EULOGY of SEN. SERGE OSMEÑA
For the late Senator Juan M. Flavier
17 November 2014
Senate of the Philippines

Mr. Senate President, Mrs. Susan Flavier, members of the Flavier family, current and former members of the Philippine Senate, distinguished guests, our dear associates in the Senate establishment, friends.

At the risk of being irreverent, I must opine that Sen. Johnny Flavier was shooed away from the gates of Heavens. Sabi po ni Saint Peter, "Hoy, bawal ang bata dito!"

Those were the opening lines of Johnny's campaign speech when we first ran for the Senate in 1995. And those words always, without exception, brought the house down.

He would continue with his jokes, many of them one-liners, and leave the audiences rolling in stitches during his 7-minute spiel.

Johnny was far and away the crowd favorite. I recall, when former President Fidel Ramos commissioned the first senatorial survey in 1994, Johnny was the runaway leader - garnering 65% of the vote. The second placer came in at 35%.

His batchmates included Senate President Marcelo Fernan, Senate President Frank Drilon, Senator Jun Magsaysay, Senator Raul Roco, Senator Francisco Tatad, Senator Arroyo, Senator Enrile and me. We merely hanged on to his coattails.

After having listened with fascination to Johnny dozens of times, I asked him, "Johnny, how come you are so good at holding an audience?"

He explained, "I have been going to the barrios for 40 years. I have learned that to keep their attention, you have to keep them alive and attentive through jokes. Listen to my speech, I tell six jokes and in one sentence, I talk about my medical program, then I go back to telling jokes."

I vividly recall there was this one chubby, middle-aged woman in one of our town rallies in Cebu. She has gently elbowed her way to the front and in 2 minutes, she had tears rolling down her cheeks, in laughter.

One night, before a very small rally of about 200 people, I asked Johnny if I could deliver his speech, which I had already memorized. He graciously agreed, and I shamefully failed to elicit the same type of laughter.

Johnny was a great member of this institution. He humbly became the quorum maker - so called, as Senator Miriam earlier explained, because we need at least 2 senators to compose a quorum. When, invariably, 4 or 5 committee hearings are being conducted at the same time, one or two hearings may not begin for lack of quorum, and that's when a call would be made to Johnny's staff.

Sen. Flavier, of course, was our "go-to" guy on the floor of the Senate when proposed bills concerning health, environment, minorities, and education would be debated on. His counsel would always be wise, learned and far-reaching.

His ways were simple. He had no airs. He was always for the common man. And he exuded and laid down the proper values and the principles by which all men must live.

The great Senator Jose W. Diokno once said, "If life means having a good time, money, fame, power, security - then you don't need principles; all you need are techniques. On the other hand, if happiness counts more than a good time, respect more than fame, right more than power and peace of soul more than security; if death does not end life but transforms it, then you must be true to yourself and to God."

Johnny Flavier transformed many lives. He certainly was a big inspiration to me and to so many millions of Filipinos.

Thank you Johnny for being what you are and what you were. I am positive, as I shall always pray, that the Paradise you are in will not prohibit children.

But here on earth, you will always be lovingly remembered as a funny, genial, gentle giant - the giant in the Senate, the giant of the barrios, the giant among Filipinos.