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