Then Now Thence

About the Book, "THEN NOW THENCE" Back to present times, Henares writes two letters to his 20th grandchild, Scarlet Snow Belo whom he will never see as a grown-up. He is 93 years old, she is 2, a difference of almost a century. He writes at the request of her biological father Hayden Kho who wants his daughter raised like the Henares children. In these two long letters, Henares tells Scarlet Snow of the heritage of mankind which is hers for the taking, of the Mother Principle which will govern her future, and of the career path she may pursue to be the "President of the World," as her father hopes her to be. The letters will be given to her when she reaches the age of 18, when she charts her own destiny. For President Rodrigo A. Duterte, the first president of our independent country to disavow the colonial mentality towards Mommie Dearest America, which is the root cause of the economic and political devastation of our country, Henares suggests a course advocated by Don Claro M, Recto, of pursuing an independent foreign policy at arms-length equidistance between the two super powers, USA and China. He quotes Time Magazine articles that posits China's emergence as a mature power, leading the fight against Climate Change, building a new Silken Road infrastructure that dwarfs even the Marshall Plan for altruism and open-handed generosity, at a time when President Xi assumes power as a great leader, while the USA elects its weakest and worst president, Donald Trump, who eschews the imperative problem of Climate Change and retreats behind a policy of America First and racist bigotry. His essay on dealing and bargaining with China is classic, with a rationale based and the worst scenarios. On Personalties, Henares writes of Kokoy and the Beatles, of the wonderful Alyssa Valdez, of Manny Pacquiao, of Mohammad Ali the Greatest of all, of Rene Knecht, of Rosanna his Perfect Child, of the biological mother of Opus Dei Father Bobby Latorre, of Cameron Forbes for whom Forbes Park was named, of Carlos P. Romulo, of Washington SyCip. On the Human Condition, Henares narrates tales of UP and Tau Alpha Frat, of blasting nagging women to eternal silence, of Radio Amateurs, of King Arthur and the Witch, of the Mating Game, of a long lost cousin Nicole, of Spanish habits of eating too much and working too little, of the Fourth Age of Man, and why Jews are so talented and powerful, of War, of Florence Foster Jenkins who sung but could not sing, of Cristalle his grand-daughter's wedding, of Philippine Presidents, of Radical Islam. Finally, Henares writes of our new President Rodrigo A. Duterte, for whom he drafted a Political Platform, speeches never delivered, a secret agenda never followed. He writes of his background as mayor of Davao City, admiringly as the first President ever to refuse to salivate the American sphincter ani, and liberally quotes articles of Ramon Tulfo and Teddyboy Locsin, who knew Duterte more intimately, and admire him greatly. Henares reprints the entire Inaugural Speech of the President, and the "rousing start" of his administration in the days that followed. He takes exception to the observation that Duterte is the Donald Trump of the Philippines, the evidence being that Senator Bernie Sanders is more probably the Duterte of the United States. Henares writes of the Philippine presidential election of 2016, the candidates thereof, and why Duterte was overwhelmingly voted into the Presidency. He now proposes for Duterte's consideration a proposal for a Federal Presidential Unicameral system of government, a unified Greater Manila government like Washington DC, and a "perfect" Constitution specifically forbidding family dynasties beyond the fourth degree of consanguinity, forbidding religious organizations from restricting the constitutional right to vote freely and the right to join labor unions for collective bargaining. (MORE INSIDE)