Braulio Balbas

I knew him as Jun Balbas, a darn good tennis player even at the tender age of 80. As his many friends and admirers would soon enlighten me though, The General was also one of the honorable participants in the EDSA Peoples Power Revolution, which led to the departure of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the end of his 21-year presidential rule, and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. He explained to me that his loyalty was always to the Constitution, and as such he resisted orders to fire upon demonstrators with the tanks and troops under his command. In my book, that puts him in the highest ranks of freedom loving people throughout the world. May he not be forgotten.