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Dave Villegas and Nitoy Tagle meet after 35 years by Gabby Moraleda
Brod Dave Villegas, batch 55, is usually calm and composed. The evening of October 3 he was not. Together with wife Mercy, they came 30 minutes early to an appointment with “the past”. His kabatch and law classmate Brod and Comelec Commissioner Lucenito “Nitoy”Tagle, whom he has not had seen in 35 years, is in town. It was understandable. Dave was undeniably excited.
The place was the Hilton of San Francisco and the lobby was packed with guests and participants to an Oracle convention. It was “standing room only”. Naturally, Dave was concerned that he would miss Nitoy in the crowd. He would not allow this to happen. So instead of waiting at our table, Dave scanned the lobby – with an eagle eye in search of his “target”. Alas, after several minutes of circling, he caught sight of Nitoy. Finally after all these years -- the 2 brods meet again. As both hugged, the bonds of brotherhood was reestablished -- instantly.
COMELEC Commissioners Atty. Lucenito Tagle and Roberto Lim
Nitoy came to San Francisco, with his wife Cora, on official business. He was a Court of Appeals judge before being appointed by GMA to the Comelec. After the usual introductions with Professor JunJun Villegas, Manolo Banzon and me – it was off to a Japanese restaurant in South San Francisco. There was so much catching up with so little time. The two recalled their “escapades” in and out of law school – the time when Dave was “the gatekeeper” of Binondo and Chinatown. There was a lot of Betan history and I was amazed at what I learned. Yes, the evening went by fast.
Two days later, on October 5, the same brods together with Atty. Babes Ignacio of Tancinco Law Offices attended the FilAm community outreach seminar on Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV). It was held at the Philippine Consulate office, organized and facilitated by the consular staff led by Consul General Marciano Paynor and Consul Alfonso “Doy” Ver. Nitoy together with Commissioner Robert Lim were the guests of honor and main resource persons. The participants, about 80, were led by a number of distinguished guests namely, Victor Barrios of Global Filipino Outreach, Atty. Rodel Rodis of US Pinoys for Good Governance, Esther Chavez of Inquirer.net and a host of community leaders. It was a very constructive and friendly exchange of ideas on how to simplify the OAV process to best serve the voters.
Then onwards to another Japanese Restaurant. It was the only one open nearby. As sushi, tempura and rib eye steak was served, another round of kwentuhan, tawanan, and siyempre Tambayan tsismis rolled out. Lots of laughter and in spite of the age difference and his position, I felt “at home” . As brod Manolo said of Nitoy “walang hangin”, True to (Betan) form, Nitoy is a down to earth brod and a dedicated public servant. As the night progressed, Dave served an invitation for Nitoy to attend the UP NorCal fratball on 2013. Let’s hope he makes it and roll out the red carpet. It was a brief visit but certainly a sweet one. Once again, it proved that our brotherhood endures. It withstands time and space. Beta Sigma beloved. Cheers.
Clockwise: Gabby Moraleda'68, Manolo Banzon'68, Atty. Dave Villegas'55, wife Cora and Atty. Nitoy Tagle'55, Atty. Babes Ignacio'76 and Prof. JunJun Villegas.
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