THE 2016 national elections caused much divisiveness within families and organizations. People's political passions and passionate politics got in the way of friendship and kinship. Kiwanis International, which I belonged to then, was no exception. Lyndale Marieta Cataluña-Causing, a relatively new but hyperactive member from Koronadal City, was an all-out supporter of then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte. She also got herself picked to be the local chairman of the national federalism movement when, by some accident, she found herself at the movement's launch in Manila.

Because of our Kiwanis membership, we were Facebook friends. Lyndale's very passionate and frequent posts about both Duterte and the federalism movement were not my cup of tea and often made my toes curl. But came Kiwanis convention time, we met in person, and I realized that politics really isn't everything. Lyndale and I hit it off right away. Behind her fierce political activism, Lyndale was a funny, sweet and warm woman. She was the real deal.