In his twilight, his vision endures

A tribute to Jose De Venecia Jr.

- By ALDWIN B. REQUEJO

JOSE DE VENECIA JR. Former Speaker of the House

As you turn 90 on Dec. 26, Sir, I find myself returning to words I once wrote — not to revise history, but to remember it. Ninety years is a long arc of a life, one that has witnessed the rise and fall of governments, the shifting tides of nations, and the enduring struggle between conflict and peace.

Time has moved gently since then. Your steps are slower now, your voice softer, your once-boundless energy tempered by the years. You may no longer possess the same vigor or the commanding eloquence with which you once held audiences for hours, speaking without notes, weaving fact, wisdom, and vision into a single living narrative.

Yet though time has claimed its due, your vision remains steady, luminous, and enduring.

There are men who walk into history, and there are those who shape it. You, Sir, belong to the latter.

For nearly three decades, I had the rare honor of walking beside you through the halls of power, through airports and motorcades, through long nights of travel. In the many countries we visited, I saw firsthand how deeply respected you were by heads of state and government, and how naturally you moved among presidents, prime ministers, and royalty not with pretense, but with an ease born of trust earned over time. Beyond the five-time Speaker and Asian statesman, I came to know the dreamer who believed peace was possible, and that politics, at its best, could serve both national progress and the human spirit.

In one Southeast Asian country, we flew by helicopter from the capital to the countryside with the host country's Deputy Prime Minister and several regional leaders. Upon arrival, I was assigned to another vehicle while you rode in "Vehicle No. 1."