“Don’t be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.” –Richard Bach

The late Iloilo City Councilor Armand Parcon was my first broadcast media buddy, alongside Francis Hinayhinay (his colleague at the now-defunct DYRP Radyo Tagring). When the pair left the station, they became “Bombo Armand” and “Bombo Francis.”
When I was assigned to the Capitol beat during the administration of Iloilo Governor Simplicio ‘Sim’ Grino from 1989 to 1991, Parcon and I were almost inseparable. He and I also contemplated changing professions and we both took the Department of Foreign Affairs foreign service exam—neither of us made it.
During most of out-of-town trips to gather reports, another DYRP mainstay, Arsenio ‘Kamlon’ Ang, who was then reporting for now-defunct DYXX-TV, joined us regularly.
When I was assigned to City Hall after the 1992 election, it was Parcon’s turn to be assigned to the same beat, replacing “Bombo Abe Beatingo.” We, alongside several others, formed the Iloilo City Hall Press Corps; and when it came time for elections, I was elected president and Parcon was named treasurer.
He was well aware the press corps, under my presidency, “owed” be P5,000 after the organization ran out of funding during the inauguration ceremony.
In his final message to me, Parcon said he was looking forward to joining me and Hinayhinay when I get back to our former favorite “watering hole,” the “batchoysan” inside Iloilo Central Market.
The broadcaster who went on to become a city councilor passed away last Thursday after a week of confinement at the West Visayas State University Medical Center. He reportedly succumbed to complications from pneumonia.
Rest in peace, Pare Armand.

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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ