He’s not a decorated war hero whose exploits during the last world war are celebrated in a book or film. His service in the British army earned him the rank of a captain. Now he is the most renowned fundraiser around the globe, personally raising the equivalent of $40 million after he started during the Holy Week and ended on his 100th birthday anniversary on April 30. At the beginning of April, his birthday month, he vowed to raise funds by walking around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday.
His modest goal was to raise 1,000-pound sterling for the benefit of the National Health Service (NHS), which is at the forefront of his country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic. His daughter issued a press release for the local news to generate interest and publicity. It caught national attention and was quickly picked up by the global media. Captain Tom Moore became an instant celebrity. He appeared in national news and was even featured live on BBC Breakfast. He recorded a duet with a famous British balladeer, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” which is now on its way to topping the charts. Huge crowds gathered daily outside his house to watch him walk up and down his garden aided by his walking frame. A guard of honor from the Yorkshire Regiment lined up on both sides of his path when he completed his 100th lap. On his 100th birthday, Captain Moore received more or less 160,000 cards greeting him on his centennial year on Earth. The local post office had worked around the clock to handle the deluge of cards coming from all over the world.
Captain Moore started the fundraising “for the sake of the nurses and the NHS we have, because they are doing such a magnificent job.” His birthday was marked by a Royal Air Force fly-past over Belford and personal greetings from the Queen and PM Boris Johnson. He said that “reaching 100 is quite something. Reaching 100 with such interest in me and huge generosity from the public is very overwhelming.”
Captain Moore will be one of the biggest stories in this age of pandemic. His wonderful effort has inspired millions of people all over the planet and demonstrated that a centenarian with a heart of gold can capture everyone’s imagination. When interviewed live on BBC and asked about his monumental feat, he remarked: “Remember tomorrow is a good day, tomorrow you will maybe find everything will be much better than today.”
Truly, these are gems of words that we shall treasure from a remarkable centenarian who has given us hope in these darkest hours.
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Lest we forget amid our preoccupation with the Covid-19 pandemic, we are now on the halfway mark of the 180-day deadline of the VFA termination notice, which the Philippine government has served to the US on February 11, 2020. I’m sure that somebody up there is keeping tabs on this while we still have time to assess the full import of President Duterte’s decision to withdraw from the VFA.
The VFA became effective on May 27, 1999 upon its ratification by the Philippine Senate and is set to expire on August 9, 2020, 180 days after the Philippine government has officially notified the US government of its intention to terminate the VFA. Before the VFA expires, the parties may still agree otherwise during the 180-day cooling off period.
Everybody concurs that a withdrawal from the bilateral agreement shall have grave implications for the US-Philippine alliance, which widely covers security, economic and cultural aspects. Our historic partnership borne out of colonial relationship and war struggle against a common enemy is historic, deep and wide-ranging. The VFA was ratified to allow US military presence in our country after the closure of the US military bases. There are still opportunities to save the VFA, or for the two countries to come up with a new or better mechanism. During the 180-day cooling off period, the Philippines may cancel the notice to terminate or the parties may agree to renegotiate, review or amend the VFA.
When the proposed scrapping of the VFA was taken up in the Senate in February, I recall Senator Koko Pimentel, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, saying that the VFA is now due for review.
The VFA is a deterrent to China’s aggression, which has become more blatant recently as recent reports would show. Without the protective umbrella of the US firepower, China’s expansionist ambition shall be unchallenged and its assertiveness and predatory moves will rule the West Philippine Sea. This will tilt the balance of power in our region in favor of China. A joint military patrol by the smaller claimant countries to check Chinese navy incursions will hardly be a match. Are we open to renegotiate for a better agreement that will effectively serve our interest or shall we let the VFA expire?
With his friend, President Donald J. Trump, on the other side of the bargaining table, President Duterte now has an opportunity to strike a new deal that will reflect his strong independent stance vis-à-vis a foreign power. Let’s hope that the lockdown will force our leaders to rethink our position on the VFA and give them the light to think soberly and prudently on a critical issue, which will define our nation in the future.