No farewell for Domeng

PAL president Jaime J. Bautista had very much wanted to pay his last respects but for a very busy schedule, including having to celebrate his wedding anniversary on the Tribute Night for Domeng on Friday.

Domingo Tolentino Duerme will be brought to his final resting place today, Feb. 23, at Cosmopolitan in Davao City.

They will bury Domeng’s mortal remains but not the fond memories he had left behind.

Surely, we all grieve over the passing of a man as gentle as the winds of Mt. Apo, who suddenly succumbed to a deadly disease and left us so abruptly for reasons only God knows—as always.

We’ve known each other for more than 30 years, our friendship blooming in the fabled PAL Interclub Golf.

I was a sportswriter covering the event, he as organizing committee chairman when our paths met.

I still cover it and, in fact, only days after leaving Davao for Manila, I’ll fly next to Cebu to cover this year’s PAL Interclub edition.

Besides my unwavering commitment to cover the PAL Interclub for as long as I am able, I also make it a point to join the PAL Media Golf Tournament.

Its staging is sandwiched by the PAL Seniors and the PAL Men’s, becoming a yearly event since its birth in the early 80s.

This year, the PAL Media golf is on March 3-4 at the Cebu Country Club and Alta Vista, respectively.

If Domeng were around, he would have gladly joined us—as he did in the many years that he was the PAL Interclub’s top gun.

“Joining you guys in your own tournament always gives me a sense of belonging,” he once said to me as we walked down the fairway in the company of Jake P. Ayson, whom Domeng loved so dearly, in one Media golf tournament.

At the time of his passing, Domeng was president/chairman of both the Planters Products and the Asian Institute of Aviation. I am a director of both entities.

Who would have thought he’d become my boss?

Indeed, fate has a way with us, mere mortals.

PAL president Jaime J. Bautista, Domeng’s long-time buddy, had very much wanted to pay his last respects but for a very busy schedule, including having to celebrate his wedding anniversary on the Tribute Night for Domeng on Friday.

If there’s someone truly deserving of the tag as the most humble person on earth, it should be Domeng hands-down.

There’s no farewell, Domeng. Just the signing of your scorecard