[GLO aka GLORIA PASCUA AGUINALDO was a colleague of mine in the TONDO FORESHORE URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT which was launched in the 1970s. This project was sort of a PIONEERING project as it was the very first time that URBAN RENEWAL via SITE UPGRADING was implemented by the Philippine government through WORLD BANK-financing. GLO eventually zoomed up in her career after she migrated to Europe {following her marriage to a Dane (i.e. a citizen of Denmark)} where she became a very important functionary in the EUROPEAN UNION. At the time this BLOG was written, GLO was then an INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT on the field of ENERGY STATISTICS. We also got reconnected through the FUNDRAISER put up by my daughter ALEE. GLO was the first DONOR to the FUND DRIVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH GLO!!!! MUCHAS GRACIAS…MERCI BEACOUP…TAK….SALAMAT PO!!!!]
We were together in a TROOP1,
That’s the ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY GROUP2;
That was in TONDO FORESHORE in the SEVENTIES,
Tipping then into my mid-TWENTIES!
There was one colleague whom I ADMIRED,
She’s ILOCANA3 but always elegantly ATTIRED;
She was BRIGHT and ANALYTIC,
She sometimes even was PROPHETIC4!
In those days when we were FREE5,
We’d go on an escapade near RIZAL’s MARQUEE6;
We’d dine at the well-liked HONGKONG HOUSE7,
After sipping fresh sugar cane juice on the GRASS8!
At times when we were FREER,
We would go to our MURPHY HOME and sip some BEER;
And our fave finger food would BE…
The spicy fried “dilis”9 that Mom10 would cook for ME!
But as FATE would truly have it,
GLO would eventually don a DANISH SKIRT;
And she truly became EUROPEAN,
She worked as a cosmopolitan economic STATISTICIAN11!
And I am proud of her more SO…
As she typifies the typical Filipina HERO;
She worked hard not only for ONE NATION,
But actually for the whole GLOBAL ASSOCIATION12!
Alas, I got totally and superbly AGHAST13,
When I saw GLO’s bio data AT LAST;
She speaks FRENCH, SPANISH, DANISH and ENGLISH…
And she’s even a lawyer, a JURIST14!
And as she has sought her work RETIREMENT,
It would indeed be a happy COMMENCEMENT;
As RETIREMENT indeed, is the start of a new ADVENTURE15,
To attain new heights and to seek GREENER PASTURE16!
HAPPY PASTURE TRIPPING GLO!!!
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[Legend: 1 – At the TONDO FORESHORE URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT (“TFURP”), one of the predecessors-agencies of the NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY, which was placed then under the Office of the President and the mandate was to erase the slum condition of the Tondo Foreshoreland which consisted of a 137 hectare strip of land facing the sea. I consider ourselves as composing a TROOP, as in military parlance, as General G. V. Tobias virtually ran our outfit as though a military unit, considering that Gen. Tobias’ is truly a dyed-in-the-wool military man.
2 – We formed the unit known as the ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY GROUP and we were working on then as to how the cost of the urban renewal would be passed on to the beneficiaries of the project who are the mere low-lifers in Philippine society.
3 – GLORIA PASCUA AGUINALSO is an Ilocana from the town of PASUQUIN in Ilocos Norte.
4 – GLO was truly prophetic as in our talks she could almost prognosticate on what will happen next; perhaps an aspect of female intuition.
5 – Our workload was irregular; sometimes too heavy; and at times LIGHT. On those days, where our load was light and mostly during summer when I have no classes (I was enrolled then in UP Law’s Evening Section), we would go to the Rizal Park, formerly known as LUNETA.
6 – RIZAL’s MARQUEE would be the RIZAL MONUMENT at the LUNETA PARK.
7 – HONGKONG HOUSE is a popular Chinese Restaurant in the Ermita Area near the Luneta Park.
8 – LUNETA was and still now, a favorite leisure park where pedestrians could unwind and relax by sprawling or sitting on the grassy lawn while sipping some cold beverage.
9 – “DILIS” is the vernacular for anchovies.
10 – MOM would refer to my late Mommy Norma, who truly was the best cook in this side of the globe.
11 – GLO’s last job at the European Union was at INOGATE. INOGATE was an international energy co-operation programme between the European Union (EU), the littoral states of the Black and Caspian seas and their neighboring countries. The programme was operational from 1996 to 2016. INOGATE was one of the longest running energy technical assistance programmes funded by the EU. Up to 2006, it was funded by the Tacis Regional Cooperation Programme, and as of 2007, it was funded by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) under the ENPI-East Regional Indicative Programme 2007-2010 and 2010-2013. EuropeAid supported the programme through the ENPI and the Development Cooperation Instrument. The coordinating INOGATE Technical Secretariat was concluded in April 2016.
12 – GLOBAL ASSOCIATION would refer to the whole world. In this GLOBALIZED WORLD, the actions taken most specifically by the EUROPEAN UNION would almost always be affecting the whole world.
13 – AGHAST is used here to mean FLABBERGASTED, AWED and AMAZED.
14 – In some JURISPRUDENTIAL JURISDICTIONS, a lawyer is also termed as a JURIST especially those of lawyers of the highest caliber. Having seen GLO’s bio-date lately, and being a an eminent member of the ASSOCIATION OF DANISH LAWYERS AND ECONOMISTS, I could say without batting an eyelash, that GLO is a lawyer PAR EXCELLENCE.
15 – Truly indeed, GLO and her husband BJARNE RUBY, have embarked on a never-ending adventure of SORTS; trying to discover and re-discover new and old places alike.
16 – PASTURE would mean in this FUN RHYME BLOG as new places of INTERESTS as GLO is truly an amazing traveler too.]
