Thank you, Reynaldo Wycoco

Lucid Interval : Thank you, Reynaldo Wycoco

First posted 05:55am (Mla time) Dec 27, 2005
By Rowena Guanzon
INQ7.net

THERE is a saying that a man brings his character to his grave. But our friend Reynaldo Wycoco’s character survives his grave because we remember him with admiration and affection.
Wycoco died at 59, although he predicted that he would die at 60. I don’t know what made him say that, but he must have thought so because as Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, not a few people probably wanted him dead. We called him Wykes. He was the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) Alumni Association vice president, and our poster boy of an honest and competent public servant.

Wykes had his faults, like all humans do, but he was humble, bright and kind. Although he occupied a powerful position, he was not a bit arrogant. He was well liked by his friends, and even by people he had just met. He was loyal to his friends, always returned calls, and no matter how busy he was, always replied to text messages. I always return friends’ calls because I never know when it is really important.
Print this story
Send this story
Write the editor
Reprint this article
View other stories

Maybe Wykes returned calls because he thought that one never knows when it would be his last. Two days after his last birthday on November 10, he had a ruptured aneurysm. He was in a coma for 26 days before he passed away.

As if giving us a farewell message, he replied to all the text messages during his birthday, and quoted Voltaire’s ” You will live in this world but once. Any kindness that you can do or goodness you can show, do or show it now for you will not pass this way again.”

I have many things to thank Wykes for, aside from his friendship. When women’s rights lawyer Atty. Arbet Yongco, who was private prosecutor in a parricide case against Ruben Ecleo, was killed by an assassin in Cebu, I asked Wykes’ help to make sure that the suspects would be arrested. Although he was then abroad, he sent a text message that he was returning home and promised to act immediately. In less than 48 hours, Wykes called me to say that the suspect was arrested by the NBI.

I also tested his good judgment in another case. When Lorna Kapunan and I were handling a rape with homicide case, we were surprised that one of the respondents was escorted by four NBI agents in the prosecutor’s office. He was a son of a former immigration official and I was sure he had clout in the NBI. His lawyer could not quite say if he surrendered to the NBI or he is lodging there for his protection. In any event, I found the whole thing objectionable and I called Wykes to complain that taxpayers money should not be spent escorting rape suspects to hearings unless it is meant to make sure they don’t flee. The respondent’s story is that his life was in danger. From whom, I do not know, but certainly not from Atty. Kapunan or me. In less than two hours, Wykes called me up to say that they have informed the man to leave the NBI’s premises.

Wykes was genuinely interested in women’s rights issues, and especially in going after syndicates involved in trafficking in persons. Women’s rights advocates remember that when Wykes was with the Philippine National Police (PNP), he was responsible for setting up the women’s and children’s desks. The women’s desks were initiated by Kalakasan, a non-governmental organization that helps battered women. Today, the PNP women’s desks help thousands of abused women and that is Wykes’ legacy.

I hope that while Wykes was alive I have thanked him enough for all these and for being the kind of man he was.

Copyright 2005 INQ7.net. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2005 at 2:50 pm and is filed under INQ7 Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.