Within the course of one week, two people who have made an impact in my life in completely different ways have passed away. One was the renowned comic-book creator Gerry Alanguilan and the other was the revered lawyer Sabino Padilla, Jr. Most of the people who read this blog will no doubt be familiar with the former, though not the latter, but even though this is my "pop culture" blog I thought it fitting to give an obituary for both of them here, because as different as they may have been, in one way they were strikingly similar people.
To get straight to the point, both Gerry and Atty. Bing, hugely successful in their own areas of professional expertise, devoted their lives to advocacy far bigger than themselves and their own personal advancement. Gerry, an incomparably talented illustrator, will just as likely be remembered for the fact that he championed the preservation of Filipino Komiks as an art form, and fought for the rights of creators to a just share of the money earned by their creations. Atty. Bing, for his part, shunned big corporate accounts and defended the interest of clients who, generally, couldn't fight for themselves.
Both these men, in short fought for causes bigger than themselves; they took a stand on issues, not always the most popular one, but always the most principled one. They were utterly inspiring to me, both for their consummate mastery of their craft and their I may have known Atty. Bing a lot better than Gerry, but I will remember them both fondly, always.
May you both find your eternal reward, gentlemen.
