pls contact me

will the ff. people, if you ever do visit my site, get in touch with me? thanks! :)

PEARLY LASAM
MARK AQUINO
CASTER BACLIG
OLIVER AREOLA
YANCY AQUINO

remembering papa

ONESIMO SALAZAR (LIM) BAÑARES - 1929 - 2004

Today, March 2, 2005 is the first death anniversary of my father, Atty. Onesimo Salazar (Lim) Bañares. He was born February 16, 1929 in Tinocauan, Albay. He studied elementary in Tabaco City and Bacacay. He then went to Manila to study at the Cosmopolitan College in Sta. Cruz. He took pre-law and law at the Manuel L. Quezon University and Quiapo. He worked as legal Officer of Mantrade Philippines before transferring to First United Bank under Don Jose "Pepe" Cojuangco. He later went on to become the head of the legal department of United Coconut Planters Bank. When he retired in 1983, he put up his own private law practice, specializing in labor and land law. For a time, he partnered with two brilliant lawyers namely former Judge David Libongco and former Senator Francisco "Comong" Sumulong. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in July 2003. He was in and out of the hospital bewtween November to Febraury of 2004. He passed away March 2, 2004, less than a month after his 75th and last birthday.

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What i remember most about my father are our conversations inside the family car. That thirty or so minutes from the house to the office was enough time for us to share each other's ideas of the latest events in politics, the family and any other topic of our choosing. Our conversations became longer when he had water from his lungs removed, which meant i had to drive him from the house to the courts and back again. It was inside the car during our drives that we bonded, and we were able to discuss things about life and the future. In October of 2003, during one of the last hearings he would be able to attend, he talked to me about how he was content about his life and that one thing i should never have are regrets. He told me that the past is the past and that instead of lookking back frequently, we should set our eyes to the future. This were his words of wisdom to me. I think he knew he was dying, for i am sure he felt his body growing weaker as days progressed. My father and i don't often agree on anything, but the precious conversation time inside the car got me to know my father better than most of my siblings. Things are not the same without my father, for as i drive myself to work, i long for our conversations, the witty repartee, the eschange of ideas, the anecdotes about family members and any topic under the sun. I console myself with the fact that though it may seem that i have an empty void in my heart because he is gone, he is never truly gone from my heart. Papa, I miss you and i love you.

Renewing old ties

I was in my office, going over some files, when the head of our security entered the office and told me that last week, a former classmate dropped by and was looking for me. Since i did not report for work last week, he left a contact number. It turned out that my visitor was no less than my old high school classmate and "dance of joy" partner Rommel Cabalu. It was a pleasant surprise, especially since we haven't seen each other for about fifteen years. I was able to talk to him on the phone and i encouraged him to join our e-group. I must admit that high school wasn't exactly memorable for some of our classmates. Some were the butt of jokes and still some were the object of continuous bullying and other "harmless" pranks. In hindsight, i think this is the reason why our batch can never truly asseble together as one group. SOme don't feel comfortable with the fact that they might still be the butt of jokes and others simply harbor ill feelings. In fact, the strain is evident if you look at our grouping system. I belonged to the lowest group (Group 4) while my elementary buddies belonged to the top two groups. I think it is important for us to reach out to our batchmates, especially those we may have done wrong to, in order for old wounds to heal. Only then can we truly be one solid group, when we learn to reach out and bridge the differences that once kept us apart.

my resignation

For everybody's information, yesterday, march 1, I submitted my formal letter of resignation as head of the Office of Public Relations of Angelicum College effective end of March. However, I was asked to stay on until the end of May, enough time, they told me, to get my affairs at work settled and enough time to train my replacement before i leave. As courtesy to my boss and alma mater, i acceeded to their request. So officially, i will remain head of the PR Dept. until the end of May. To the Angelicum community, thank you for all your support! :)

To the students and alumni, continue to seek the truth, stand for what is right, live for justice and grow in love. We, the alumni, are ambassadors of the Angelicum Non-Graded System of Education to the world. We are living proof that the system works. Mabuhay kayong lahat!