WE ARE GATHERED HERE TONIGHT TO
GIVE OUR FINAL TRIBUTE AND TO SAY OUR LAST FAREWELL TO
MAJ GEN MARIANO PAGUIBITAN ADALEM - OUR BELOVED CLASSMATE
WHOSE STRONG SENSE OF DUTY, UNQUESTIONED INTEGRITY AND HUMILITY
MADE HIM AN OUTSTANDING MILITARY LEADER OF OUR GENERATION
AND BROUGHT HIM TO THE HIGHEST POSITIONS IN THE PHILIPPINE
ARMY AND IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES. "NANO" AS WE FONDLY
CALL HIM WAS NOT BORN TO BE A LEADER, GROWING UP IN HIS HOMETOWN
OF ZARAGOZA, NUEVA ECIJA, NANO PREPARED TO BE A TEACHER AND IN FACT
WAS ALREADY A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER WHEN HE JOINED US, THE PLEBES
OF 1958 ON l APRIL 1954. AS THE ONLY TEACHER AND THE MOST SCRAWNY
AMONGST US, THE UPPERCLASSMEN GANGED UP ON HIM. I DON'T
KNOW HOW HE SURVIVED PLEBEHOOD - BUT HE DID. AND LATER
ON IN OUR SERVICE HE STARTED CALLING HIMSELF "HANNIBAL"
AND DEVOURING BOOKS ON MILITARY ARTS BY THE BOXES. AFTER GRADUATION,
WE ALL WERE THROWN TO THE FIRST DIVISION IN FT MAGSAYSAY, NUEVA
ECIJA, EXCEPT FROM THE AIR FORCE AND NAVY GUYS. NANO JOINED
THE ARTILLERY AND SPENT HIS TIME LOBBING SHELLS AT IMAGINARY
TARGETS AND SOMETIMES AT OUR OWN FOOT SOLDIERS WHEN HIS FIELD OBSERVERS
(DOZED OF?) THIS IS IN-BETWEEN TIMES SPENT ESCORTING US VISITING GIRLS
IN THE NEARBY TOWNS OF HIS HOME PROVINCE. NANO TOGETHER WITH A BUNCH
OF THE ARTILLERY BOYS SOUGHT GREENER PASTURE IN THE VISAYAS AND
ONCE ASSIGNED TO THE 5TH DIVISION IN CEBU WHERE THEY WERE DAZZLED
BY SO MANY VISAYAN BEAUTIES THAT THEY FORGOT ABOUT THE ARTILLERY BUSINESS
AND INSTEAD ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO BE CAUGHT BY THESE BEAUTIES. I CANNOT
RECALL THE ORDER OF BATTLE BUT ALL OF THEM FELL ONE BY ONE, RADING INFORTUNO,
MANING CACANANDO, THE LATE VICENTE MENESES AND OF COURSE NANO WHO MET
HIS DESTINY IN THE LOVELY TERESITA. OUR PATHS CROSSED IN 1965 WHEN I BROUGHT
MY BRIDE TO THE PMA GROUNDS DURING OUR HONEYMOON AND NANO WAS A TACTICAL
OFFICER AND HE INVITED US TO JOIN THE CORPS IN THE CADET MESS. NANO THEN
WAS ON HIS "TEACHER MODE" SPENDING QUALITY TIME WITH HIS GROWING FAMILY
PREPARATORY TO PURSUING A FULL-TIME SOLDIER'S CAREER. WHEN HE LEFT THE
PMA AND JOINED PHILCAG IN VIETNAM IN 1966, IT WAS THE START OF HIS SPECTACULAR
RISE IN THE LEADERSHIP HIERARCHY OF OUR ARMED FORCES. PROMOTED TO TEMPORARY
MAJOR IN 1968 - HE WAS ONE YEAR AHEAD OF US ALL IN OUR CLASS. AGAIN, HE
WAS PROMOTED TO TEMPORARY COLONEL IN 1974 AHEAD OF MOST OF OUR CLASS AND
EVEN SOME OF THE SENIOR CLASSES. GIVEN THE COMMAND OF 33RD INFANTRY BATTALION
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE MNLF REBELLION IN 1974 HE PERSONALLY LED HIS TROOPS
IN ALL COMBAT OPERATIONS AGAINST THE REBELSSTRONGHOLDS. THE SPECTACULAR
RESCUE OPERATIONS OF 300 CIVILIANS HELD CAPTURE BY MNLF REBELS IN PINARIG,
SULTAN KUDARAT, MAGUINDANAO AND THE LIBERATION OF THE MNLF-OCCUPIED TOWN
OF BINALBAGAN, LANAO SUR. IN RECOGNITION OF HIS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS
DURING THIS CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY, NANO WAS SENT TO FT LEAVENWORTH,
KANSAS, USA FOR HIS COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COURSE AND UPON RETURN
WENT THROUGH THE SENIOR STAFF POSITION IN GHQ AND HPA. IN 1982 HE WENT
BACK TO HIS BELOVED TROOPS AS BRIGADE COMMANDER OF 3RD BRIGADE, 4TH
DIV THEN ADDRESSING THE GROWING NPA THREATS IN NORTHERN MINDANAO. IT
WAS HIS SKILLFUL HANDLING OF THE COUNTER-INSURGENCY OPERATIONS AGAINST
THE NPA IN NORTHERN MINDANAO THAT ENDEARED GENERAL ADALEM AND THE MILITARY
TO THE CIVILIAN POPULACE. DEVOID OF THE ARROGANCE OF MOST MILITARY COMMANDERS,
COMPASSIONATE AND SENSITIVE TO THE FEELINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE AND
HIS OWN TROOPS, HE EARNED THE RESPECT AND THE ESTEEM OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
HIS HUMILITY AND HIS PERSONAL CONDUCT IN DEALING WITH HIS SUPERIORS,
HIS SUBORDINATES AND THE PUBLIC ENHANCED THE IMAGE OF THE MILITARY WHEREVER
HE GOES. HE EARNED HIS FIRST STAR DURING THIS PERIOD WHEN HE TRULY BECAME
THE SOLDIER'S GENERAL AND DURING THE TUMULTUOUS EVENTS OF EDSA WHEN GENERAL
ADALEM AND HIS TROOPS BACKED THE PEOPLE'S REVOLT AGAINST THE MARCOS REGIME
- HE WAS GUIDED SOLELY BY THE BASIC REASON THAT MOTIVATED HIM TO BE
A SOLDIER - TO SERVICE OUR PEOPLE. TO MAJOR GE N ERAL ADALEM,
AFTER EDSA WAS THE "PEOPLE'S GENERAL". MILITANT GROUPS, HUMAN
RIGHTS ADVOCATES AND MANY OTHER SECTORS OF OUR SOCIETY WHO INTERACTED
WITH HIM DURING HIS YEARS OF SERVICE CLAIMED THAT HE WAS ALREADY A
REFORMIST LONG BEFORE THE "REFORM THE AFP" MOVEMENT. WHEN HE WAS DESIGNATED
AS THE PHILIPPINE ARMY COMMANDING GENERAL IN MARCH 1988, HE HAD NO
RIVALS. IT WAS DURING HIS LEADERSHIP OF THE PHILIPPINE ARMY THAT NO
COUP MOVED WATCH AND THE ARMY WAS UNITED FIRMLY BEHIND THE CONSTITUTION.
AFTER RETIREMENT, WHEN HE JOINED THE GOVERNMENT WAS PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER
ON MILITARY AFFAIRS, NICA DIRECTOR GENERAL AND PRESIDENT OF PAGCOR
- HE PERFORMED HIS DUTIES STILL WITH THE SAME DEGREE OF DEDICATION,
STILL WITH HIGHEST SENSE OF HONOR AND THE HUMILITY THAT WAS THE
HALLMARK OF HIS PATH THROUGH LIFE. AND NOW THAT PATH HAS ENDED
AND NANO IS NO LONGER WITH US WE RECALL THOSE FRUITFUL AND HAPPY
YEARS DURING OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS AND PARTIES AND DURING OUR GOLF
GAMES. MISTAH, WE MISSED BADLY YOUR PRESENCE DURING THESE HAPPY TIMES.
AND WE FELT SO HELPLESS AS YOU FOUGHT YOUR LAST BATTLE IN SILENCE AGAINST
THIS DISEASE. FORGIVE US, MISTAH BUT MOST OF US OUR COMRADES WHO COULD
NOT STAND TO SEE YOU IN PAIN DURING YOUR LAST HEROIC FIGHT. MISTAH, FOR
ALL OF US WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND - YOUR CLASSMATES, YOUR FELLOW SOLDIERS,
YOUR FRIENDS AND THE GRIEVING THOUSANDS OF OTHERS WHOSE LIVES YOU HAD TOUCHED
WITH YOUR COMPASSION, KINDNESS AND SENSE OF JUSTICE SHALL ALWAYS
REMEMBER AND TREASURE THE YEARS YOU WERE WITH US. TO TESS AND CHILDREN
MELANIE, MARK AND RAYMOND AND GRANDCHILDREN - WE OFFER OUR DEEPEST
SYMPATHIES IN BEHALF OF MEMBERS OF CLASS 58 AND OUR FAMILIES. NANO
SHALL REMAIN TO GUIDE US AS OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AS WE CONTINUE TO WRITE
THE LAST CHAPTERS OF OUR LIVES. AS WE SAY GOOD-BYE,. WE PRAY TO THE
ALMIGHTY TO EMBRACE NANO IN ETERNAL REST.
MISTAH, WE
SALUTE YOU FAREWELL.
