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 onHistory &

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.