My friend Max Buan

I WOULD like to dedicate an initial column to my friend, the late Max Buan, who has opened me to a ‘writing style that I now treasure and use as my bible in writing.

As he told me once, “yang pagsusulat para lang kwentuhan sa barberya, gather mo yong data, then humanap ka ng ibang source for some other details then you have your story.

Wag kang matakot kapag nagsusulat ka. Isulat mo ang totoong pangyayari. Matakot ka kung imbento lang ang istorya.

The late Max Buan was a colleague at the Journal, publisher of People’s Journal and PJ Tonight.

I admire Max as a writer and columnist. A simple man at hindi mayabang, a friend to everybody.

The death of brother from the hands of a policeman made me to always consider Max a special friend. He was the one who helped me solve the case of my brother who was shot and killed by Pasay City cops, they mistook him as a carnapper. We won the case with the assistance of Max’s friends at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Another memorable story I hear from Max was about the Chino Roces, the old man of Manila Times during the pre- martial law years. It was about a reporter at the Manila Times wherein the said reporter had wrote a negative article about a guy who went straight to Chino, asking Chino to give the said reporter some scolding which the old man did not. Instead, he let both parties to talk and settle their differences.

The grand old man only wants to prove a thing or two in this respect. That even he is the owner of the publication, it doesn’t follow or it should not follow that you have to dictate upon the editorial staff vis-a-vis their jobs, not to interfere with his subordinates in the performance of their duties.

Sadly, this kind of attitude is now the thing of the past. Most, if not all publishers and owners of newspapers control the editorial content and direction of their newspaper. 

This happens especially if the affected ones are their friends, associates or advertisers. Too bad. Just too bad.