It’s been 7 years now but seems just yesterday.
Yesterday marked the 7th death anniversary of Henry Chuatico Villalva, who passed away in 2010 just before the kick-off of the World Cup in Africa due to multiple organ failure caused by a myocardial infection. He was 61.
HCV was known to many of his close friends as a ‘football guru’ – reflected by his sports column, Offside.
And with the emergence of football in the province, particularly with the success of Ceres Negros Football Club in the AFC Cup and national tournament, his name oftentimes became the topic of discussion.
Almost everyone in the football community knew him well with his contribution in the development of this sport in Negros Occidental.
Former national team standouts and varsity players remembered him as a ‘Big Brother’ and often their surrogate father who took care of them when they’re away from home during Palarong Pambansa and national tournaments.
And as one of the pillars of the local sports writing in Bacolod and Negros Occidental, Villalva was among those who established the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP)-Bacolod (a local sportswriters group) in 1989, where he was elected Vice-President to the late Angelo Visitacion, and headed the organization the next year.
For me, Henry wasn’t only a respectable sportswriter, he was a talented sports event organizer, an educator, and most of all, a friend.
This is one of the reasons why I learned to love this field and use it to help potential and deserving athletes as well as future leaders of our society gain their ground.
As the academic year 2017-2018 begins today, millions of students across the country are expected to flock in various private and public schools to be educated and be molded as great people of the Philippines. Welcome everyone and have a productive academic year./WDJ