Father had a dream: Manny Pacquiao

The epitaph on his simple tomb in the Mandaluyong City cemetery reads: Macario C. Trinidad, April 10, 1914-Aug. 18, 1983.

My father, who died of emphysema, was buried on the day (Aug. 21, 1983) the home-bound Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on the tarmac of the old Manila International Airport.

If he had lived long enough, quite impossible going by what he had to go through, Tatay would have been a hundred years old today. He died at age 69.

Anyway, an avid admirer of boxing, he would’ve had already bought a PPV subscription for next Sunday’s rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. Or, if not, he would’ve had reserved a seat with his old kumpadre and fellow town councilor Melchor Arcangel in one of the village gyms presenting the rematch free to the common man.

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When I first sat down to do this midweek column of mine, my first thought was to close it with a footnote on my father, today being his centennial. On second thought, I said: Why not an exclusive piece on him? Father, in the first place, was not an ordinary boxing fan.

He was always there before the black-and-white TV set ahead of everybody for those evening boxing shows, like Fistorama.

He made it a point to see live fights whenever possible, including the ones at the defunct Besa Boxing Arena off the old Plaza Lawton. There was one time when he served as water boy for Terry Rebullado, after the battle-worn lightweight had decided to take residence in the old Makulis area, now Backside, close to the old wooden Namayan Primary School in Vergara.

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Anyway, father never counted it as a personal feat, but he considered it a small contribution how he helped Narciso Bernardo, who had gone only as far as third year high school, enroll in an engineering course at the National University where the three-time Olympian made a mark in the UAAP en route to dream stardom.

Father had the greatest joy that summer night in 1960 when Gabriel “Flash” Elorde finished off Harold Gomes at the newly inaugurated Araneta Coliseum to win the WBA junior lightweight championship.

He turned instant Elorde fanatic, never missing any of his fights either on radio or during replays in Manila movie houses.

Naturally, he was crushed when Elorde was stopped by Carlos Ortiz at the old Rizal Football field when they fought for the world lightweight crown proper.

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After recovering from despair, father resumed his love affair with Philippine boxing, hoping that one day a Filipino fighter would rise to again light up the international stage.

There were some, like Rolando Navarette, who stole father’s fancy, but they all fell and faded before they could go truly far.

So who was his top candidate the year he died in 1969?

It’s hard to recall now. But it’s safe to say that father would’ve felt a millionaire many times over had Manny Pacquiao risen and reigned in world boxing before Tatay died.

This will sound corny. But if there’s such a thing as a boxing theater up there, father would be ahead of all others come Sunday for a seat in the bleachers up in the sky.

So, as a centennial gift to him, I pray that God help Pacquiao win. Do it Manny, for Tatay’s sake.

In the distant possibility that Manny trips and loses, I pray that God comfort Tatay and save him from undeserved grief.

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(QUIET FIGHTER. My father, Kayong Trinidad, a born pacifist, did not see action in the Japanese war. But he proved of  great help to the town guerrillas who would loot the enemy bodega close to the Pasig River while father performed magic tricks on a make-shift stage in order to lull the sleepy Japanese soldiers. Topping the council race in his first try in 1955, father served unhampered until the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. He had many achievements but he would rather they be kept secret. When Isidro Rodriguez came to our place to extol father before his burial, the Governor of Rizal Province made a heartwarming revelation. Rodriguez said father worked hard and campaigned single-handedly to have the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge, which would’ve gobbled up our village Vergara, relocated and constructed farther up to where it is now.)