Quezon City today.  We  still   communicate with each other.

 George was from Sablan, Benguet Province.    He finished   Nautical Course and was on board international  ships for some    years.  He was   a navigator. After some years,  he decided to stop being on board ship  to pursue his college education. 

His father, an Igorot of Benguet, was a  bright and principled man. He was a farmer and a businessman.  His mother, was intelligent, a lovely woman, slim and toll.  I heard,  she  was of a  French ancestry.    George was handsome, with strong personality, whose statures,  looks, his way of speaking  shows  he came from a comfortable and  educated   middle class family.  

 They lived simple lives, with his father,  using a progressive,  productive and practical  farming technologies planting different kinds of crops for their family  needs and business. 

I think, George Angel  has three siblings. The eldest, Mike was  mayor  of    Sablan, Benguet in 1965.   He  had  higher political  plans for Benguet.  His other brother,  Nick was a respected  journalists in Baguio City  and Correspondent of Manila Times. His older sister, was in  vegetable  business  in Baguio City and sold vegetable products in the Subic.

George   ventured  to  Manila in 1965. He  worked  at   Philippine Evening News as a newspaperman. He has mastered the English language. Newspaparing was easy work for him.    He covered the  Health Department and do  other special assignments for the paper.  While working in the newspaper, he  studied at   Lyceum  of the Philippines.  In college,  George   robbed  shoulders with   big  names   in newspapers and   business.

He  has   high ambition in life.  He moves  among the top.    These   may have been contributed easily by his  natural intellect,  several years oo international travel  as a navigator and his  ability to develop   friendship  with  people he met  here and abroad.   He was  observant  of events, situations and opportuntiies in every city and country he visited while on international travels.  I am one year older than  him.

 His personality  can easily attract and befriend well-known  men and women in business.   I think,  he knew  this special talents he has. He   used it for good.   He was  deeply  honest and principled  person.  He’s not religious.

George knew that I have studied  few semester in Theology. He knew, I believed in God.  He  got some Bible verses and quotations from great men and women. He often used it to drive a point.  But he enters  the church, only when he has to attend weddings and when  a family  friend  or relative  will be buried.  He  is  a practical man.

To strengthen his mind and analytical power, he read books and newspapers always. He read  history, litertures, biographies, newspaper columns and Editorials.  

And to strengthen his body, he has his body building equipment,  dumb bells and other exercising equipment at home.   He exercised and  practiced  to  make sure  his body’s strength and reflexes were   ready for any   eventual  encounters, should there be a need for it. His punches were fast and  his hand grips were strong. He kept his trainng and exercises only at  home.  His skill were hidden.

He has a way of doing something better.   At Lyceum, most of  our classmates joined campus   politics. They run for position in the  student government. I joined in their campaigns in school.  George did not join campus politics.  He have higher plans. When election was held that year, he  filed his candidacy and  ran for Board Member in the  Lone District of Benguet Province.  He did not tell any of that he was running of Board Member in the province.

He invited me to join him in Baguio City.  Together, we  produced  5 -meters  long streamers with  bold red  letters. “ANGEL FOR BOARD MEMBER” which were stretched  across the streets  or on the sides of the road in Baguio City, Trinidad Valley and in all  towns of Benguet.

He  gathered  cartoons of materials for children -- crayons, ball pens,  notebooks, pad papers, pencils, etc. to give   voters in the villages. This  were provided him by his friends.

He held political  caucus  in the villages. His leaders cooked dog and goat meat duromg caucus at 3:00 PM. He joined campaign rallies. He spoke with other candidates on the platforms in Baguio City and in the towns of Benguet.  He fought well known,  moneyed and powerful politicians.   He waged a hard fight. He fought  hard.  He stood straight and tool and walked  during the campaigns in villages   with a confidence of a winner.  I think, he  knew  his chance of winning the election was slim.   But  he   inscribed  clearly  his   name in the minds and hearts  of the municipal, provincial and  regional   politicians and business   leaders of the time.  

With  the looming national  elections of 1965, there were some events that developed in the Liberal Party.  Speaker Cornelio Villareal, was  softly ousted President of the Liberal Party. Senator Gerry Roxas was  assumed  the presidency of the  Liberal Party. There was a need for party  re-organzation.  Sen. Gerry Roxas appointed George Angel, chairman of the Liberal Party of  Benguet.

  George moved decisively. He called young and potential leaders of  Baguio City.and Benguet towns for a meeting.  The new and potential leaders were organized.  They elected the  new members of the Liberal Party of Benguet. And he   appointed  the  members  of the newly re-organized Benguet Liberal Party.  The  group will now composed the leadership that will chose the  candidates of the Liberal Party for national election in 1965.  I joined George in his  efforts. I tried to study  his simple but decisive method in re-organizing the Liberals in Benguet. 

The political  powers during that time were  Sen. Gerry Roxas,  Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Sen. Gene Magsaysay, Sen. Jovy Salonga, Mayor Tony Villegas and Sen. Sergio Osmena. Behind was former President Diosdado Macapagal,  the chairman of the  Arbitration Committee of the Liberal party. I observed. Speaker Cornelio Villareal was out of the picture. He may have been hurt by his being sidelined,  with the assumption of Gerry Roxas to the  LP presidency.

Mayor Antonio Villegas of Manila, to strengthen his hold in Manila, asked George to help him in  strengthen  the Liberal Party of Manila. He appointed him consultant.

George also developed close  relationship with Ninoy Aquino. Several times, I joined him in the house of Ninoy  in Times Street,  Quezon City.  We  were often  at the White House,  the residence of Gerry Roxas. I observed closely the Liberal Party leaders, mostly Congressmen and Governers coming  for consultations with the new  President  of the Liberal Party.  We still  visit and have conversation with former Speaker Cony Villareal in his home in Macopa Street, Quezon City.

By that  time, I have resigned from Agence France Presse. I  have  decided not to continue   my newspaper works.  I do not like to use all my life writing  lives of people, what they were  doing, and what the intend to do. I have seen the political spectrum. I saw the same people and families hold positions of power  in government.  They get  to gain  power. And  with power they  get more money. 

 I have decided on two possible directions in life. To go back to my studies in Theology and  be a Minister of the Gospel and  participate in the work for spiritual, social and political change.  Or, to join a labor  union,  helped educate and organize workers and farmers to gain force and power for change. Or be  part of both, a pastor nvolved in social and political change. 

Soon after, George ran for  Congressman in Benguet Province. His opponents were incumbent Congressman Andres Cosalan who was running for re-election and  former Governor Dangwa, a well known political leader, millionaire and owner of the Dangwa Transportation Company that have route from Baguio City to Manila.   George lost in the political arena.

But he gained needed experiences, skills, management  abilities, connections  that enabled him to start strong in his business venture – a company he started in  Manila  with enterprise that  soon  reached to other cities of  the world. He visited   different cities of the world  doing business in – USA, Western Europe, Australia and several countries in Asia.

George  joined and became member and officer of  different professional, business, educational and civic organizations  to reach  and helped  people. He was a member of the Board of Regents of  Philippine  Politechnic  University with its several colleges in the country. He was  once  Chairman of the  Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa).  He has also been   Chairman of the  Philippine  Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was consultant to several business enterprises  in Manila with branches in other cities of the world.    He was always on the go – international and regional travels.

When he  was courting his wife,    Helen Villanueva, a nurse  at Philippine National Railways (PNR), a  daughter of the Auditor of  PNR, he asked me often to accompany  him on his visits.   When it was time to asked her hand in marriage, George  asked me to join him with his father and a relative to  Taytay,  Rizal  for the traditional  “kagon”. That was  a beautiful evening. Helen’s father and mother, his two brothers and two  younger  sisters.  I am with George, his father and a relative of his father that evening when his marriage  was   planned and made.

On  their  wedding that  early morning at 6:00 AM,   at a Catholic Church Mayor Tony Villegas stood as one of the principal sponsors. I was there to witness their solemn moment of marriage with our friend, Manuel Jeminez, who was taking  Foreign Service  at Lyceum.  Manny was the son of Vice Mayor Carol Jeminez of La Castilana, Negros Occidental and Judge Jeminez of Bacolod City.  We were blessed  attending their   wedding  that early morning.  

He and Helen decided to have their home in Manila. They were blessed with 3 children. They have  also grandchildren. Gino, the first born  is now  in the United States. Iveth, their  daughter  live with his family in  the States. Ang Gene, the youngest stayed for sometimes in the country.   They have very closed relations with each other.  Like me, George is also growing in years.

 My  friendship   with George  opened  me the opportunity to  learn political efforts, strategies of political parties.  It  gave me some insights  on the life and the ways and means of Congressmen, Governors and Mayors on ways to resource funds, and mobilized people for political power. These leaders, often and always, were at the home of Senator Gerry Roxas, the President of the Liberal Party. And just being with them, have small conversations with them,  I learnd lots of things that helped me in my ministry in the Convention of Philipine Baptist Churches, a church organizations with members in most regions  in the country.

I was present during the   Liberal Party  Convention  in 1965 at  Montano Auditorium in Cavite City, when the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the Liberal Party was to be decided to fight for the country’s president. But we were  out of the Convention Hall. Only delegates were inside. But  we were provided with developments inside the Convention Hall every few  minutes.

We learned  the processes  on the election of Senator Ferdinand Marcos, defeating President Diosdado Macapagal in 1965 elections.

After long years with the Liberal Party,   in May 2016 election,  George Angel   joined Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign in Manila. When I text  him one day, he asked me  how Mayor  Duterte  stands against Mar Roxas in Panay and Negros. I told him,  Mar Roxas  will get high votes in Panay and Negros, though Mayor Duterte  may get 2^nd in the Western Visayas

Last September 2016, George Angel  in a text message told me he joined  the Philippines  Foreign Relations Committee delegations to Beijing to help tackle the problems of the South Philippine  Sea.

I  thank   God  for this friendship with  George Angel and his  works and participation in the  social, economic  and political life of  our country.  A  friend who worked and moved   among  some   rich,    influential  and powerful  people in  our  country.

On  reflection I realized God’s wisdom. He gave my friend, George Angel  the opportunity to work with the rich, influential  and powerful.

 God gave me  the  chance to work with small people -- the poor, the weak and the underprivileged in our country. I helped  teaching, organizing, mobilizing them for change  in different villages, towns and  provinces  in our  country, sometimes travelling by plane, bus, motorcycles, bicycles,  sometimes, walking 2 days on small trails on the side of the mountains  to reach our venues for studies and meetings.

He  gave George  opportunity to  travel around the world  as a businessman and entrepreneur,  to stay in flush hotels  participating in business plans and  business transactions in many parts of the world.

God  gave me   chance visit  several cities  --India, Thailand, Bangla Desh, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia,  Australia, Germany and Sweden giving me   opportunity to  learn skills and knowledge from  people working with non-government organizations, participating in the  work for  development and change.

I learned  that God will use us according to  our  knowledge, skills, talents, abilities he had given us,  which we   develop and strengthened in our lives. 

 I thanked God. His wisdom is great and wonderful. He used  my  friend George  Angel to work  with the rich, influential   and powerful.

And God used  me to work with  the poor, the weak, the under privileged, most of them struggling masses  working for equality,  freedom, justice  and  liberation.