THE BEEKEEPER
BY Pet Melliza

Twenty-six years ago, unarmed Filipinos in their hundreds of thousands took to the streets to reinforce a motley band of mutineers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) about to be decimated by superior forces loyal to dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

We commemorate that event when the fascist Marcos was toppled on February 25. But yours truly was in no mood to drop yellow confetti to celebrate a victory that was hijacked by ruling elite in cahoots with its US master.

No fundamental social change happened. The Philippines remained a colony of the US and an enclave of a minority who dominate the country’s socio-economic life.

Filipinos, the overwhelming majority of them, remain at the receiving end of backwardness, penury and military abuse.

Victims of human rights violations under the Marcos dictatorship still cry for justice and their number grows because subsequent regimes continue the same method that Marcos used in dealing with poverty and its twin social unrest – political repression.

Bullets and bombs instead of bread and justice to address social inequity.

Our natural resources are still up for grabs that expose Filipinos to disasters while the wealth of their land go to foreign plunderers.

Under the Arroyo regime, government unleashed death squads that led to the summary killing of over 1,000 and the disappearance of over 200, mostly from the unarmed opposition.

Be that as it may, all is not depressing yet. May I reiterate the question: Who is Paulino Alcantara?

He is “Asia’s best player of all time.” He is Filipino, an Ilonggo at that. He retired from football in 1927 to practice medicine full-time. (Rappler (http://www.rappler.com/sports/1787-fc-barcelona-s-highest-goal-scorer-in-history-is-pinoy).

He died in Barcelona in 1964 but he is not forgotten. His name lives on.

The Federation l’Internationale Football Association (FIFA) in 2007 calls him “the best Asian player of all time”. Futbol Club FC Barcelona regards him as “the best symbol or hero of the Philippine's footballing past". - Rappler.com

Futbol Club Barcelona celebrates the centennial of his debut where he scored a “hat trick” against the Catalan Sporting Club. He was just 15 when he played his starter game, February 25, where his team Barca wrested the Catalonian League Championship, 9 – 0.

Three of that were delivered by the skinny teenager born to a Spanish father and Ilongga mother. The Alcantaras moved to Spain when Paulino, born in Iloilo, was only three years old.

His record in soccer is phenomenal. At 13, he played for the youth team. Two years later, he was recruited in the Barca team where he pulled off the hat trick in his first game.

In 1916, his family moved back to the Philippines. It was a blessing to Philippine football history. In the next year, 1917, Paulino played for the Philippine national team. He contributed a crucial role in the 15-2 victory over Japan to clinch the Far Eastern championship games in Tokyo.

That was the Philippines’ highest win in international soccer competition. The present Philippine Team (Azkhals) is yet to replicate that feat.

Paulino moved back to Spain in 1917. In his absence, team Barca never won any championship game.

There were only about a hundred people who watched Paulino’s starter game but his superb performance of contributing three points in the 9-0 win over Catalan but the story spread fast. His football skills, particularly the power of his kicks, continued to amaze.

Making three goals in a single game is called “hat trick.” Sport writers coined another term, “police goal”, in 1919, seven years after Paulino’s debut in a game against Real Sociedad. He kicked the ball at the time when a police officer was crossing the goal. The kick was so strong that the ball – and the cop – ended up inside the net.

In 1922, five years after, sports scribes coined another moniker for him, “Trencaxarxes”, or “net breaker” after a game against France. Paulino’s goal ripped through the net. "For many years after, children from Barcelona would recall that moment and would wish to do the same as the man from the Philippines," read the website. That net-piercing goal was unforgettable.