Love of Among

SUITORS JILTED, not once, not twice, but many times over, yet still pining for the affection, nay, even just the acknowledging glance of the beloved, are those ex-seminarians who form the core of the Balas Boys.
That is how, in no particular order now, Filologo Rodriguez, Archimedes Reyes, Chris Ocampo and Roperlee Syquia, came across to me – most certainly to a great number of viewers too – in their guesting at friend John Susi’s Hamon: Central Luzon over CLTV-36 last week.
Yeah, in dialogues after dialogues, both private and public, Gov. Eddie T. Panlilio had listened to them, accepted their suggestions, acknowledged their pleas for reason and agreed on some courses of action. Only for him to renege, and in more times than once, deny having committed himself to whatever has been agreed upon.
Exhibit A of the latter is the dialogue at the Social Action Center of Pampanga moderated by Rev. Fr. Deo Galang which premium agreement was the “unconditional reinstatement” of the Balas Boys that was cavalierly dismissed by the Office of the Governor and led to the still-ongoing protest camp-out of the Balas Boys at the Arnedo Park.
Yeah, Rodriguez was himself smeared with Mancatian muck by Panlilio when he was made to resign his supervisory post at Balas for what was thrown to media as “conflict of interest,” he – Rodriguez – being a quarry trucker himself. So, did he take advantage of his position as quarry supervisor to enrich his being a trucker?
Yeah, Syquia was countered by putative provincial administrator Atty. Vivian Dabu with a court case for some irregularities in the handling of government funds after he took Dabu to the Civil Service Commission for “abuse of authority, dishonesty, etcetera.” No need to guess on whose side Panlilio rested there.
Yeah, Reyes was told by Panlilio to explain himself after he wondered why he – Reyes – was included in the cases for libel, slander, disturbing the peace, etcetera that the Panlilio-Dabu tandem filed against the protesting Balas Boys.
Yeah, Ocampo did have a shouting match with Panlilio, he was shoved too by the governor – so he himself and some witnesses say – in a sudden confrontation at the time of runaway priest Robert Reyes’ meddling at Arnedo Park.
Yeah, all four have been deprived of their basic freedoms of speech and assembly after Panlilio deemed Arnedo Park was not a “freedom park” and ordered police to disperse the Balas Boys and their picketline moved dangerously close to the roadway.
Clear to all, Panlilio, by his actions, has no love lost for the four former seminarians. Clear to all, except to the four.
They still abhor to think of fighting, nay, of even slighting, their beloved, their most revered Among Ed.
Is this a hopeless case of the four hoping against hope that somehow, someway, Panlilio still carried in his heart of hearts even just some flickering embers of love for them – his own wards in the seminary?
That the Good Lord will cause some epiphany to come to Panlilio, the scales in his eyes suddenly falling off – even without an Ananias, see the lie in Dabu, and rush to them, his beloved disciples, for a renewal of bonds, never to be cut again? No way will the God who appointed Dabu at the capitol allow that, most surely.
On the other hand, given the four’s once priestly vocation, is this some manifestation of Christian love – masochism, to the Marquis de Sade – of unconditionally loving even those who persecute you? Of turning the other cheek, even if it is smarting red from all that slapping?
As I cannot hold the Reverend Governor in even lesser degrees of affection, I can only be in awe of this love the jilted four hold for their Among.
If this is all a living testimony to what has been inculcated in their hearts during their stay at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, if this is what an ex-seminarian is really, then I – who too finished my formative years at Mater Boni Consilii – am a most despicable anomaly.
My dear Apu Ceto, forgive me.