MAY ilang fond memories ang TV host na si Butch Francisco of Armida Siguion-Reyna (SLN).
“I was 18 years old then when (theatre director) Floy Quintos sent me to interview her (for a broadsheet) as he couldn’t go,” simula ni Butch patungkol sa panahong nag-uumpisa pa lang siyang magsulat.
When his article had seen print ay nagustuhan daw ito ni Tita Midz. Du’n na raw namuo ang fondness ng actress-producer sa kanya.
At some point ay meron ding naisulat si Butch (bilang paksa ng kanyang column) tungkol sa pamimigay ng awards ng noo’y TV show produced by Tita Midz kung saan ito rin ang isa sa mga hosts.
Maselan daw ang nilalaman ng kanyang column as it had exposed some unknown facts as to the results of the awarding exercise taliwas sa inilabas at nailathala sa isang tabloid as written by one of Tita Midz’s co-program hosts (hindi na namin babanggitin kung sino, but he’s stll active in the entertainment writing business).
Butch’s piece was in defense of the latter, na sa isip-isip niya could be a reason for Tita Midz to somehow get agitated.
By accident ay nagkita sila sa isang showbiz gathering. Malayo pa lang daw ay nakita na ni Butch si Tita Midz, but there was no way he could avoid not bumping into her dahil doon din naman siya dadaan.
Apprehensive na raw si Butch as he was casually going near Tita Midz, pero tinawag daw siya nito. “Butch!” bati nito, kasunod ng malumanay na paliwanag with reference to his published column. Butch could only listen to Tita Midz’s side of the story (as if he had any other choice).
Hindi siyempre nakaligtas kay Butch ang malungkot na balitang namaalam na ang actress-producer kamakailan. He had to eagerly find out kung saan ang burol nito mula sa kanyang kaibigang si Malou Choa-Fagar of TAPE, Inc.
Butch never wanted to miss the wake, pero he was half-certain na ihihimlay ang mga labi ni Tita Midz sa Manila Memorial Park, ang pag-aari nito. Sa Heritage Park ito ibinurol as Tita Midz had converted into Christian.
Clueless as to which cancer type Tita Midz succumbed to, ang alam ni Butch ay matagal na itong may dementia perhaps attributed to the loss of her husband.
“I remember Tita Midz telling me, in the middle of the night daw, babangon siya to go to the CR. But she’d stop to sit in front of her dresser. Pag upo niya, nagtataka daw siya kung bakit nandu’n siya only to realize that she woke up kasi nga magbabanyo siya,” kuwento ni Butch.
The same episode would occur. Nakapagbanyo na raw si Tita Midz but before going back to her bed ay uupo itong muli sa harapan ng kanyang dresser, pero nagtataka why she found herself staring in the mirror.
In the course of our phone convo with Butch ay pareho kaming sumang-ayon sa paninindigan ni Tita Midz sa kalayaan pagdating sa sining ng pelikula. As we all knew, isa si Tita Midz sa mga matatapang na nagsulong ng mga karapatan sa malayang sining lalung-lalo na noong rehimen ni Marcos kesehodang syupatembang niya si Manong Johnny (Juan Ponce Enrile).
“Funny this was,” natatawa ring kuwento ni Butch, “Noong nakulong si Behn Cervantes (SLN), nagpapasaklolo si Tita Midz kay Manong Johnny!”
Maiba naman kami since there’s reference to Enrile na nais muling maluklok sa Senado sa kabila ng plunder case na kinaharap din.
Now that his sister’s peacefully gone ay harinawang basbasan ito ng heavenly grace. Sa mga natitisod kasi naming survey, mukhang one-eighth ng edad nito’y ang ranggo niya sa mga senatorial candidates, lampas sa doseng bilang na dapat lang pumasok.
Mamahinga na rin kasi siya yet still breathing.