MTRCB Chair Villareal: I heard Liezl’s voice

Toto Villareal

Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chair, shared his experience hearing board member Liezl Martinez’s voice shortly after she died of cancer.

He said: “I went to the office earlier than usual, around 8:30 a.m. In my room is a framed metal image of the Our Lady of Montserrat, which Liezl gave me as pasalubong from one of her trips. I accidentally glanced at the image and suddenly heard her voice saying, ‘Wag ka nang mag-alala. I’m in a better place.’ It was unmistakably hers! When I ‘heard’ her, I did not feel frightened but felt more at peace.

“When someone passes away, I’m convinced that life does not end (for that person), it just changes. I will never forget what a Priest of the Work and a Jesuit mentor have taught me: oremus pro invicem. This phrase in Latin means, ‘Let us pray for one another’ wherever we may be. —MARINEL R. CRUZ