Entries for February 8 & 12, 2006

While I was writing the February 8 entry, a friend and high school batchmate, Juanito "Omen" Go lay dying on the sidewalk of pioneer avenue in General Santos City. He was stabbed by three young men for no apparent reason - his wallet and cellphone were not taken and he has no known enemies. He was 49 and about to be a golden boy like me. It saddened me and my batchmates; we didn't expect him to die. we were ready about the approaching death of another batchmate Tony Cantre who is home dying from liver cirrhosis.

At this stage in our lives, my batchmates and i are more and more becoming aware of death's approach. As teeners, we felt invincible and immortal; now, we feel vulnerable to anything - sickness, arthritis, loneliness (for some, the empty-nest syndrome when grown-up children leave home), accidents. . .

On the very night he died, we held a candlelight ceremony where he was felled by the killers. The ceremony attracted a lot of people, among them may be some of the witnesses to Omen's murder. We prayed for enlightenment for the killers, courage for the witnesses to come out, and for Omen's soul to find peace and solace in God's embrace.

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Last night (Feb. 11) was the last night of Juanito "Omen" Go's wake. Our high school batch said a prayer and our goodbyes to Omen. It was an emotional moment - saying goodbye to a friend and a brother.

And what was very Filipino: we were asked to pose for a photo in front of Omen's coffin. And to be high-tech our prayer and goodbyes were also videotaped.While posing, I joked that may be Omen would join us since he just couldn't let a moment like this pass without him in it. I was asked to write an open letter/petition to authorities to run after the lawless thugs.