Eight years ago, Rosario “Chat” Lachica, 58, made her first visit to the Libingan ng mga Bayani. She was there to pay her last respects to National Artist Nick Joaquin who died in his sleep on April 29, 2004.
Situated at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, the Libingan ng Mga Bayani is the final resting place of men and women honored as heroes by the Republic.
Beneath this sea of emerald grass dotted with row after row of winding white crosses rest the remains of the fallen soldiers of World War II, past Presidents, National Artists, National Scientists, and other men and women with outstanding contributions to society.
“Pumupunta ako doon, kapag walang maraming tao [I go there when there aren’t that many people]. About once or twice a year, I bring him flowers. I say a prayer or two for Nick,” Chat said.
A long-time secretary at Eternal Gardens Memorial Park Corporation (EGMPC), one of the sister-companies of Philippines Graphic, Chat considered herself extremely lucky when Graphic owner, the late Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon-Chua assigned her to be in charge of recording and transcribing Nick’s many interviews.
“Tuwang-tuwa ako na yung pinag-aralan naming sikat noong high school ay siya na pala yun. [I was so happy to find out that I was going to work with a famous person we had studied about in high school],” she said.
Known as one of the most efficient and affable secretaries in EGMPC, Chat began working in earnest with the National Artist when the latter started writing, Antonio L. Cabangon Chua: A Saga of Success.
Recalled Chat: “I am really grateful to the Ambassador for assigning me to Nick. I got to meet many important people, from Presidents to Captains of Industry. Most of all, I became friends with a man as special as Nick Joaquin.”
VALENTINE’S AND BIRTHDAYS
There is a side to the National Artist few people, unless they were his closest friends, knew about. It is a sweet peculiarity in character that Chat said she was fortunate enough to have enjoyed in the almost 14 years she knew Nick Joaquin.
“Every Valentine’s Day he would invite me and my husband Lito to join him and his friends for Valentine dinner. We were all couples: Pete and Marra Lacaba, Bill Lacaba and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Greg Brillantes, and other writers whose names I am not familiar with. One time, we’d have dinner with Nick at the Manila Hotel. The next year it would be at the Traders Hotel or Sheraton Hotel. After dinner, we’d go listen to good music at the Tap Room of the Manila Hotel or at the Cocina Bar of Century Park Sheraton,” Chat said.
Nick liked to sing, Chat said. Sometimes, Nick would belt out a mean Bato sa Buhangin, acting out the words with feeling.“Kakantahin niya: ‘Sa langit,’ sabay turo ng hintuturo sa itaas [He would sing the words, ‘In heaven,’ at the same time raising high his right arm, the point finger pointing all the way up and up],” Chat said with a much amusement.
His voice was unique, Chat added. “Ang laki ng boses niya, dumadagundong. Malakas pa. [He had a deep, big voice that rumbled. It was strong and loud].”
The diminutive and bedimpled secretary likewise related that even when Nick went ahead of them in the place they had agreed to meet, they could still easily find him, even if the place was filled with people. “We just listened for that loud voice of his and sure enough, we manage to find him.”
Chat said that Nick had a fondness for celebrating the birthdays of his friends. “Kapag birthday ko at kapag birthday ng asawa ko, pupunta yan sa bahay namin kasama sina Tony at yung iba pang messengers ng Graphic. [When it’s my birthday or my husband’s birthday, he would arrive together with Tony and the other messengers of Graphic], bringing with him celebration food – ice cream, fried chicken, lechon de leche.”
And as soon as he stepped out of the taxicab, right there in front of the Lachica residence on Antenor Street in Pandacan, Manila, within listening range of neighbors living four to five houses away from the Lachica’s, Nick Joaquin’s stentorian baritone voice would break into song: “Happy birthday, Charito! Happy birthday Charito! Happy birthday, Happy birthday, Happy birthday, Charito!” By the time he finished, the whole street knew it was Chat’s birthday.
NATIONAL ARTIST
More than a decade after Nick’s passing, stories of his extreme generosity when it came to money still cropped up in conversations regarding the most loved and respected editor-in-chief of the Philippines Graphic.
Said Chat: “Si Nick, walang ere. Mas type niyang kasama yung maliliit. [Nick had no airs. He felt more at home with the common folk]. Whenever Nick received his salary, he would call on the messengers, shouting: ‘Lapit, lapit kayo sa akin [Come, come to me],’ giving each one a hundred pesos. Nagkakagulo sila lahat [The messengers would all rush towards him].”
But there was one act of generosity that Chat said, she could never forget about the National Artist. “Alam ni Nick na mahilig ako manood ng show sa Cultural Center Yun nga lang sa mahal ng tiket, wala akong pambili minsan [Nick knew, I loved watching shows at the Cultural Center. But the tickets were so expensive I could not afford it]. When he had an extra ticket that he had not yet promised to his other friends, he gave the ticket to me. So, when word got around that the producers of Miss Saigon would be having a performance in Manila in 2000, I asked Nick if I could have tickets for the musical so I and my husband could watch it.”
“Okay, sige,” he said.
Chat said the long wait for “Miss Saigon” in Manila, made her forget about her request.
“Oy, Chat, kunin mo na sa CCP yung tiket mo sa Ms. Saigon,” Nick told her a few weeks before “Miss Saigon” opened at the CCP.
The secretary said she was surprised when it was indicated in the ticket that guests should observe formal attire: a gown for the ladies and coat and tie or barong for the men. “I told myself, maybe, this is really a very special show.”
She bought herself a violet gown and a violet shawl. Her husband donned a barong. When they arrived at the CCP, an usher led them, not to the choice seats for the press but to the choicest seats for the National Artists of the country!
“I was stunned,” Chat said, “Nick gave us his National Artist tickets!”
And so, Mrs. Chat Lachica and her husband watched the Ms. Saigon musicale with the nation’s reigning National Artists and without meaning to, rubbed elbows with Manila’s elite, even partaking of the intermission cocktails with the likes of then Pres. Joseph Estrada and then Police Chief Panfilo Lacson.—Psyche Roxas-Mendoza
First published in the Sept. 24, 2012 issue of the Philippines Graphic
