After the Edsa Revolution and the installation of Corazon Aquino as the President of the Philippines, the first local elections were held and government officials had to vacate their positions during the campaign period from January to March.
The Cebu City Government was run by select private businessmen, academe and civic leaders.
Businessmen Antonio Veloso and Joseph Gaisano were mayor and vice mayor, respectively. The councilors were Hermie Villarica, Ed Rosello, Lito Roden, Remy Mateo, Dr. Veloso (his first name escapes me), Nene Dakay, Roberto Montesclaros and myself. I must have missed one or two others.
It was a learning experience in government management and political science. After our term, we continued to meet as friends and named our group We Care Foundation. We were a singing team and met every month at the New White Gold House Restaurant hosted by the birthday celebrants. We went beyond singing, and organized scholarships for high school students at the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) high school, Cebu Normal University, and supported community-oriented theater and musicales across the globe through the USJ-R Dramatics and Cultural Ensemble and Amparito L. Lhuillier Educational Foundation.
We continued our selected communitarian programs and gave Christmas packages to selected schools.
Through the years, we added new members who shared our love for music and ideals. The We Care theme song is “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
We Care is intact, and our children are beginning to emulate our camaraderie. A Junior We Care in the making?
A few of us had passed away but their music stays in our hearts, sung every time we meet. Our venue for years, the White Gold House, is no longer there but its beautiful memories where we shared the best Chinese food in town, the spacious room 111 or 112—where pianist Roland Suarez accompanied our music—and the hospitality of the restaurant staff, are intact in our hearts.
Our spirit is still high. After the pandemic, the group is meeting again in new venues like Casino Español de Cebu or Cebu Country Club. Our songs and laughter are heard again even as our singing voices occasionally fail to reach the high notes but the melody is still beautiful.
I have been active in so many organizations, but We Care has its own unique flavor, called “warm, selfless friendship!”