ASIDE from being a lecturer, people have found a new use for me — as a program host. Just this week, I hosted three events, the first of which was on February 3, at the unveiling of a new monument to Don Joaquin “Chino” Roces, post-war publisher of The Manila Times and owner of the Associated Broadcasting Company, or ABC 5. The statue, executed by the sculptor, Michael Cacnio, shows Don Chino, holding a newspaper and standing proud. During the gathering after the unveiling, I noted that I had hated it at first for he appears to be “mayabang,” but on second thought, it was actually apropos because he defended press freedom and democracy not letting himself appear as a “victim” but as a true fighter. I noted how Don Chino had a sense of humor, as he brought a toy tank to the rallies while they faced the real water cannons of the dictatorship. His defining moment in our history was how at an advanced age, he was up in arms, bracing against the force of the water, with another old man former senator Lorenzo Tañada, the film director Behn Cervantes and other patriots. There was a moment also on Mendiola (its bridge now bears his name) when he was left alone after a dispersal supported by a huge wooden cross of a placard. He did not have to be there, he was already the “Don,” but he was there anyway among the people. He became an inspiration to many that age doesn’t deter you from doing something for your country.