LIKE countless Filipinos, I worked my way through college. I started as a casual laborer in Manila and later landed a job as a disc jockey. I loved doing radio work late into the night as it gave me time to attend day classes. It was the 1960s, and I was also an activist. I was fired from my first broadcast job when I organized a labor union and led a strike.

Aside from attending classes at UP Diliman and Padre Faura, I had Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) sessions during weekends. Because of my busy schedule, I was often sleep-deprived and sluggish. Then I met Steve Peña Sy, a bright and affable student officer whose compassion made my training days less arduous. I became one of his assistants, doing mostly desk work.