US Congress in Capitol Hill

My first three trips to Washington DC were with the Philippine presidents.  First was during the working visit of President Fidel V. Ramos,  second was the working visit of Pres. Joseph Ejercito Estrada,  the third was during the last visit here of Pres. Gloria Arroyo when her term was ending.  I was the only,  repeat,  the ONLY business person who  joined in that trip to show my support to the government.  I confirmed late because walang gustong sumama.  Ewan kung bakit.  DTI called and made pakiusap for me to join.  Ako naman walang political affiliation,  basta kung sino ang presidente,  I recognize, respect and give my support. I could still remember when GMA realized I was the only business sector there, she came up to me and held my two hands, ang tagal, parang she appreciated my presence. She looked at my eyes and she told me to come with her to a meeting yata in SFO. She called one of the cabinet men to get my details and make the necessary arrangement. Naku nalimutan ko na name nya, Secretary D___, oh my I forgot. Hindi naman ako sumama kasi tila meron na akong ibang compromiso.

In all those three trips,  I have never been inside the Capitol Hill building.  hanggang labas lang kami.  This is the first time that I was able to see what’s inside this imposing structure in Washington, DC.

It was raining and I made the mistake of wearing this strappy step-in.  The steps were one too many.   The walkways were cemented pebbles, kaya ang hirap lumakad.  I was tiptoeing.

It was about 500 meters uphill walk to reach the entrance from where the shuttle dropped us off.

Security was tight. No belts, no clips, no jackets, no metal objects.
The men took off their jackets. When it was my turn, the security officer motioned me to take off mine too. I shook my head side to side. He used sign language for me to unbutton and take it off.

I made kirong again. I pulled the shoulder a little git down and used my hand to motion no pwede. He understood and allowed me to pass through. Maburlesan na ako kung hubarin ko. I didn’t wear an inner blouse, just a sando.

Daming istatwa dito.

All drinking fountains were made of brass and they looked so clean and shiny.

CSIS Washington coordinator, Nahmyo Tomas and Philippine Daily Inquirer Publisher Dean Raul Pangalangan. Raul pala was one of the nominees for Supreme Court Justice.

We passed numerous doors and countless stairs to reach the office of the Speaker of the House.
Nahmyo with Raymond Garcia, DFNN President.

After going up two more flights of grand stairs, side stairs, and spiral staircase, we’ve finally reached the speaker’s office. Too many doors in this building, It’s easy to get lost.

We were received by the speaker’s young assistant, Raoul, a native of Spain.

No picture taking, this is a stolen shot of their conference room.

This is the original ceiling and is painted in real gold.

View from the window. After this shot, I was reminded that photos are not allowed. Okay.

We were ushered to the speaker’s receiving lounge and we were able to touch his tiny desk which is located by the window, with this grand view. The speaker daw is a simple man having been born from poverty. He has a golf handicap of 3. Wow.

Raoul led us into the balcony where he allowed us to take as much photos as we wanted. It was rainy and foggy.

Benjamin Contreras, CSIS,  Ernie Bower, Antonio Lopa, Nini Alvero, Raul Pangalangan, Jeffrey Ng,  Andrew Tinder, Benjamin Philip Romualdez, Babe Romualdez (partly hidden)

Raul, Jeffrey, Andrew, Philip, Babe, Raoul, Antonio Cojuangco, Jun Bella, Raymond Garcia

Raoul is so strikingly good-looking. My colleagues were teasing me to get his number. At mag pa-picture daw kaming dalawa. Eto talagang mga ito, ano ako, mamasan, cougar, ksp, dirty old woman. Nung nakita kong tall and handsome, naisip ko agad anak ko si Oyen, mukhang bagay sila. But I think the boy is a lot younger kasi he just graduated daw this year. Baka 22 lang yun.

From here, we walked past several doors, long hallways again and more stairs, to be continued.

Photography by Dean Raul Pangalangan.