Two Monsignors

Today, friends and parishioners of Monsignor Victorino Rivas, affectionately called “Mons Vic” by most of them, will honor him on his birthday. This is an event that they have always marked ever since he started serving the Diocese of Bacolod in so many capacities, leaving his mark everywhere he was assigned. Although he is known for his simple ways, Mons Vic is probably one of the most talented and gifted members of the clergy, not only in Bacolod, but in the entire country.

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Years ago, he always shared this birthday with his mentor and friend, the late Bacolod Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich, and they celebrated it together. They also included the late Irish Columban missionary, Fr. Niall O’Brien, in the rites, although the latter once told me that, even if he was also August-born, it was not on the same date. Well, I told him, at least, you have the same horoscope. A very pleasant fellow, he just smiled at that.

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Although he has been gone a long time now, it will be a long time before the memory and the accomplishments of the late Monsignor Fortich will be forgotten in the history of the church in this country. As pastor of the people, he never shirked in his responsibility to work for the good of all sectors, to the point that he became unpopular to the powers-that-be then. But that never fazed him, he could still laugh off the attacks against him.

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But, perhaps, Bishop Fortich will be remembered best for his feat in getting the Holy Father, now Saint Pope John Paul II, to come to Bacolod City. That was a very, very memorable day for the Church, when pilgrims from all over the island, and even from neighboring towns and cities, flocked to Bacolod to see and listen to the very popular and charismatic head of the Church. Although Fortich was berated by one of the leading powers in the province later for the stinging words of the Holy Father, that never dented his happiness and, truth to tell, the effects of the Papal admonitions.

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And one of those who gave Bishop Fortich his full unstinting support then was Mons Vic, whom he treated like a son. Mons Vic had been assigned to other parishes, but always came back to Bacolod where he, like “Mons Fortich”, will always be honored and respected. Happy Birthday, Mons Vic! May the Lord always bless you with good health and inspiration in your work – from your “double pariente”.

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The report in the international media the other day about the conviction of two of the remaining leaders of the notorious Khmer Rouge that ruled Cambodia in the 1970s, evoked depressing memories about the state of that country and its people. After a more democratic regime took over, we went to Cambodia sometime in the ‘90s and even then, the effects of that horrible regime were still very visible.

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The first time we ventured into the streets we were appalled by the sight of so many people, both young and old, crawling around. Some had no legs, others no arms, some missing a leg or an arm, and all of them dragging their bodies on the streets, begging. “What happened to them?” my companion asked our guide, an employee at the Philippine Embassy then. “They are victims of landmines”, the guide said. It seems the Khmer Rouge followers, before fleeing or getting caught, had planted land mines everywhere, so that they were blowing up all the time, dismembering those who happened to be in the area.

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The worst part of our trip there was the visit to the place called Cheung Ek, just outside Phnom Penh, where they had structures walled in glass where tiers and tiers of skulls were displayed. We were told those were the skulls of the intellectuals, the professionals and the talented civilians who were hunted down and killed or beheaded, because they were threats to the Khmer government. I interviewed the caretaker for a long time, and he said he, too, lost all the members of his family to the Khmer Rouge executioners.

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When I asked him how his family members were killed, he pointed to the wild plants growing around the place that were like giant pineapple plants with their leaves so hard and edged with “teeth” as if they were saws. “They used that to cut the heads of some of my brothers.” How horrible! We all exclaimed”. They did that to everyone, nobody was spared”, he said. And now only two old men, one aged 83 and the other 88, are being made to answer for that, as the others have already died. Their penalty is life imprisonment, and at their age now, how long will that be? Is there justice there, in any way?*

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