I Am Buraot

When the City of Olongapo is mentioned, the first things that would come to mind are two: the entertainment bars lining its streets and the name Gordon.

While the roots of existence of the former are well-traced, the existence and the reason why the latter became a household name is not much talked about.

Who really are the Gordons? How did they come into power? And how for several decades, did a single family dominate the entire political landscape of the city? Continue Reading…

“Ganito pala sa Olongapo, parang war zone.”

 This was the surprised remark from one of the media personnel from GMA-7 who witnessed what happened that fateful day in November 1996.

All the action were going on inside the SBMA where the APEC forum was being held, so it only makes sense for all the media, local and international, to be there. Fortunately for us, some GMA-7 staff, particularly Luchi Cruz Valdez (from The Probe Team fame) and a cameraman decided to go outside the former US base searching for exclusives.

They have found what they were looking for, the exclusive footages of how we got mobbed. And they were stunned to have witnessed what happened. Continue Reading…

In just a matter of minutes, after that quick anesthesia-less operation and humiliation inside the operating room, I was in a wheelchair being pushed by that UP volunteer all the way to the x-ray room and unto my assigned room, which was the orthopedic ward.

Weird. I don’t think I had any broken bone or whatever that needed me to be confined to that section. Unless some doctor thought a broken skull would be enough to be categorized as orthopedic.

I saw some empty rooms and wards along the way so I asked the guy why I was being put here. He said he got no idea but we both think it would be safer for me since it’s almost full and lots of people would see me, just in case. Continue Reading…

It was November 1996. The APEC Summit was being held in Subic Bay, Philippines.

It was a time for the country to show off its newly established Subic Bay after the former bases were left by the Americans under piles of ashes brought by the Pinatubo eruption. It was also the time for then President Fidel Ramos to showcase his Medium Term Philippine Development Plan. It was Ramos’ Philippines 2000. It was globalization. It was Olongapo.

Like most people in the progressive left, I was against it. I believe that if businesses can be allowed to globalize, we should also allow the workers to globalize. If capital can go around the world looking for cheap labor, then labor itself should also be allowed to find better pay anywhere in the world. What I’m for is simply for fairness.

The stage was set for mass demonstrations against globalization. And so we at the Sanlakas Olongapo were ready. Continue Reading…

I was a fan of Dick Gordon, the man who they called The Flash. He was full of idealism and a natural leader. I would love to be seated next to him. I would love to catch the same breath of air that passes through his sense of national pride.

I first saw him on TV after the tragic 1990 major Luzon earthquake. He was there saving lives in the cities of Baguio and Cabanatuan. Those cities were the hardest hit with several collapsed buildings and hotels. He was then armed with his advanced SBMA units doing search and rescue operations. His efforts are rarely seen from politicians and public servants anywhere in the country. And to think that Olongapo is actually hours away from these cities makes it even more heroic.

Gordon, gadgetry, flash, hero. Who wouldn’t fancy any young guy’s idealism and imagination? Continue Reading…