Wednesday, May 07, 2008 De Fiesta: The Man By MR de Fiesta Carpe Diem
THERE was this man, older than me by years, who influenced me in a lot of ways both as a person and as a journalist. You would not think that we'd be friends. Apart from being a journalist, the only things we have in common are the passion for writing and love for cigarettes.
I was his boss. And the best thing I liked about him was that he was one who made sure he did what I asked him to, even if it went beyond his call of duty.
He was a man who moved my life -- and the life of all his friends -- in more ways than one. He was one who knew how to brighten up one's day -- even if he did not mean to.
He was an extremely good writer... he knew how to dig, and boy, did he dig deep. Deep enough to catch the ire of a lot of influential people.
But see, he didn't care, this man. When he wanted a story he got it out, the way he wanted it to.
We were all afraid that he was courting death by hitting on some very high profile people. He had received a number of death threats, and Sun.Star Pampanga even received bomb threats because of a story he wrote a few years back.
But alas, he did not die by his pen.
He said goodbye in the most unexpected way. Not unusual, because we knew one way or the other he had a condition. But his death took us all aback.
I did not know how to react when I heard on the news that my good friend and colleague Dante Fabian had passed away. It was unlike anything I have ever heard of. It was painful, but I was not able to shed tears. I felt something squeeze my heart, like a stab on the chest, and was not able to speak for a while. Then I heard myself tell my six-year-old daughter to tell her dad, "Wala na si Mang Dante."
It was not until the next day when I texted Marna Dagumboy, also a friend and colleague, about the incident that I felt the tears coming. I had worked with Tito Dants for only seven years... but those seven years were enough to establish a long-lasting bond with him.
He was not only one of my best reporters during my stint as SSP editor-in-chief, but he was also a good friend who was always there when I needed him -- especially when closing the paper during my days off or when I got sick or had some kind of emergency at home.
Rarely did he say "No" to me, and when he did, he always had a valid reason. He also took the cudgels for me, not only once or twice, but numerous times. But who's counting, right?
He may not always be reachable through his cell phone, but Tito Dants certainly makes his presence felt whenever he was around.
I remember writing a column for SSP where I mentioned missing the SSP comfort room -- which has a chair specifically for Mang Dante's use.
We always knew where to find Tito Dants whenever he went "missing" around the SSP office. He would be in his special chair, smoking and texting his special someone. We would tease him about it, but he would just give us the sweetest smile.
Now that he had passed on to a better life, we feel sad that we won't be able to work with him anymore... We would miss his presence, his writing, his visions, his opinions, his tapang... we'll miss everything about him there is to miss.
To Tito Dants, thank you for making your stay with us worthwhile. Thank you for standing up for everyone, even if it meant sacrificing yourself in the process. Thank you for being everyone's friend and being everyone's kuya and tito. Thank you, that you gave us a chance to be a part of your meaningful life.
