at senator raul roco's wake

i, among the remaining of aksyon kabataan, anxiously entered the funerary of senator raul roco. the place wasn't that crowded and i noticed some of my former colleagues right off the bat. some were in black, some in white (a chinese practice).

twenty-four hours earlier i found myself almost dumbstruck upon finding out that the dear senator had passed away. i was sort of expecting it, although that didn't do anything to mellow the pain of losing one of the few sane politicians in this country.

so as i approached sen. roco's coffin, i noticed that he looked surprisingly different, his sickness had definitely affected him. but oh, he didn't look as if defeated. not a bit. my friends and i just stood before him in silence for a while.

speaking to a few members of the family, i found out that even they had accepted that he was gone. it was me who didn't.

the most touching part was the priest's sermon. he said that death was entry into another life, and therefore roco wasn't really dead at all. and now since he isn't dead, his ideals and vision aren't either. they continue to live on: value of education, protection of the environment, the fight against traditional politics....

even the priest was conspicuous in expressing dismay over the current political system, and i realized that other people from different walks of life were sharing the same sentiments as i did.

unfortunately i couldn't stay for a long time. as i was walking out the words of that priest echoed in my head:

"Life is so short because it is to be continued by others."