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Made by the Family of Valeriano "Bobit" Segura Avila
Edited by Kirsten Erica Avila Tequillo
“No one can be a man until his father had died?” Jordan Peterson attributes this aphorism to Sigmund Freud and it rings true in these days, a year after Dad Valeriano “Bobit” Avila’s death. For decades, he spoke and wrote nonstop like he’s running out of time. His legacy is no other than to shoot straight and to do it straight from the sky, like a lethal bullet from an unexpected place. His metaphors flow from his love of firearms and they offer a shorthand to his stockpile of books on war, conflict, and history, which have now found their temporary sanctuary in the shelves of our law office, a library for the history and permutations of human conflict, meant to console those enveloped by the darkness of disagreement or those caught by the throes of war.
He must have written for more than three decades and this compilation is not made to give justice to his life as a journalist, but to let part of his voice reverberate into time and maybe even into timelessness, into the minds of the people who hold the memory of his friendship close to their hearts. He stood for freedom of speech and at the risk of earning the ire of the country’s richest and most powerful leaders and citizens, he lent his voice to be the voice of dissent. He thus helped to make our democracy work. He now left us not only with a legacy but also a challenge. In the uncertain times that await us as a country and as a democracy, how may we shoot straight and from the sky in order to preserve our most cherished values as a people?
Born on May 24, 1951, Bobit Avila lived a fruitful seventy-one years on this Earth. He was born into a family of 5, and as the third child born, he was the middle child. At a young age, he started to show his love for historical artifacts, as he would go around his neighborhood playing in tanks. As he grew older, he started to use his love for history to study both Philippine and international history more deeply. He then started to take interest in different activities, as he started to take up the different hobbies of shooting in ranges, golfing, flying airplanes, writing, and hosting shows on tv.
From being a contributor to both the Freeman and the Philippine Star, to hosting
Straight from the Sky on tv for over twenty-one years, Bobit Avila made his mark on the media world. In addition to this, his writing skills from the media extended to him helping to author a book called the “War in Cebu” that highlighted some events of World War II in Cebu.
Apart from his achievements and contributions to Philippine society, Bobit was also a family man. He was the husband to Jessica Avila, a father to two daughters and one son, and a grandfather to two grandsons and three granddaughters. In spite of his busy schedule, he would always find time to spend with his family to meals, gatherings, Sunday Masses, and vacations abroad.
