Life begins at Forty...

(note: this article was written in December 2010 when i celebrated my 40th birthday)

"Life begins at forty." A popular saying that i have now to see for  myself as today, i now belong to said age group.

I always wondered what's the rationale for said phrase. Upon browsing the net, i learned that one's 40th birthday welcomes you into the beautiful "middle age." as eighty is known as the expected life expectancy of a person, generally speaking.  This age does not have the casual immaturity of the youth, nor does it have the constant dependency of old age. You can enjoy your 40th birthday in quiet reflection on the four decades of a beautiful life. It is the time for you to enjoy the little moments rather than focus on bigger events.

The number forty has many Old Testament Biblical references:

•the forty days and nights God sent rain in the great flood of Noah (Genesis 7:4);
•the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18);
 

•the forty years the Hebrew people wandered in the desert while traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33);
•the forty days Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh in which to repent (Jonah 3:4).
•the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8);
AND, Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days, and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2).

So what are the significant events in my four decades of existence? Perhaps, this piece is a sort of biographical journey of where i am now. Just click the underscore to see the links of the blogs and pictures thereof.Come leap with me through time..

DECADE ONE: (1970 to 1980) THE GORECHO UKAY UKAY KIDS

 I was born December 21, 1970 to Ponching Gorecho and Linda Reyes, second in their five siblings. A Sagittarian under the Year of the Dog.  Mama said that among her children, she had the most difficult time in giving birth to me because i have a "big head."  Before i was to be baptized in January 16, 1971, they said  that my lolo wanted a pinoy name for me using the calendar, which he wanted to be PROCOPIO. Thank God lolo's suggestion was not granted by mama and papa or else i will have the nickname "PROCKY" . My Reyes clan seriously practiced the biblical saying "go and multiply" as we were 40 plus cousins. On the other hand, i attempted to make the family tree of the Gorecho clan as i usually tell people that i am proud of my Boholano roots. The Gorecho is a Galician surname meaning it was patterned from the inhabitants of Galicia , Spain .

We are  five kids, four boys  and one girl  .  Papa too had the same number of siblings: they are four boys in a row and the youngest was also a girl. I was the counterpart of Papa being the second to the eldest. People wonder why we have several stuff in our house which Papa did not want to dispose, especially the shoes. Papa justified this by saying that while he was growing up, he never had the luxury of owning new ones since both he and mama came from a family with very modest means. He tried to instill this in us such that long before ukay-ukay became famous, we were already wearing second hand clothes and shoes, sleeping on beds, sitting on chairs and sofas that papa bought from the secondhand shops in Bangkal. Seldom did we wear brand-new clothes, except maybe during Christmases when our Titas bought us clothing on an installment basis - one Tita would buy us pants while another took care of the shirts. Never mind the shoes, andyan naman ang Bangkal. We became the walking models for ukay-ukay.

DECADE TWO: (1981 to 1990) THE BAGETS NERD AND UP AKTIBISTA

 In 1984, I finished  primary school at Gen. Pio Del Pilar Elementary School as salutatorian. Four years later, I became the Valedictorian of  batch87 of TAKLA , the slang for Sta. Clara Parish School, which at that time  is known as the "only catholic school for boys" in Pasay. It was our growing up period, aptly depicted by the then BAGETS movie. In 2012, our batch will celebrate our 25th year silver anniversary, which will coincide with the 50th year of TAKLA.

Then from 1987 to 1991, i became one of the so-called "Iskolar ng Bayan" as  part of the UP Diliman studentry when i took BS. Economics.  Basically, I became attached to three main organizations , Economics Society or ECOSOC, Philippine Collegian or KULE, and SAMASA Alliance as well as the College Editors Guild of the Philippines or CEGP .My relatives and friends usually asked me "bakit ka ba naging aktibista". Perhaps my answer will be because UP is the perfect place to grow in all aspects, whether it be politically, socially, etc. Yes, I myself became part of UP Activisim movement. And i am proud that it made me a better person. Perhaps, members of the various generation of activism has their own way of reminiscing such so era."Iba nung panahon namin"...My passion for photography likewise developed.

DECADE THREE: (1991 to 2000): THE LAW STUDENT - JOURNALIST

I entered UP College of Law in 1992 and earned  my law degree in 1998. I shifted from the day class to the  evening class to be part of the  "working student" species of lawyers. I write for TODAY as one of their regular reporter as well as international news agencies like Reuters, AFP, AP, UPI and others covering a wide range of topics such as environment, human rights, politics, peace process, agriculture, agrarian reform and many more . Take note: my daily schedule is writing in the morning and the afternoon before going to UP to attend my classes in the evening. Then I go home where I read the assignments for the following day during the almost two hours trip of the bus going to Las Pinas. In between my work and classes, I still go hiking with my friends called the Squakings or SKWAKS

In August23, 1997 i was kidnapped  which i wrote in my piece "Face to Face with Crime"  “SIGE, tumakbo ka na ng mabilis at huwag kang lilingon at baka barilin pa kita (Run, Run fast and don’t turn back or I’ll shoot you).” The words could be apart of a movie script, but these were in fact words of my abductors . To me, words of freedom.

In April 1999, i am officially Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho, the lawyer,  after the Supreme Court posted the successful passers. I chronicled my experience in taking the 1998 bar exams in "Notes in Bar Exams."

In the same year. my elder  brother, my Kuya Welthy  or now Fr. Philip,  was ordained as priest.  Two of the Gorecho  sons entered the priesthood, the other the youngest son Melvin/ Beng or now called   Fr.Stephen. At first Mama could not accept the fact that two sons chose to serve the lord but later realized, according to Papa, that they gave up two sons but regained the whole religious order as their new sons and daughters. Tuwang-tuwa sya pag tinatawag sila na Papa and Mama Gorecho.The story has it that if there is one priest in the family, the whole clan is blessed up to the third generation. In our case, we not only had one but two brothers into priesthood who belong to the same order, Oblates of Allaince of Twin Hearts (OATH). In some instances, they celebrate latin mass. Indeed, our faith and their vocation guided us.

DECADE FOUR: (2000 to 2010): THE LAWYER AND THE FROG PRINCE

In 2001 started collecting frogs which were  featured several times in different TV programs such as Mel and Joey and SaPulso, thus earning me the several titles such as Frog Prince, Atty. Kokak and now Kapitan Kokak.Perhaps this froggy character is perfect for my penchant to travelling and taking of jump shots.

May 17, 2002, my mother died of lymphoma, three days after she celebrated her 61st birthday. One and a half year later, or on November 16, 2003, Papa followed after he died due to complications of diabetes. I wrote a piece called "Kamatis Love Story of Ponching and Linda" to immortalize their love to one another

In 2001 i joined the  law firm, Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law office  which is now on its 34th year with a battery of eighteen t lawyers : four partners plus seven in manila, three in iloilo, one in cebu, one in cagayan de oro and two in davao.. Hoping for a more prosperous 35th year in existence. 2011 is my tenth year in the office. I am now head of the seafarers' department wherein one of my focus is delivering paralegal lectures on seafarers' rights to the various stakeholders, the seafarers and their families as well as the maritime schools.  Ironically, even if our firm deals with intellectual property, i am an afficionado of Quiapo DVDs.

As Cicero said :  This wine is forty years old. It certainly doesn't show its age. (Latin: Hoc vinum Falernum fannorum quadragenta est. Bene aetatem fert.).

Face to face with crime

Face to face with crime
By: Dennis Gorecho

“SIGE, tumakbo ka na ng mabilis at huwag kang lilingon at baka barilin pa kita (Run, Run fast and don’t turn back or I’ll shoot you).” The words could be apart of a movie script, but these were in fact words of my abductors last August 23,1997, a Saturday. To me, words of freedom.

Freedom from the anxiety that any second I would be dumped dead in that highly secluded area somewhere in barangay Ugong, Valenzuela. The possibility that there will be my wake, and not the wake of Lola Rosa Henson, the first Filpina comfort woman to come out in the open, which I had planned to go to that night in Pasay City.

I should have followed my instinct that night. I had planned to get out of our moot court session at the UP College of Law earlier than 9 p.m. so that I could go to Lola Rosa’s’place early. But I stayed a little longer so I asked Joyce Bondoc, a classmate (male despite his name), if I could ride with him up to Pasay. He agreed but said he would take the Manila route via Nagtahan since Falor Vargas, a female classmate, would also hitch a ride with him.

We were five when we left UP at around 9:10 p.m.- me, Joyce Vargas, Fernando “Ando” Ocampo, and Noreen Gocon.

Noreen alighted at Kalayaan Avenue and we proceeded to Timog. I thought of getting off at Philcoa or Edsa and taje the bus toward Baclaran but I instead remained in the car.

We turned left at Scout Torillo. The road, lined with the usual high wall of big houses of the area, was dark.

Near the end of Scout Torillo, Bondoc stopped as the red car in front of us stopped. That was already around 9:30 p.m. When the car moved backwards, I jokingly told Joyce that the driver does not seem to know how to drive because he was moving backwards toward us. Seconds later, armed men came out of the car and swarmed Joyce’s car.

Blame it on my poor eyesight, my position on the seat beside the driver and the light coming from what I think must be an electric post, I could only see silhouettes of the armed men, one of whom was ordered me open the door say, “Libro, libro lang (books, only books),” which somehow assured me that they were just looking for something, probably drugs.

The same man pulled me out of Joyce’s car and dragged me to their car. What made me feel helpless was the fact that my eyeglasses misted as I left Joyce’s air-conditioned car. Running for safety would have been difficult for me because I couldn’t really see anything. Besides, I was cornered had no space to maneuver because of the wall on my side of the car.

The armed men apparently wanted to take Joyce and me to the waiting car. Joyce was able to run away after freeing himself from the grip of the man who held him. Ando, who was seated in the back behind me, was also able to run away. Only Falor was left inside Joyce’ car as two men boarded and commandeered the car.

As one of them pushed me to their car, I heard him say “Apat pala sila ( I didn’t know they were four).” In the car, the driver and another man, who held me down, forced me to duck, his hand over the left side of my face pinning my head onto his lap, my face virtually glued to the back of the front seat. I felt that we were on a circuitous route.

I saw familiar signs, especially the Great Eastern Hotel along Quezon Avenue when the car stopped for almost two to three minutes there, probably a red light. I thought of jumping out but I realized that even before I could get up and open the door, the man who was holding me could shoot me.

He removed my glasses and covered my face with jacket. As I saw buses, I knew we were on Edsa. Throughout the trip, I asked myself what I might have done for them to abduct me. Is this related to my work as a journalist? Did I write something that earned somebody’s ire? Is this the risk inherent in my profession?

But I realized that the abduction was not work-related when they started asking me questions like what is the name of my Chinese companion. I thought of Joyce. He is the only one among us who looked like a Chinese.

I told them that Joyce is not Chinese; he just looked like a Chinese. They described him as “isang Instik na may atraso sa amin (a Chinese who owes us).” They asked me where he lives and I told them I do not know.

They continued to bombard me with threats. “Huwag kang magulo kung ayaw mong I-salvage ka namin. Hindi ka namin gagalawin dahil di ikaw ang pakay namin. Pero baka gusto mong patayin ka na rin namin (Don’t fret if you don’t want us to kill you. We won’t hurt you because we are not really after you).”

I know that they were not joking. All throughout that trip, I felt some metal near my head, and I am sure that it was a gun. The man who was holding the gun to my head could shoot me right there and then.

I prayed hard. I prayed in the manner that I never prayed before, I lost count of how many Our Father and Hail Marys I prayed. The words even got mixed. I normally say these prayers before I go to sleep. I was also thinking about the things that I still wanted to achieve.

I even prayed harder when he tooked my wallet. What worried me was he might see my TODAY press card. I was sure he would shoot me if he had seen it. He complained that I do not have much cash in my wallet. I felt him take the money, place it inside his shirt pocket and throw the rest. Maybe my press card, too. He searched the pockets of my trousers and asked me what else I was carrying. I told him that I had candies in my pocket, which he took and ate.

The place we were travelling to was getting darker and I imagined that we were entering what could be a notoriously “salvage area”, And I prayed harder. Maybe God was listening because I heard the driver said, “Sige, ibaba na iyan (Go on, get down).” First words of relief. But the man holding me said not yet and that we must go further. Again, I got scared. What if they were just bluffing? What if they were just giving me false hope that I would be released alive but that they would kill me anyway? I tried to convince myself that the driver won’t change his mind.

Finally, the guy holding me said that we were already in the right place. When he ordered me to sit, I immediately sat. The driver said that my bag must be left behind. However, I asked that he give me back my eyeglasses. He gave it to me but he warned me not to wear it until I am out of the car.

Then the moment of freedom. “Baba ka at huwag kang lilingon.” I indeed jumped off but still anxious that it was still a bluff, that they would nevertheless shoot me. The area was a farmland with some factories, a place suitable for “salvaging.”

I ran for a few seconds before deciding to hide behind some trees, fearing that some of their companions were on my trail. When I saw nothing, I moved toward the area with many houses.

There, I learned that the place is indeed an area where dead bodies are dumped. In fact, a few days ago the body of an executive was found there.

The two guys were able to escape. The girl who was left in our car, Falor, was brought to a house in Taytay, Rizal and was detained inside a room and she was blindfolded all the while. The thought that she will be raped, of course, played in our mind and hers. But she said that the kidnappers gave her assurance that no harm shall be done unto her since they, too, have daughters. She heard cries of babies. She was released the following morning at around 3:00 am and was dropped of at Robinsons Galleria. I was only able to talk to her Monday, two days after the incident. 

My name, and that of my friends, landed in almost every newspapers, mentioned in TV and radio broadcasts for the next few days. I realized that being a subject of newsreports is different from being the one who is reporting. The beeps and calls that I had that day served as an assurance that I am still alive. 

There is the agony on worrying about the my safety and the safety of my family as well. So I decided to decline from surfacing to the media, although my close friends from the TV industry had been requesting me for an interview. It seemed that I myself became adrift from the world where I used to belong and work with for the past years.

The trauma that ensued for the following days kept me afloat on what happened to me. I can hear what people say but I cant understand them. I see figures and colors but it is as if I was not able to recognize them. My head felt too heavy that I had a hard time moving it. I just stayed in bed. I cant talk properly as if my voice was somewhere else. Call me praning but I had grounds to be so. There was a time when I answered the phone and no one talked, the sounds of tricycles from the phone caused me to panic since that seemed to be coming from just nearby. I ordered all our doors to be locked. And I even transferred to my cousins’ house for sometime just to assure me that no one will be able to follow me there.

A week passed and I went back to UP Law. I tried to think that everything will be normal. Falor was absent for more days than mine. She went to Baguio to rest. A few days later, another news broke out. It was about the same group that kidnapped us. One of our classmate and friend working in the military told me that my ATMs and calling cards were found inside a car that got involved in a chase with policemen that started in Greenhills and ended in JP Rizal in Makati. They were killed during a shoot out. Newspaper reports quoted statements from the persons who were killed heard by witnesses: “Huwag ninyo kaming paputukan dahil parepareho lang tayong pulis!” But they were killed nevertheless. The car was different from that of Joyce. But the plate number is that of Joyce’ car. So, that made us to conclude that these are the same people who abducted us. What enforced our conclusion was the pictures of the house or headquarters of those killed that was raided a day later since Falor recognized that that was the same house in Taytay where she was brought and detained that night. When checked as to the affiliation of these people, it was confirmed that they were indeed former cops or members of the military. Thus, that prompted me to keep my silence for fear that my safety and my family’s will be jeopardized.

At least still I am alive. And with my brains still intact. What made me afraid was the fact that for every batch in UP Law for the previous years, one student member of each batch died, almost all of them graduating that year. And I prayed that it was not me for our batch. It was like a curse of sort of, that one person will be a sacrificial lamb in exchange for the good performance of UP in the bar exams. I don’t know.. Siguro.

Nevertheless, that night will indeed go down in history as an experience that could have changed my perception in life, at the very least. My belief that an omnipotent being is always out there to guide you is indeed reinforced. I am not a very religious person, although I have two brothers who are into priesthood. But prayers do make miracles. Consider me pathetic, but I think the prayers that I said that night as the only reasons for my survival. If not for those prayers, maybe I am not alive now. Or maybe I can no longer join climbs in the mountains, drinking spree with friends, or I could not have passed the bar exams and became a lawyer, or just be a simple Dennis Gorecho, alive and well!!!!!!