MANILA, Philippines?High school batch 2008 of De La Salle Zobel listened intently to the valedictory message of Katrina C. Angeles, 17, during their recent graduation rites. Kat is the best friend of Gig Robles, who recently fell to his death from a hotel balcony.

Speech

Because of Gig's passing, Kat revised her speech, "Endings and Beginnings." We quote: "Endings hit in different ways, like the last page in a book, credits in a movie, termination, break-ups, graduation and death. I'm apprehensive about endings-especially after what happened to Gig.

"I remember him telling me: 'Never fear endings because they only mean beginnings.' He left this imperfect world for a much better place we can only dream of. Carpe diem! Seize the day. Let us live life to the fullest without regret or hesitation. Gig taught us that the measure of life is not how long we live it, but how meaningful we make it!' "

Meanwhile, Marissa Oca, Gig's mother, is slowly healing. She listens to classical and spiritual music, takes yoga classes, and has gone back to attending business meetings. She bravely declares: "I'm moving on!"

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