Malilong: Abet Guidaben, Danny Lim
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REMEMBER Abet Guidaben? The six-foot-five beanpole played center for the then Colegio de San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars under the late Maning Baring in the ‘70s. Among his teammates was Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba, now a Cebu City councilor.
Abet didn’t stay long with the Jaguars, however, as he was recruited by Crispa to play in the Philippine Basketball Association. Coached by the late Baby Dalupan, the legendary Crispa squad’s backbone was Abet, Atoy Co, Philip Cezar, Bogs Adornado and Bernard Fabiosa.
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Crispa dueled with another powerhouse team, Toyota, for PBA supremacy for almost a decade. Toyota’s equally talented squad included Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz and Ramon Fernandez, who played college ball for the University of San Carlos.
When his playing years were over, Guidaben left for the United States. It was from Mon’s wife, Karla (the couple are vacationing in the States) that I learned about Guidaben’s bout with myasthenia gravis, a rare auto-immune disease that involves the weakening of the muscles.
“So sad,” Karla said about Abet’s condition. Mon was so touched by his former rival’s plight that he decided to delay their return to the Philippines to play in a fund-raising game for Guidaben this Sunday in Carson City.
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Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim blew into town the other day to meet with friends who supported his failed senatorial bid in the last elections. “I did not want to lose by default,” he told them over dinner by way of explaining why he chose to run even when he was in jail. “I did not regret my decision.”
He also said he had no regrets over his advocacy despite the fact that it earned him a total of almost seven years in detention (three years during President Cory Aquino’s term and four years under President Arroyo).
“The additional star on my shoulders and the other carrots that were offered to me were nice things,” he said, but “they meant nothing to me under the circumstances.”
Educated at the US Military Academy, Lim was the brash captain who headed the Young Officers’ Union (YOU) during Mrs. Aquino’s time. For his part in one of the coups against president Cory, he was cashiered.
He was subsequently reinstated and had earned his first star when he spoke out against the prostitution of the military in the 2004 presidential elections. He was promptly clamped in jail for his labors.
Although he was released from detention when President Noynoy Aquino assumed office, he’s not completely a free man. He’s still facing rebellion and mutiny charges.
Lim said that his greatest hope is that the innocent will finally be declared as such and the guilty be made to pay for their crimes against the people. “And I hope all these will come to pass during this administration.”
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I am amused by Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez’s accusation that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is trying to buy the loyalty of Capitol reporters with free lunch. Why don’t you just offer the same perks at your office, Greg?
If the governor serves pancit, you can offer the reporters spaghetti. If she gives a hamburger, buy a clubhouse sandwich. You can afford it even if the Capitol does not give you a budget since you are a rich man.
On the other hand, the reporters should not be offended by the vice governor’s claim.
That’s par for the course even if their integrity is in fact and in truth beyond question.
Sharing food may be a Filipino tradition but it can be seen, rightly or wrongly, as fraternizing with the one who bought it.
That’s why Sun.Star Cebu has a rule discouraging its reporters from accepting meals from news sources.
Some people believe that familiarity breeds contempt. Obviously, Greg is one of them.
