Southland Filipinos Hold Joyous Manila Reunion

“I will kiss the ground,” said Ramon Alcazar, an Orange County businessman who was met today at Manila International Airport by family, friends and photographers. “Where’s the nearest ground?”

Alcazar led a group of 11 Los Angeles-area Filipinos back to their home country and new government. Their flight from Los Angeles was measured in hours, but the return had taken years.

Their exile ended, they made a commitment to work for the government of President Corazon Aquino, even at the cost of the livelihoods they had built in California.

Alcazar, 70, a former Philippine navy chief of staff, was jailed briefly when President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law in 1972. He had been sacked from his Navy post by Marcos in 1966, and called himself the ousted president’s “first victim” in a campaign to fill the top ranks of the military with personal favorites.

Alcazar has a real estate business in the city of Orange.

Another member of the group, Manuel Leelin of Cerritos, said: “We wanted to come here to do our part to help this new democracy . . . including bringing in capital to prop up the economy.”

Leelin is owner of the Goldilocks chain of bakeries, of which five are in the Los Angeles area. He said that he has a contract to produce hamburger buns for the McDonald’s restaurants here. Leelin, who was active in the opposition here, also was jailed under martial law before moving to California.

A third member of the group was Raul Daza, an attorney and exiled opposition figure, who had initially returned to Manila last August.

The group was met at the airport by representatives of Juan Ponce Enrile, the defense minister. The navy sent an escort for Alcazar.

The traditional Philippine welcome of sampaguita leis, made of a sweet-smelling flower, was presented to the returnees, who wore yellow ribbons signifying their allegiance to Aquino.

Both Alcazar and Leelin have American passports and had returned briefly before.

“I can’t describe how it feels to be home,” said Alcazar. “At Bataan and Corregidor we fought for our freedom, which was taken away by Mr. Marcos. Now, we have our freedom back.”