My Walk with Don Emilio Aguinaldo by Bro Sergio T. Peña

As I was reading an old copy of my Cabletow magazine (March-April 1996, Vol 72 No 6), I came across this article written by a brother from my mother lodge.

Bro Sergio T. Peña was born on August 12, 1924 in Amadeo, Cavite. He worked in the US Naval Base in Subic Public Works Center. He was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on July 26, 1962 and was raised as a Master Mason on October 6, 1962 in Lincoln Lodge No 34.

The editor noted that Bro Sergio wrote the article from Poway, California.

Here is his story:

"It was on a hot summer day in the early 1930's when General Emilio Aguinaldo visited the local chapter of the Veteranos de la Revolucion, the association of veterans of the two wars for Philippine independence, in my old hometown of Amadeo, Cavite.

Because there was no access road for motor vehicles leading to the town proper at the time, the aging veterans had to meet the general and his entourage where the paved road ended many kilometers away. From there they travelled the rest of the way on foot.

On both sides of the narrow street into position we scampered and in awe and deep admiration watched the approaching dignitaries followed by the old, yet proud veterans.

Inexplicable pride swelled in my heart when I saw my father walking with his comrade-in-arms, looking so dignified and honorable with the wounded soldier's medal pinned on his left breast. The medal, he had told me, was awarded to him for the wounds he sustained during the Battle of Zapote Bridge.

Many weeks before, I had pictured and rehearsed in my mind what I would do when I would meet the celebrated general come the momentous day of his visit. And so, as my friends were shouting and jumping and clapping their hands, I rushed toward the middle of the street and stopped a few feet in front of the approaching dignitaries. I stood at attention and smartly saluted the great general the way I had secretly practiced a thousand times behind my grandmother's santol tree.

Unexpectedly, General Aguinaldo stopped, thus stalling the spirited walk of the old revolucionarios who were following closely behind. He smiled at me, leaned a little forward, and gently patted my left cheek. Before I fully realized what had happened, I found myself proudly walking beside the famous general, his left hand resting upon my dishevelled head, my unshod feet laboriously straining to keep up with his long strides.

Three scores and five years have passed since that chance encounter, but the poignant memory of that boyhood scene refuses to die in my heart. It refuses to die because, to me, that event marked the spontaneous revelation of Don Emilio's magnanimity. He opted to stall the heroes' enthusiastic walk just to return the awkward salute and pat the grimy cheek of a barefoot sharecropper's son who walked a dozen steps with him on a dusty street long ago.

What makes a man and a Mason great? I guess it is charity that comes straight from the heart."

I guess that is why Bro Sergio T. Peña also become a Freemason like our Bro General Emilio Aguinaldo!

(The Cabletow, pages 16-17, March-April 1996).