LET THERE BE LIGHT!!
Regular recipients of the articles sent by the aging lion should be familiar with the names Andoy, Jimbo, Eben, and Pilo, the four fishermen who, together with their respective families, reside at the lion tamer’s backyard. Of course they are not the only fishermen in the area but the names of the others do not deserve mention as unlike the four, water and electrical connections were already installed in their respective places of abode.
Let the lion now tell you of this unique story.
Last November 3, the lion tamer woke up early as usual and said she will go with her ‘Nang Baby to Tagbilaran, and therefore the lion can freely roam around the place while she is out. But while doing so, would her now almost-toothless pet be solicitous enough to go to nearby Jagna where the office of BOHECO II is located and help facilitate the application for electrical connection of Pilo that it be approved? She said Pilo will soon sell his pig and with the proceeds, wants electricity in his house installed, only, the processing of the required papers appears to him complicated. Also, his three other neighbors are as desirous to have electrical connections in their respective houses but funding still had to be secured and therefore, would the lion also explore this angle??
Without much ado the lion proceeded to BOHECO II at Jagna and after congratulating Mr. Eugene Tan, the Resident Manager, for receiving the Most Outstanding Award from President Gloria Arroyo when she recently visited Bohol for leapfrogging from a Class D to Class A+ Electric Cooperative, the lion tactfully explained his purpose. Two problems were at hand: (1) is the loan that was previously being granted to applicants allowing a 25% down payment for materials and the 75% balance payable in installment still in effect thus allowing the three to also apply for electrical connections? and (2)would BOHECO install the needed electric posts since Pilo’s house is located at the farthest end reckoning from the street where the main line is located? The lion justified the need for electricity by mentioning that the four couples have seventeen children among them most of whom are already of school age and since the thrust of the government is to light the countryside and thus enable its citizens to moved onward for progress sake, then doing so will serve this noble purpose.
The first problem, Mr. Tan said, is no problem. The loan, while suspended previously, was recently revived. But of course, the lion had to sign as co-maker. The second, he said, can be remedied by declaring the work as “upgrading” which in effect will entail realigning the existing electrical lines of the residents in the area and thus justify the installation of the required electric posts. And since he is the Resident Manager, then the problem is as good as solved, and forthwith instructed three of his staff to accompany the aging lion to his residence at Guindulman and survey the needed job so that the work can immediately proceed. On the company’s staff car, of course!
On the way, Lito, one of the staff, said that what will complicate the installation of the posts is the possible need to get the consent of the landowner into whose lot the electric posts will be erected and the trees that must be felled as a consequence of the installation. The lion said the problem would not arise if the posts and connections are placed inside the perimeter of the lot were they reside. And that’s it!
Two days later, the lion tamer accompanied Pilo, Jimbo, Honey and Vivienne to the Jagna office with the two ladies alternating for their respective husbands. Honey served as proxy for Andoy as the latter is a “thumb-mark specialist” (in plain language, neither reads nor write) while Vivienne took the place of Eben because at the eight o’clock departure time, the latter’s pumpboat hasn’t as yet docked at the mooring site.
That afternoon, the group went home in high spirits. The seminar was very educational, they said. Eugene Tan, although already on the road bound for inspection trip when they arrived, saw to it that they are comfortably accommodated at the seminar, and their questions satisfactorily answered. To save on installation cost, Luis, one of the employees residing in Guindulman, suggested that the town’s electrician, although not licensed, hence not officially listed as authorized installer, be contacted for the job. To the consternation of Manoling, another employee from town, who insisted that the job be done “by the books” only to be admonished by the former whose functions at BOHECO rank higher that it would be alright because of the special relationship of the lion with Mr. Eugene Tan.
On going home though, the group wondered where to get the needed funds for installation as it was only Pilo who had. At home, the lion tamer asked his aging pet who could only mumble the following reply:
“We have already poked our fingers on this project, I guess there’s no use turning back. We’ll just have to fund it with our own and hope they can repay us back. Later, that is.”
The next day, November 6, was the lion tamer’s birthday. The lion contacted the Loloy, the town’s electrician and requested him to prepare the bill of materials for the four houses so that the estimated outlay may be determined. He was also asked whether he would accept the standard P350 installation job per house for half the price The task, after all, was the lion’s gift to the light of his life (the lion uses this phraseology to describe his tamer once a year), a gift not her own to physically savor but for the four fishermen and their respective families who have now become part of their lives. The electrician said yes.
`The electrician made the estimate, and whoooh!, the total cost amounted to P9, 166 with P3,957 to be paid in advance before electrical connections get underway. Fortunately, Pilo can defray his share, so that the lion had to shell out only P3,100 right away!
Monday came and the lion tamer posed another problem to her pet that almost stunned him. She said, “it appears we still have to shoulder the P1,050 cost of the electric meter”. The lion barked back: “I hope not because if it we do, then the project will be bound for the waste basket because P4,200 is an amount we can no longer spare!” Glad a quick check with Eugene Tan over his cell phone confirmed that the electric meter will be installed for free.
The next day, the lion returned to Jagna and after paying the P3100, followed up the status of the electric posts that had to be erected. Mr. Tan promptly ordered his crew to proceed posthaste to Guindulman and installed the two galvanized steel electric posts of about 30 feet in height and the attendant wires attached where the live electric current are to pass through and provide electricity to the neighborhood. To the awe and wonder of the residents and even to the lion for a job done faster than the wink of an eye. But the connection inside the houses will take a week or two to be done as the needed materials are still to be ordered by BOHECO I from Tubigon town which is about 50 kilometers from Tagbilaran or 125 kilometers via Ubay town and delivered to the intended users.
Then, Monday again. But it is the Muslim Ramadan and therefore there is no work in the offices in the entire archipelago. The next day, the lion phoned BOHECO but was informed by the secretary that Eugene was in Cebu en-route to Manila where he will be there for a week. The lion therefore requested her to follow-up the progress of the work and was informed that purchase of the materials will be on November 25 yet. So he instructed the lion tamer to send the following text message to Eugene:
“Will appreciate if you can hasten purchase of materials and installation of electricity on four houses. UR Sec said purchase is on Nov 25 yet” and received a text reply that he will text his staff accordingly.
Then November 22, another Monday, came. The lion asked his tamer to call Eugene Tan and follow up the status of the materials and was informed that it will be ready by November 24. But the materials had to be picked up from Jagna, he said.
. The lion overheard the conversation and immediately barked back that he will pick it up himself. Whereupon Eugene retorted that he will just send someone to deliver the items rather than for the lion to pick it up and two days later the requisitioned items were promptly delivered.
The next day, Thursday, Loloy, the town’s electrician, took over. Methodically, he installed the materials starting from Pilo’s house which was at the farthest end, and then to Jimbo’s then to Eben’s and finally to Andoy’s completing the inside wiring on Saturday. As he was not licensed, he approached a friend who will sign the papers needed for the permit and unexpectedly asked for money which more than ate up the discount that was previously agreed upon. The lion tamer was naturally furious because his basis for asking for more was because he learned that a neighbor paid another electrician P500 for the installation, and thus felt that he was unduly shortchanged in the deal, BOHECO’s standard rate notwithstanding. The lion tamer was finally able to impress upon him that she will just spend an additional P200 for the needed signature of his licensed electrician friend.
Then, another Monday came. But the needed permit could not be worked out as GMA advanced the observation of the National Heroes Day from Tuesday to Monday, which made the lion silently muse: “one of these days, GMA will just transfer the religious observation of Holy Friday to a Sunday. Ha, ha, hah”
Then Tuesday. To her consternation the electrical permit that will earn for the government only P55 per house will instead cost P550 with ninety percent going to the pockets of these municipal shenanigans. Professional and other processing fees not subject to the issuance of receipts, they said. That, the lion mused, is graft and corruption at the grassroots. No wonder this country can never not move forward.
Delegating the task of doing the actual follow-up to the lion tamer but giving her definite instructions on how to solve the dilemma, she worked her way out of solving the municipal red tape and managed to spend only P150 per house for it without actual inspection being made. The experience that she gained by interacting with the town’s officials through her various charitable projects paid off as most of the municipal officials are also active in church affairs. But the lion wonders, will these petty graft experts ever change?
The next day, December 1, she personally went to Jagna and presented the papers. Upon being told that a P100 connection fee still had to be paid, she requested the Finance Manager, Mrs. Daisy Cadavez whether the said fee can be added to the loan else we again will have to foot the additional bill, and fortunately, the lady said yes. The paperwork done, Mrs. Cadavez personally saw to it that final inspection be done the same day and since the staff assigned for inspections are already out, ordered the Materials Manager, the one who personally brought the materials to the site a week before and instructed him to do the job without delay. The lion tamer therefore went home towing along the BOHECO employee for the needed inspection who forthwith declared the wiring fit for the final connection and next day, December 2, BOHECO’s linemen arrived and finally lit the place. To the jubilation of the children and the four poor appreciative fishermen.
But the lion wonders. Surely its aftereffect will entail a repeat of the Christmas gathering that she organized last year (copy of the article is reprinted below). But with the meager funds of the lion now approaching rock-bottom, can a well-meaning brother from out there sponsor at least a part of the financial outlay required for the stipend of the officiating priest, the raffle prizes, the decorations and the special food baskets for the noche buena of the four fishermen and their families which last year amounted to about P5,000 or roughly a hundred US dollars ?!
And the aging lion leisurely rests its now-weak and limping paws!!
POSTRCRIPT
If you think the lion works with determination and dispatch, read what the lion tamer did on her own.
Last November 10, when Alice, the wife of Pilo gave her P1,000 as their share in the down payment of the electrical connections, she also added P2,000 with the specific request that the lion tamer put it aside for safekeeping as the said money was intended for the water connections further explaining that the money might just be spent unwisely. Whereupon the lion tamer asked if they are really desirous to have the water facilities installed, and received a nod for a reply.
The next day, the lion tamer approached her godmother who has a strong say at the water utilities firm and convinced the latter to have the connections installed immediately under her personal guaranty. Needless to say, it was done in a matter of only three days as all the paperwork and the attendant connections were completed on November 12 at a cost of P3,400.
Good the proceeds on the sale of the pig fully absorbed both costs, otherwise the lion most likely would have shouldered the deficiency. And the water connections of the three other houses, she opted to remain silent else it would have created a financial crisis to the lion that is worse than what President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did to the entire country!
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
ENCORE ON HARELIP REPAIR ASSISTANCE
Except for their relevance as human interest items, articles on harelip operation may now be considered drab considering the previous articles that were already written on this topic and posted on the Web. But the missus is now on her way again to Tagbilaran City leaving the aging lion alone in his den. With her are two harelips, a two-year-old boy named Ryu Simbajon and an eleven-year-old girl named Vicenta Jandayan, en-route to the city for their scheduled operation at the Ramiro Community Hospital. That counts them the sixth and the seventh harelips that the missus has personally assisted in this unique charitable project that she has voluntarily embarked upon in this definitely provincial and rural island where the famous blood compact of a Spanish conquistador and a native Boholano once transpired..
Of course, just mentioning statistics would turn irrelevant, because what difference will it make if the count reaches to an even thousand?! After all, with the many harelips being bruited about and after considerable lapse of time, the sponsor and Dr. Ronald Ramiro must have already exceeded this magic number. But consider these.
Ryu Simbajon’s father was also a harelip who was previously operated on, upon sponsorship of the same charitable organization, the Christian Service International, some eleven years or so ago. Still a young lad of about thirteen at that time, he could only remember the group of Americans that visited their barangay at the neighboring town of Candijay who offered his parents free harelip repair which they gladly and gratefully accepted. But that was way back in 1992, and when his son was born a harelip two years ago, he could only sigh and recall what the doctors said to him that this inborn defect, like diabetes, is hereditary. And what a distasteful and unwelcome genetic trait could a poor and unlucky offspring unexpectedly receive from his not-too-indulgent ascendants!
Vicenta Jandayan, like Ryu’s father, was also operated on some ten years or so ago, but has no way to remember how it was done as she was but nine months old at that time. Her mother managed to keep the post-operation instructions that were given by the doctor and from there we learned that it was the same Christian Service International that sponsored the harelip repair. To top it all, it was also the same Dr. Ronald Ramiro (a Senior DeMolay of the Leon Kilat Chapter in Dumaguete City) who conducted the operation, then but a budding professional who decided to embrace harelip surgery as one of his expertise in the field of medical surgery.
How Vicenta learned that the missus offers help to the needy harelips is in itself another story. Let me tell you about it.
The day after the missus returned home from Tagbilaran City after the successful operations on Ronald Casil and Roberto Hinampas, Jr. last August 14, three grade 5 pupils who are our neighbors approached her and asked if she could also help their classmate, a girl who also suffers from the same inborn defect. They explained that she was already previously operated upon but her manner of speaking is still defective. The best that the missus could say, therefore, was to advise them that the girl should come to our house so that she can evaluate for herself if indeed, help could be extended to the proposed patient.
The next day, Vicenta arrived and in a confident but slurred twang of her voice appealed for help. Apparently an honor pupil in her class, she could not top it because of her noticeable speech defect. If only something could be done to correct the way the sound that comes out of her dainty lips. And as she was making her poignant appeal, the missus patiently listened. Her mother, who was interviewed later, would narrate that despite her defective speech, she would boldly volunteer during class recitations, only, she would likewise often receive the scornful boos of impolite classmates who resented her innate talents.
And so when the date of the post check-up operation of Ronald Casil and Roberto Hinampas, Jr. came a week later, the missus immediately and promptly got the needed referral slip from Darin Goertzen and also consulted Dr. Donald Ramiro on the required second operation on the girl.
But the problem was not that easy to resolve, the good doctor said. Second operations are usually performed best if done within the year after the first is conducted. The lapse of ten years, while still medically feasible, will incur more than the standard medical fees and expenses because of the additional job to be done, and so the question was, would the sponsor foot the additional bill? Luckily, the missus already anticipated the problem and therefore had secured the sponsor’s acquiescence even before her shoes set foot at the hospital’s doorsteps. And the good doctor was sympathetic, Vicenta, after all, was one of his first patients. The said operation was therefore scheduled for the next week.
But it is not only the patients that deserve mention in this unique project. Darin Goertzen and Dr. Ronald Ramiro together with his medical staff undoubtedly deserve the lion’s share of the credit. There are also other kindhearted souls who made this continuing charitable deed possible. Among these are:
1.Judith, the rural nurse at neighboring Candijay town who referred Roberto, Jr. and Ryu Simbajon to us so that the required operation may be performed. We also learned she has a teenage son who embraced the spiritual world by donning the priestly habit.
2. A certain Mr. Fuentes, the school principal where Roberto, Jr. is enrolled, who took the cudgel of taking Roberto, Jr. and her mother to our residence early in the morning twice from their place at an interior barangay, so that together they can ride the van and proceed to Tagbilaran City. He also voluntarily gave the mother of Roberto, Jr. P200 pocket money.
3. The mayor of Candijay town who likewise donated P300 for Roberto’s miscellaneous expenses while at the hospital.
4. My good friend and brother VW Raffy (surname purposely omitted) who is out there in metropolitan Manila and who voluntarily sent in P2K to help alleviate the missus’ own expenses in shuttling to and from Tagbilaran City so that this project may not careen to an abrupt halt.
A village old-timer who is a cousin of the missus and who by now is acquainted with what she is doing could not help but quip: “I feel certain she will be remembered for this charitable deed. Doing something positive for those poor and young handicapped children will definitely leave an indelible imprint in the mind long after she is gone.”
Except for their relevance as human interest items, articles on harelip operation may now be considered drab considering the previous articles that were already written on this topic and posted on the Web. But the missus is now on her way again to Tagbilaran City leaving the aging lion alone in his den. With her are two harelips, a two-year-old boy named Ryu Simbajon and an eleven-year-old girl named Vicenta Jandayan, en-route to the city for their scheduled operation at the Ramiro Community Hospital. That counts them the sixth and the seventh harelips that the missus has personally assisted in this unique charitable project that she has voluntarily embarked upon in this definitely provincial and rural island where the famous blood compact of a Spanish conquistador and a native Boholano once transpired..
Of course, just mentioning statistics would turn irrelevant, because what difference will it make if the count reaches to an even thousand?! After all, with the many harelips being bruited about and after considerable lapse of time, the sponsor and Dr. Ronald Ramiro must have already exceeded this magic number. But consider these.
Ryu Simbajon’s father was also a harelip who was previously operated on, upon sponsorship of the same charitable organization, the Christian Service International, some eleven years or so ago. Still a young lad of about thirteen at that time, he could only remember the group of Americans that visited their barangay at the neighboring town of Candijay who offered his parents free harelip repair which they gladly and gratefully accepted. But that was way back in 1992, and when his son was born a harelip two years ago, he could only sigh and recall what the doctors said to him that this inborn defect, like diabetes, is hereditary. And what a distasteful and unwelcome genetic trait could a poor and unlucky offspring unexpectedly receive from his not-too-indulgent ascendants!
Vicenta Jandayan, like Ryu’s father, was also operated on some ten years or so ago, but has no way to remember how it was done as she was but nine months old at that time. Her mother managed to keep the post-operation instructions that were given by the doctor and from there we learned that it was the same Christian Service International that sponsored the harelip repair. To top it all, it was also the same Dr. Ronald Ramiro (a Senior DeMolay of the Leon Kilat Chapter in Dumaguete City) who conducted the operation, then but a budding professional who decided to embrace harelip surgery as one of his expertise in the field of medical surgery.
How Vicenta learned that the missus offers help to the needy harelips is in itself another story. Let me tell you about it.
The day after the missus returned home from Tagbilaran City after the successful operations on Ronald Casil and Roberto Hinampas, Jr. last August 14, three grade 5 pupils who are our neighbors approached her and asked if she could also help their classmate, a girl who also suffers from the same inborn defect. They explained that she was already previously operated upon but her manner of speaking is still defective. The best that the missus could say, therefore, was to advise them that the girl should come to our house so that she can evaluate for herself if indeed, help could be extended to the proposed patient.
The next day, Vicenta arrived and in a confident but slurred twang of her voice appealed for help. Apparently an honor pupil in her class, she could not top it because of her noticeable speech defect. If only something could be done to correct the way the sound that comes out of her dainty lips. And as she was making her poignant appeal, the missus patiently listened. Her mother, who was interviewed later, would narrate that despite her defective speech, she would boldly volunteer during class recitations, only, she would likewise often receive the scornful boos of impolite classmates who resented her innate talents.
And so when the date of the post check-up operation of Ronald Casil and Roberto Hinampas, Jr. came a week later, the missus immediately and promptly got the needed referral slip from Darin Goertzen and also consulted Dr. Donald Ramiro on the required second operation on the girl.
But the problem was not that easy to resolve, the good doctor said. Second operations are usually performed best if done within the year after the first is conducted. The lapse of ten years, while still medically feasible, will incur more than the standard medical fees and expenses because of the additional job to be done, and so the question was, would the sponsor foot the additional bill? Luckily, the missus already anticipated the problem and therefore had secured the sponsor’s acquiescence even before her shoes set foot at the hospital’s doorsteps. And the good doctor was sympathetic, Vicenta, after all, was one of his first patients. The said operation was therefore scheduled for the next week.
But it is not only the patients that deserve mention in this unique project. Darin Goertzen and Dr. Ronald Ramiro together with his medical staff undoubtedly deserve the lion’s share of the credit. There are also other kindhearted souls who made this continuing charitable deed possible. Among these are:
1.Judith, the rural nurse at neighboring Candijay town who referred Roberto, Jr. and Ryu Simbajon to us so that the required operation may be performed. We also learned she has a teenage son who embraced the spiritual world by donning the priestly habit.
2. A certain Mr. Fuentes, the school principal where Roberto, Jr. is enrolled, who took the cudgel of taking Roberto, Jr. and her mother to our residence early in the morning twice from their place at an interior barangay, so that together they can ride the van and proceed to Tagbilaran City. He also voluntarily gave the mother of Roberto, Jr. P200 pocket money.
3. The mayor of Candijay town who likewise donated P300 for Roberto’s miscellaneous expenses while at the hospital.
4. My good friend and brother VW Raffy (surname purposely omitted) who is out there in metropolitan Manila and who voluntarily sent in P2K to help alleviate the missus’ own expenses in shuttling to and from Tagbilaran City so that this project may not careen to an abrupt halt.
A village old-timer who is a cousin of the missus and who by now is acquainted with what she is doing could not help but quip: “I feel certain she will be remembered for this charitable deed. Doing something positive for those poor and young handicapped children will definitely leave an indelible imprint in the mind long after she is gone.”
Sunday, January 16, 2005
J. R. No. 2
A full week after the successful harelip repair was conducted on J. R. (the subject of a previous article that was posted on this page), the missus accompanied the patient and her mother to the hospital for the post-operation check-up. On board the van that took them to Tagbilaran include the town’s first lady who casually asked why she is going to the island’s only city. She matter-of-factly pointed to the young tyke who was born a harelip and now sporting a new face and whom she is accompanying for the needed check-up at the hospital.
Fe, that’s the name of the town’s first lady, mentioned that she also has a hired help who works as driver and who has a son with a congenital harelip, and that she, together with the town’s physician had already referred him to the provincial hospital for the needed harelip repair but to no avail. She therefore asked the missus if she could help. Her reply was that she will try and would she therefore be kind enough to instruct her driver to refer the couple and their child to us the next day so that they can be interviewed and the child’s condition properly checked for the needed referral?
Upon her return to our residence that afternoon she updated me on the very excellent progress of the child and also of the request of the town mayor’s first lady. True enough Rolando and Elena Boysillo, the parents of the would-be patient were at our doorsteps the next day taking along with them their seven-month old son named Roland. I mused, what a neat way of naming a child, all the father did was omit the “o”, and presto, the son has a name that is pretty much the same as his which is spelled Rolando. Better than what the word “Junior” can do!! And hey!, he and the attending physician are both named Roland!!
We then contacted Darin Goertzen of the Christian Service International who said that the needed referral will be issued soonest we meet. So on March 2nd, the day following the installation of the officers of Dagohoy Lodge No 84 which we attended, we went to his house and got what we wanted.
But the operation could not be scheduled by the attending physician. Ronald had a whooping cough and Dr. Ramiro was afraid the harelip repair could create medical complications The operation was therefore postponed two weeks with specific instructions that medical attention be secured from a competent physician at Guindulman town to insure that the ailment is healed before the operation can be done.
Two weeks elapsed but the boy’s condition did not improve and so it was postponed for another week. And another week; and still another week. Me and the missus felt agitated. Something or somebody is trying to derail our apostolic intentions, we mused. But we fully knew patience and perseverance are on our side.
Until finally, on April 10 the missus, the patient and his parents again went to Tagbilaran City for the needed medical attention and through the competent services of the Ramiro Community Hospital under the able hands of Dr. Ronald Ramiro, the harelip repair was finally performed to the now handsome young tyke.
As of this writing, the boy is now on his road to recovery and with the town’s first lady sending notice that a third harelip patient is again toeing the operating table.
And of course, me and the missus consider this apostolic deed as definitely worth our sweet and leisurely time!!
A full week after the successful harelip repair was conducted on J. R. (the subject of a previous article that was posted on this page), the missus accompanied the patient and her mother to the hospital for the post-operation check-up. On board the van that took them to Tagbilaran include the town’s first lady who casually asked why she is going to the island’s only city. She matter-of-factly pointed to the young tyke who was born a harelip and now sporting a new face and whom she is accompanying for the needed check-up at the hospital.
Fe, that’s the name of the town’s first lady, mentioned that she also has a hired help who works as driver and who has a son with a congenital harelip, and that she, together with the town’s physician had already referred him to the provincial hospital for the needed harelip repair but to no avail. She therefore asked the missus if she could help. Her reply was that she will try and would she therefore be kind enough to instruct her driver to refer the couple and their child to us the next day so that they can be interviewed and the child’s condition properly checked for the needed referral?
Upon her return to our residence that afternoon she updated me on the very excellent progress of the child and also of the request of the town mayor’s first lady. True enough Rolando and Elena Boysillo, the parents of the would-be patient were at our doorsteps the next day taking along with them their seven-month old son named Roland. I mused, what a neat way of naming a child, all the father did was omit the “o”, and presto, the son has a name that is pretty much the same as his which is spelled Rolando. Better than what the word “Junior” can do!! And hey!, he and the attending physician are both named Roland!!
We then contacted Darin Goertzen of the Christian Service International who said that the needed referral will be issued soonest we meet. So on March 2nd, the day following the installation of the officers of Dagohoy Lodge No 84 which we attended, we went to his house and got what we wanted.
But the operation could not be scheduled by the attending physician. Ronald had a whooping cough and Dr. Ramiro was afraid the harelip repair could create medical complications The operation was therefore postponed two weeks with specific instructions that medical attention be secured from a competent physician at Guindulman town to insure that the ailment is healed before the operation can be done.
Two weeks elapsed but the boy’s condition did not improve and so it was postponed for another week. And another week; and still another week. Me and the missus felt agitated. Something or somebody is trying to derail our apostolic intentions, we mused. But we fully knew patience and perseverance are on our side.
Until finally, on April 10 the missus, the patient and his parents again went to Tagbilaran City for the needed medical attention and through the competent services of the Ramiro Community Hospital under the able hands of Dr. Ronald Ramiro, the harelip repair was finally performed to the now handsome young tyke.
As of this writing, the boy is now on his road to recovery and with the town’s first lady sending notice that a third harelip patient is again toeing the operating table.
And of course, me and the missus consider this apostolic deed as definitely worth our sweet and leisurely time!!
HELPING MEMBERS TRACE THEIR SSS BENEFITS
Aware that idleness is the bane of retirees hence will be my waterloo when we visit our folks in the metropolis last April, I looked forward with uneasy concern my planned one-month stay there. I, of course, welcomed the prospect of attending the 2003 ANCOM whose venue was understandably transferred from Davao to Manila due mainly to the terrorist activities that suddenly became the order of the day in that southern part of the archipelago, but I reckon it will still be insufficient to keep me busy. And so, I resolved to do something to fruitfully while the time away during our planned four-week stay and thought that following up problems of retirees with the Social Security System or SSS would be a welcome respite. VW’s Joel Palacios and Sigfredo Ibay are, after all, sturdy members of Walana Lodge No 13 who can surely assist.
After determining the task that we surmised we can do, me and the missus thereafter proceeded to gather information on the persons in the locality whom we can help and decided that five deserving persons would make ideal test cases; and after due consultations with select members of the community, got their names and SSS numbers that will be the object of our planned apostolic deed. They are:
1. Sergio Rodriguez (deceased member)
2. Amador D. Amoguis
3. Filomena Riveral
4. Nemesia D. Castrodes, and
5. Hermogena N. Olaso
Immediately after the 2003 ANCOM this writer went to the SSS Media Department and looked for both VW’s Joel Palacios and Freddie Ibay. Joel, being the busy Vice President of the SSS that he is, is often out of his office but Freddie is and so I took him to task by giving him our list. He accommodated gladly and assured that help is on the way. Handing me his calling card, he advised to call three days later for the results.
Three days came and I did. But the girl at the other end of the phone said that Freddie has not reported for work the past two days as he was indisposed. Would I be kind enough to call again later?
The Monday following I again visited Freddie his den at the SSS who said that he already had preliminary results. These are:
1. The heirs of Sergio Rodriguez need to file the death claim with the SSS Tagbilaran branch. In addition to accomplishing the required form and the papers that were already attached, the birth certificate and the vouchers of burial expenses were needed.
2. Amador D. Amoguis is no longer entitled to benefits as he was already granted three partial disability benefits which is the maximum limit provided for by law as the said member did not reach the ten-year membership.
3, 4 and 5- Records show that these claims were cancelled by SSS Cebu. Since no details of explanation could be found at the main office, would I be kind enough therefore to wait another three days as Freddie will fax SSS Cebu for details? I said I will.
The three days came and I again personally visited Freddie at the office. The reply of SSS Cebu hasn’t arrived yet. And so Freddie prepared a referral slip addressed to SSS Tagbilaran requesting its branch manager to assist just in case the reply of SSS Cebu is not received. In addition, he gave me the name of Mr. Paulino Lao, Vice President for Cebu and the latter’s three telephone numbers and suggested that we call him direct.
We returned to Bohol the next week without getting the desired data. Upon arrival, the missus called Mr. Lao long distance, an arrogant SSS official and who even asked if the missus is a lawyer and that his office does not attend to third-party requests. And so, instead of meeting the problem head-on by directly calling him, I called Freddie long distance with an appeal that he personally do something about it. If possible, could Freddie request Joel to take over as it appears it may need the same muscle, that is, since both Joel and that egotistical Mr. Paulino Lao are both Vice Presidents of this elephantine institution, then probably, the latter will reply positively. He assured me he will and requested that I call again the next day.
The day following I delegated the task of calling Freddie to the missus. He gave the following information over the phone.
1. Filomina Riveral’s claim was reviewed and that the pension will be reinstated. All that is needed is for her to wait and in due time the pension check will be received.
2. The claims of Nemesia D. Castrodes and Hermogena Olaso were suspended because the applicable SSS forms that were prepared were not the proper forms. While the initial pension checks were issued to the retirees, these were subsequently suspended pending re-submission of the correct forms.
At this point Freddie then suggested that we accompany the claimants to the SSS Tagbilaran and there re-file the claims. Meanwhile, the name of Laura Berou was added to the list.
On June 3 we proceeded to Tagbilaran and directly went to the SSS. Mr. Gideon Rubillos, the branch manager, who was cooperative and referred us to Mr. Marino Talictic, in charge of complaints on pension claims. The latter immediately checked the data on his computer and confirmed that the three retirees, namely Nemesia D. Castrodes, Hermogena Olaso and Laura Berou were indeed suspended because the documents submitted appeared defective. Mr. Talictic advanced the information that there were irregularities committed sometime in the seventies where many ghost claims were perpetuated by hospitals on medicare benefits by registering unemployed persons and claiming hospitalization benefits. This, he alleged, is simply done by registering the person as a self-employed member. There were forty or so such cases who were suspended under this situation. He suggested that the needed documents be resubmitted to determine if they are indeed bona-fide members by requiring them to submit the applicable business permits and the income taxes paid during the year the person became a member.
The case of Filomina Riveral was very interesting. Records show that monthly pension checks are being sent regularly to the beneficiary. The question therefore is: “Who is receiving the pension checks?”
The death benefits of the late Sergio Rodriguez showed positive prospects. Mr. Talictic said that what is needed is simply to amend the Death Benefit Claim and on our next visit accompany the beneficiary to the office for the required interview taking along with her a postal ID and a residence certificate and presto, the claim will be processed!
We returned to our residence in Guindulman town quite excited at the turn of events but with one ironic twist of fate, the person who has been surreptitiously encashed the check intended for Filomina Riveral was a sister of the registered beneficiary!!
But of course, for this unusual exercise we have to thank both VW’s Joel Palacios and Freddie Ibay of Walana Lodge No 13!!
Aware that idleness is the bane of retirees hence will be my waterloo when we visit our folks in the metropolis last April, I looked forward with uneasy concern my planned one-month stay there. I, of course, welcomed the prospect of attending the 2003 ANCOM whose venue was understandably transferred from Davao to Manila due mainly to the terrorist activities that suddenly became the order of the day in that southern part of the archipelago, but I reckon it will still be insufficient to keep me busy. And so, I resolved to do something to fruitfully while the time away during our planned four-week stay and thought that following up problems of retirees with the Social Security System or SSS would be a welcome respite. VW’s Joel Palacios and Sigfredo Ibay are, after all, sturdy members of Walana Lodge No 13 who can surely assist.
After determining the task that we surmised we can do, me and the missus thereafter proceeded to gather information on the persons in the locality whom we can help and decided that five deserving persons would make ideal test cases; and after due consultations with select members of the community, got their names and SSS numbers that will be the object of our planned apostolic deed. They are:
1. Sergio Rodriguez (deceased member)
2. Amador D. Amoguis
3. Filomena Riveral
4. Nemesia D. Castrodes, and
5. Hermogena N. Olaso
Immediately after the 2003 ANCOM this writer went to the SSS Media Department and looked for both VW’s Joel Palacios and Freddie Ibay. Joel, being the busy Vice President of the SSS that he is, is often out of his office but Freddie is and so I took him to task by giving him our list. He accommodated gladly and assured that help is on the way. Handing me his calling card, he advised to call three days later for the results.
Three days came and I did. But the girl at the other end of the phone said that Freddie has not reported for work the past two days as he was indisposed. Would I be kind enough to call again later?
The Monday following I again visited Freddie his den at the SSS who said that he already had preliminary results. These are:
1. The heirs of Sergio Rodriguez need to file the death claim with the SSS Tagbilaran branch. In addition to accomplishing the required form and the papers that were already attached, the birth certificate and the vouchers of burial expenses were needed.
2. Amador D. Amoguis is no longer entitled to benefits as he was already granted three partial disability benefits which is the maximum limit provided for by law as the said member did not reach the ten-year membership.
3, 4 and 5- Records show that these claims were cancelled by SSS Cebu. Since no details of explanation could be found at the main office, would I be kind enough therefore to wait another three days as Freddie will fax SSS Cebu for details? I said I will.
The three days came and I again personally visited Freddie at the office. The reply of SSS Cebu hasn’t arrived yet. And so Freddie prepared a referral slip addressed to SSS Tagbilaran requesting its branch manager to assist just in case the reply of SSS Cebu is not received. In addition, he gave me the name of Mr. Paulino Lao, Vice President for Cebu and the latter’s three telephone numbers and suggested that we call him direct.
We returned to Bohol the next week without getting the desired data. Upon arrival, the missus called Mr. Lao long distance, an arrogant SSS official and who even asked if the missus is a lawyer and that his office does not attend to third-party requests. And so, instead of meeting the problem head-on by directly calling him, I called Freddie long distance with an appeal that he personally do something about it. If possible, could Freddie request Joel to take over as it appears it may need the same muscle, that is, since both Joel and that egotistical Mr. Paulino Lao are both Vice Presidents of this elephantine institution, then probably, the latter will reply positively. He assured me he will and requested that I call again the next day.
The day following I delegated the task of calling Freddie to the missus. He gave the following information over the phone.
1. Filomina Riveral’s claim was reviewed and that the pension will be reinstated. All that is needed is for her to wait and in due time the pension check will be received.
2. The claims of Nemesia D. Castrodes and Hermogena Olaso were suspended because the applicable SSS forms that were prepared were not the proper forms. While the initial pension checks were issued to the retirees, these were subsequently suspended pending re-submission of the correct forms.
At this point Freddie then suggested that we accompany the claimants to the SSS Tagbilaran and there re-file the claims. Meanwhile, the name of Laura Berou was added to the list.
On June 3 we proceeded to Tagbilaran and directly went to the SSS. Mr. Gideon Rubillos, the branch manager, who was cooperative and referred us to Mr. Marino Talictic, in charge of complaints on pension claims. The latter immediately checked the data on his computer and confirmed that the three retirees, namely Nemesia D. Castrodes, Hermogena Olaso and Laura Berou were indeed suspended because the documents submitted appeared defective. Mr. Talictic advanced the information that there were irregularities committed sometime in the seventies where many ghost claims were perpetuated by hospitals on medicare benefits by registering unemployed persons and claiming hospitalization benefits. This, he alleged, is simply done by registering the person as a self-employed member. There were forty or so such cases who were suspended under this situation. He suggested that the needed documents be resubmitted to determine if they are indeed bona-fide members by requiring them to submit the applicable business permits and the income taxes paid during the year the person became a member.
The case of Filomina Riveral was very interesting. Records show that monthly pension checks are being sent regularly to the beneficiary. The question therefore is: “Who is receiving the pension checks?”
The death benefits of the late Sergio Rodriguez showed positive prospects. Mr. Talictic said that what is needed is simply to amend the Death Benefit Claim and on our next visit accompany the beneficiary to the office for the required interview taking along with her a postal ID and a residence certificate and presto, the claim will be processed!
We returned to our residence in Guindulman town quite excited at the turn of events but with one ironic twist of fate, the person who has been surreptitiously encashed the check intended for Filomina Riveral was a sister of the registered beneficiary!!
But of course, for this unusual exercise we have to thank both VW’s Joel Palacios and Freddie Ibay of Walana Lodge No 13!!
MENDE’S WARD
The lion was snuggly seated at the cemented bench outside their backyard watching the “habagat’s” raging waves slam their fury at the seawall when he heard his tamer holler from inside the gate saying: “Maning just called, he requests you call him back at his landline phone.”
On the lion’s way back to the house, he was told Maning is asking whether his ward “Tata”, that’s the sobriquet for the name Isabelita Equipelag, can stay with them for about a month or two as she was assigned to do her “practicum” (or practice teaching) at the Guindulman Elementary School as final requisite to her graduation at the University of Bohol. The lion tamer also added that arrangements that she board at another place with sixteen other “practicumers” were already made but that Maning preferred that she stay at our den not only for cost consideration but also for her safety as well. Which made the lion chuckle; it now is clear that “cost consideration” is a phrase that all retirees must grapple with!
At the phone, VW Mende repeated his request and the two sentences that the lion could utter was” “VW Sir, your wish is my command. When will she come over?”
It turned out the transfer was not as easy as VW Maning thought it will be. The school administrator who was in charge naturally wanted that all “practicumers” were housed in just one roof as was the standard procedure in that kind of activity. But Maning was insistent and so he contacted WB David Tirol and explained to the latter his wish. His reasons were repeated and when WB David asked “And to whom will he stay?, ” VW Maning’s classic reply was: “At the residence of Bro. Jun in Guindulman!!” And thus ended the argument to finally plead his case.
Last August 9 at noontime while the lion as usual was at the backyard, “Tata” came introducing herself to the missus and promised she will return later in the afternoon with her bag and other amenities. And she did.
While at dinnertime that evening, we assured Tata that being Maning’s ward, she is definitely welcome at our house, and in between bites, told us her story.
Tata, now aged 23, is the fourth child in a family of eight children of a farmer-couple of one of the barangays of the interior town of Alicia called Katipunan, who, even at her very young age of fourteen already dreamt of becoming a schoolteacher someday.
But it was not an easy dream. As is common to rural folks, planting rice during seasons is ranked more important than being inside classrooms. Not only that!, she had to walk two kilometers each day (and back) at the adjacent town of Pilar where the high school is located. And so with the help of her schoolteacher, she started “nag-working” (a corrupted word coined for a desirous young student who is accepted as household help by generous patrons in exchange for free education) at the nearby town of Pilar and there finally completed her high school studies.
After graduation, her mother took her to the wife of one of the University’s owners at the island’s only city to enable her to pursue her dream and was promptly accepted as a working student.
But her stay in the place of her next benefactor was, to her, a little difficult to perform as the human traffic that daily goes in and out of the house was something she was not previously accustomed to. Which compelled her first benefactor to look for another patron where the girl can realize her dream without much difficulty. And that’s how she was taken in by VW Maning who has a farm in Katipunan where the parents of the girl live, and whose wife is also in the field of education, and promptly took her in their protective wings.
Tata at this time is already in the last stage of her studies and this coming October will finally earn her diploma. All these five years she has been with VW Maning, her job was to act as house caretaker during the day and when her patrons return from work in the afternoon, would attend classes at the University and there pursue her dream with vigor.
Definitely not an easy task for her and neither for her patrons who not only must provide for her school expenses but also for clothing, lodging and food. But as a philosopher once clearly echoed: “A dream, if done daily and with precision, can surely be turned to gold!”
Which makes the lion glad. He and his tamer may not be able to help much at this final push of her interesting search for her own place in the sun but knowing Tata’s dream may also prod the children of the poor fishermen at their backyard to dream of better worlds likewise.
And the lion at the sidelines roars!!
The lion was snuggly seated at the cemented bench outside their backyard watching the “habagat’s” raging waves slam their fury at the seawall when he heard his tamer holler from inside the gate saying: “Maning just called, he requests you call him back at his landline phone.”
On the lion’s way back to the house, he was told Maning is asking whether his ward “Tata”, that’s the sobriquet for the name Isabelita Equipelag, can stay with them for about a month or two as she was assigned to do her “practicum” (or practice teaching) at the Guindulman Elementary School as final requisite to her graduation at the University of Bohol. The lion tamer also added that arrangements that she board at another place with sixteen other “practicumers” were already made but that Maning preferred that she stay at our den not only for cost consideration but also for her safety as well. Which made the lion chuckle; it now is clear that “cost consideration” is a phrase that all retirees must grapple with!
At the phone, VW Mende repeated his request and the two sentences that the lion could utter was” “VW Sir, your wish is my command. When will she come over?”
It turned out the transfer was not as easy as VW Maning thought it will be. The school administrator who was in charge naturally wanted that all “practicumers” were housed in just one roof as was the standard procedure in that kind of activity. But Maning was insistent and so he contacted WB David Tirol and explained to the latter his wish. His reasons were repeated and when WB David asked “And to whom will he stay?, ” VW Maning’s classic reply was: “At the residence of Bro. Jun in Guindulman!!” And thus ended the argument to finally plead his case.
Last August 9 at noontime while the lion as usual was at the backyard, “Tata” came introducing herself to the missus and promised she will return later in the afternoon with her bag and other amenities. And she did.
While at dinnertime that evening, we assured Tata that being Maning’s ward, she is definitely welcome at our house, and in between bites, told us her story.
Tata, now aged 23, is the fourth child in a family of eight children of a farmer-couple of one of the barangays of the interior town of Alicia called Katipunan, who, even at her very young age of fourteen already dreamt of becoming a schoolteacher someday.
But it was not an easy dream. As is common to rural folks, planting rice during seasons is ranked more important than being inside classrooms. Not only that!, she had to walk two kilometers each day (and back) at the adjacent town of Pilar where the high school is located. And so with the help of her schoolteacher, she started “nag-working” (a corrupted word coined for a desirous young student who is accepted as household help by generous patrons in exchange for free education) at the nearby town of Pilar and there finally completed her high school studies.
After graduation, her mother took her to the wife of one of the University’s owners at the island’s only city to enable her to pursue her dream and was promptly accepted as a working student.
But her stay in the place of her next benefactor was, to her, a little difficult to perform as the human traffic that daily goes in and out of the house was something she was not previously accustomed to. Which compelled her first benefactor to look for another patron where the girl can realize her dream without much difficulty. And that’s how she was taken in by VW Maning who has a farm in Katipunan where the parents of the girl live, and whose wife is also in the field of education, and promptly took her in their protective wings.
Tata at this time is already in the last stage of her studies and this coming October will finally earn her diploma. All these five years she has been with VW Maning, her job was to act as house caretaker during the day and when her patrons return from work in the afternoon, would attend classes at the University and there pursue her dream with vigor.
Definitely not an easy task for her and neither for her patrons who not only must provide for her school expenses but also for clothing, lodging and food. But as a philosopher once clearly echoed: “A dream, if done daily and with precision, can surely be turned to gold!”
Which makes the lion glad. He and his tamer may not be able to help much at this final push of her interesting search for her own place in the sun but knowing Tata’s dream may also prod the children of the poor fishermen at their backyard to dream of better worlds likewise.
And the lion at the sidelines roars!!
ANNABELLE
Her full name is Annabelle C. Bernadas and is 2 ½ years old. Statistically, she is the seventh harelip patient that we have successfully helped through the sponsorship of the Christian Service International and the Ramiro Community Hospital and therefore no longer appear worthy of being chronicled in an article.
But her life and the circumstances surrounding her case simply cannot be ignored as a human-interest feature. Let me tell you her story as it unfolded before my very eyes from the very beginning.
Last August 31 at about nine in the morning, I was at our backyard leisurely separating the grains from the corncob when a female neighbor approached our gate asking for the missus. With her are a middle-aged woman, a twelve-year old boy and a girl with a congenital harelip. I nonchalantly replied that she is in church but will be back shortly and silently mused: “this is another job for Wonder Woman.”
Our neighbor narrated that she saw the girl at the Long Distance calling station and seeing her deformed lips asked her companion if the girl is her daughter and whether she would be interested to have her operated upon. The woman said that the girl is her granddaughter and on the second question said that she would. That was what brought them to our place.
Save for her inborn defect, Annabelle is an otherwise charming girl who was born in the metropolis last February 2001. To confound matters her mother died even before she reached her first birthday and her father, a jeepney driver, promptly got himself a live-in partner who already had two children who are older than Annabelle by a previous marital relationship. The arrangement apparently did not work out well (remember Cinderella with her stepmother and stepsisters?) and so her father brought her home to his own mother in an interior barangay in Guindulman last May in time for the annual fiesta. He left his daughter to his mother with the promise that he will return in July to take her back to the metropolis but apparently, it was a promise made to be broken.
The missus arrived from church and posed the usual questions and in fine she made the usual arrangements with the sponsor and the hospital. But it took Conchita, that’s the grandmother’s name, more than two weeks to get the needed verbal consent of his son and return to our place. Apparently, the mother also asked for financial assistance but since finance is a malady that is of worldwide affliction, instead received a reply from her son with the phrase: “Bahala na lang kayo sa apo niyo diyan!”
The operation was finally scheduled on September 18 but because of technical difficulties was only consummated the next day. Upon reaching home that night, the missus narrated that Conchita is an unlettered woman who could neither read nor write and therefore could not sign the required waiver for the medical operation such that she was even compelled to sign it herself. She also later called Conchita over the phone and instructed her to pass by our residence before returning home to their place so that additional instruction may be given her.
They did pass by our house the next day but there we learned that they checked out of the hospital without the needed clearance (AWOL, that’s the term for it) and therefore was not able to take with them the medicines needed to heal the wound. The missus was naturally upset because of the additional expenses involved but I cautioned her to be more tolerant as the grandmother is obviously ignorant of many things outside of her own world in her barangay. Calling the hospital, the missus learned that Dr. Ramiro is not available as he just left for Cebu City and that the required medicines are still in the hospital. Regretfully, I bought the medicines at the local pharmacy that the wound may heal. The hospital staff likewise confirmed .that the post check-up operation is scheduled a week later.
It’s now September 26 as this article is being written and the missus is again bound for Tagbilaran City on board her favorite van with Conchita and Annabelle all in a happy mood. The little girl, after all, no longer shows that ugly facial look and the Divine Architect willing, may even someday find her own Prince Charming in this rustic island that the aging lion and his tamer have made their permanent habitat!
Her full name is Annabelle C. Bernadas and is 2 ½ years old. Statistically, she is the seventh harelip patient that we have successfully helped through the sponsorship of the Christian Service International and the Ramiro Community Hospital and therefore no longer appear worthy of being chronicled in an article.
But her life and the circumstances surrounding her case simply cannot be ignored as a human-interest feature. Let me tell you her story as it unfolded before my very eyes from the very beginning.
Last August 31 at about nine in the morning, I was at our backyard leisurely separating the grains from the corncob when a female neighbor approached our gate asking for the missus. With her are a middle-aged woman, a twelve-year old boy and a girl with a congenital harelip. I nonchalantly replied that she is in church but will be back shortly and silently mused: “this is another job for Wonder Woman.”
Our neighbor narrated that she saw the girl at the Long Distance calling station and seeing her deformed lips asked her companion if the girl is her daughter and whether she would be interested to have her operated upon. The woman said that the girl is her granddaughter and on the second question said that she would. That was what brought them to our place.
Save for her inborn defect, Annabelle is an otherwise charming girl who was born in the metropolis last February 2001. To confound matters her mother died even before she reached her first birthday and her father, a jeepney driver, promptly got himself a live-in partner who already had two children who are older than Annabelle by a previous marital relationship. The arrangement apparently did not work out well (remember Cinderella with her stepmother and stepsisters?) and so her father brought her home to his own mother in an interior barangay in Guindulman last May in time for the annual fiesta. He left his daughter to his mother with the promise that he will return in July to take her back to the metropolis but apparently, it was a promise made to be broken.
The missus arrived from church and posed the usual questions and in fine she made the usual arrangements with the sponsor and the hospital. But it took Conchita, that’s the grandmother’s name, more than two weeks to get the needed verbal consent of his son and return to our place. Apparently, the mother also asked for financial assistance but since finance is a malady that is of worldwide affliction, instead received a reply from her son with the phrase: “Bahala na lang kayo sa apo niyo diyan!”
The operation was finally scheduled on September 18 but because of technical difficulties was only consummated the next day. Upon reaching home that night, the missus narrated that Conchita is an unlettered woman who could neither read nor write and therefore could not sign the required waiver for the medical operation such that she was even compelled to sign it herself. She also later called Conchita over the phone and instructed her to pass by our residence before returning home to their place so that additional instruction may be given her.
They did pass by our house the next day but there we learned that they checked out of the hospital without the needed clearance (AWOL, that’s the term for it) and therefore was not able to take with them the medicines needed to heal the wound. The missus was naturally upset because of the additional expenses involved but I cautioned her to be more tolerant as the grandmother is obviously ignorant of many things outside of her own world in her barangay. Calling the hospital, the missus learned that Dr. Ramiro is not available as he just left for Cebu City and that the required medicines are still in the hospital. Regretfully, I bought the medicines at the local pharmacy that the wound may heal. The hospital staff likewise confirmed .that the post check-up operation is scheduled a week later.
It’s now September 26 as this article is being written and the missus is again bound for Tagbilaran City on board her favorite van with Conchita and Annabelle all in a happy mood. The little girl, after all, no longer shows that ugly facial look and the Divine Architect willing, may even someday find her own Prince Charming in this rustic island that the aging lion and his tamer have made their permanent habitat!
A CRUEL JOKE’S BRIGHTER SIDE
This article would not have landed in this Website’s infinite pages were it not for a humorous-sounding cruel joke that was sent by a brother through the Web in the vernacular (and translated by this writer in English) as shown below:
THE JOKE
Minsan, umuwi ng maaga si Mister para sorpresahin ang kaniyang kabiyak. Dahan dahan siyang pumasok sa kanilang bahay at hinanap ang kaniyang Misis. Nakita niya itong abala sa pagluluto at di namalayan
na siya ay dumating. (Once, a mister went home early to surprise his beloved. He slowly entered the house and looked for his wife. He saw her busy cooking and did not see him coming.)
Maingat siyang lumapit sabay takip sa mga mata ni Misis sabay sabing "NGES HU!!!!!" (He carefully neared her and simultaneously covered her eyes with his palms saying “NGES HU!!!)
Sabi naman ni Misis, " Lintek, nges- hu-nges- hu ka
pa diyan ikaw lang naman ang ngongo dito!!!!! (And the missus said “Heck, NGES-HU-NGES-HU- there you go again; when you are the only harelip in this house!!)
THE ARTICLE
Lyndon Amparo is a two-year-old boy in our hometown who sports a congenital harelip. His father is a co-worker of Rolando Boysillo whose son, like that of Primo Seroje, was operated on of his inborn defect last April at the Ramiro Community Hospital. Lyndon will then be the third harelip that me and the missus will help as an apostolic work in this rustic and bucolic place called Guindulman town.
We were already apprised of Lyndon’s condition by the town’s first lady before the operation on Boysillo’s son was conducted and therefore were already expecting his parents to come to us for the needed procedural requirements to undergo before the operation could be done. That time, we reckon it would be like shooting two birds with only one stone if the two boys can be taken to the hospital in just one trip. But Lyndon’s parents did not come.
By end of June, Evelyn Amparo, the mother, and with her son in her arms, finally went to our residence asking if we can also help her son. We said we will try. During the conversation, we asked her why they did not approach us sooner considering that they and Rolando Boysillo knew each other. She replied that they wanted first to know if the operation on Boysillo’s son will be successful. Asking them if they saw Boysillo’s son after the operation and if they were satisfied, the mother just nodded. I thought, of course, she is entitled to that!! Finally seeing her son handsome (although the mother shows a slight facial defect, she is obviously good looking) I consider her attitude a natural reaction since traveling to Tagbilaran City would indeed be a hassle if her son’s condition will not improve after the operation as she expects.
And so we contacted Darin Goertzen of the Christian Service International for the needed referral slip and who, in turn, enthusiastically gave the go-signal. Next, the missus called Ramiro Community Hospital so that the operation may be scheduled and was told that the doctor’s calendar of activities show that the job can be done the following week.
The day for the trip to Tagbilaran City came. We eagerly waited at the gate at five in the morning for the couple and the child. Four adults and a young boy arrived on a motorcycle an hour later. The driver who was hired for the trip, the father, a teenage boy who we later learned was the father’s younger brother, and the boy’s grandmother.
Seeing that the mother was not around, the missus asked for her. The grandmother first retorted that she is at home with fever. Pressed on for a more definite answer, she changed her statement and replied that she is at home caring for their second child. The missus then asked if she, the grandmother, will join them and was surprised to hear that her reply was in the negative. The task of caring for the needs of the child while at the hospital will be done by the father and his teenage brother, she said.
While waiting for the van to arrive, the grandmother talked to the missus and while it was not in an outright commanding tone, said that the boy needs special attention, as if insinuating that it will be better if the missus can also pinch in to see that the boy is attended to personally while at the hospital room.
The missus looked at me with discouraging, albeit perplexed gaze. She could not understand why no female relative decided to attend to the needs of the child while at the hospital. And so I patted her back saying: “Go with a smile on your lips, the more that young boy needs your helping hand!!
By one thirty that afternoon, I called the missus via her cellphone and asked if the operation was performed but was told that the harelip repair could not be done. While the boy was admitted to the hospital and dextrose attached to the boy’s arm, on close examination, he was found to have fever and so the doctor decided to postpone the operation for a later time. To the consternation of both the boy’s father and my wife! The doctor and the rest of the medical staff of course assured them that the operation will be done the next time they come around.
At hearing this, the face of the boy’s father brightened. He realized his eldest child’s inborn defect will finally be made a thing of the recent past, meaning that at some future time the phrase “NGES, HU, NGES HU will no longer be heard nor read like the cruel joke written above.
But will the boy’s mother or his grandmother troop to the hospital when the fateful day of the operation finally comes around?!
This article would not have landed in this Website’s infinite pages were it not for a humorous-sounding cruel joke that was sent by a brother through the Web in the vernacular (and translated by this writer in English) as shown below:
THE JOKE
Minsan, umuwi ng maaga si Mister para sorpresahin ang kaniyang kabiyak. Dahan dahan siyang pumasok sa kanilang bahay at hinanap ang kaniyang Misis. Nakita niya itong abala sa pagluluto at di namalayan
na siya ay dumating. (Once, a mister went home early to surprise his beloved. He slowly entered the house and looked for his wife. He saw her busy cooking and did not see him coming.)
Maingat siyang lumapit sabay takip sa mga mata ni Misis sabay sabing "NGES HU!!!!!" (He carefully neared her and simultaneously covered her eyes with his palms saying “NGES HU!!!)
Sabi naman ni Misis, " Lintek, nges- hu-nges- hu ka
pa diyan ikaw lang naman ang ngongo dito!!!!! (And the missus said “Heck, NGES-HU-NGES-HU- there you go again; when you are the only harelip in this house!!)
THE ARTICLE
Lyndon Amparo is a two-year-old boy in our hometown who sports a congenital harelip. His father is a co-worker of Rolando Boysillo whose son, like that of Primo Seroje, was operated on of his inborn defect last April at the Ramiro Community Hospital. Lyndon will then be the third harelip that me and the missus will help as an apostolic work in this rustic and bucolic place called Guindulman town.
We were already apprised of Lyndon’s condition by the town’s first lady before the operation on Boysillo’s son was conducted and therefore were already expecting his parents to come to us for the needed procedural requirements to undergo before the operation could be done. That time, we reckon it would be like shooting two birds with only one stone if the two boys can be taken to the hospital in just one trip. But Lyndon’s parents did not come.
By end of June, Evelyn Amparo, the mother, and with her son in her arms, finally went to our residence asking if we can also help her son. We said we will try. During the conversation, we asked her why they did not approach us sooner considering that they and Rolando Boysillo knew each other. She replied that they wanted first to know if the operation on Boysillo’s son will be successful. Asking them if they saw Boysillo’s son after the operation and if they were satisfied, the mother just nodded. I thought, of course, she is entitled to that!! Finally seeing her son handsome (although the mother shows a slight facial defect, she is obviously good looking) I consider her attitude a natural reaction since traveling to Tagbilaran City would indeed be a hassle if her son’s condition will not improve after the operation as she expects.
And so we contacted Darin Goertzen of the Christian Service International for the needed referral slip and who, in turn, enthusiastically gave the go-signal. Next, the missus called Ramiro Community Hospital so that the operation may be scheduled and was told that the doctor’s calendar of activities show that the job can be done the following week.
The day for the trip to Tagbilaran City came. We eagerly waited at the gate at five in the morning for the couple and the child. Four adults and a young boy arrived on a motorcycle an hour later. The driver who was hired for the trip, the father, a teenage boy who we later learned was the father’s younger brother, and the boy’s grandmother.
Seeing that the mother was not around, the missus asked for her. The grandmother first retorted that she is at home with fever. Pressed on for a more definite answer, she changed her statement and replied that she is at home caring for their second child. The missus then asked if she, the grandmother, will join them and was surprised to hear that her reply was in the negative. The task of caring for the needs of the child while at the hospital will be done by the father and his teenage brother, she said.
While waiting for the van to arrive, the grandmother talked to the missus and while it was not in an outright commanding tone, said that the boy needs special attention, as if insinuating that it will be better if the missus can also pinch in to see that the boy is attended to personally while at the hospital room.
The missus looked at me with discouraging, albeit perplexed gaze. She could not understand why no female relative decided to attend to the needs of the child while at the hospital. And so I patted her back saying: “Go with a smile on your lips, the more that young boy needs your helping hand!!
By one thirty that afternoon, I called the missus via her cellphone and asked if the operation was performed but was told that the harelip repair could not be done. While the boy was admitted to the hospital and dextrose attached to the boy’s arm, on close examination, he was found to have fever and so the doctor decided to postpone the operation for a later time. To the consternation of both the boy’s father and my wife! The doctor and the rest of the medical staff of course assured them that the operation will be done the next time they come around.
At hearing this, the face of the boy’s father brightened. He realized his eldest child’s inborn defect will finally be made a thing of the recent past, meaning that at some future time the phrase “NGES, HU, NGES HU will no longer be heard nor read like the cruel joke written above.
But will the boy’s mother or his grandmother troop to the hospital when the fateful day of the operation finally comes around?!
UNTO THE EMERGENCY ROOM
It was already late in the afternoon of July 31 when the missus arrived from Tagbilaran City fully exhausted and obviously disappointed. Earlier in the day, she called via her cellphone that the harelip repair of the third patient could not be performed as the boy still had fever. The doctor therefore again postponed the operation for another date.
Upon arrival at our residence, she could not help but express her apprehensions. She is afraid the parents of the child might decide to withdraw from the planned operation. With two postponements already experienced, it is highly possible they might resolve not to pursue it any further thinking that the “Ginoo” (or Lord) does not want the inborn features of their son changed. And what could we do if this defeatist attitude get into their skulls’ membrane?! This possibility may sound queer, but in this rustic and bucolic place where superstition and age-old habits are still devoutly practiced, one can never tell what the rural folks will think of next.
After dinner, we both hied off to our backyard to enjoy the early evening sea breeze and evaluate our dwindling finances. With harvest still three months away, we reckon it’s time to methodically prune our expenses. Medicine is still top priority, our various projects must also continue, food shall be selected with the end view of purchasing the less expensive ones, while the planned visit to Cebu must be postponed for another date, otherwise, we may end up victims of loan-sharks who, like in almost all places, charge usurious interests. Five six??
At this juncture, Liza our neighbor, approached us and narrated that her family had a problem that is already unmanageable for them to solve. She said that her eldest son, Lotlot, who lives with her parents some fifty meters away from their house, was suffering from acute stomach pain and was vomiting the past three days. Her father already took him to a rural doctor who prescribed the medicine but that the boy’s condition did not improve. With their meager savings already fully spent and with nowhere to turn to, they decided to come to us for help.
Before I ever had a chance to open my mouth, the missus opened hers and decided to literally take the bull squarely by the horns, I silently mused: “It’s time for Supergirl”. But at age fifty-four, “Supergirl”? Ho, ho, ho!! But wait! She can ably fill the shoes of Wonder Woman; for after all, she often works wonders, and is undoubtedly wonderful!! But what happens to our fast-dwindling finances?? Heck, Someone up there will just have to attend to this later!
After getting all the information that she needed, she immediately rattled her instructions to Liza and thereafter went home to change clothes. Together with the patient, the mother and the grandfather, they rode a tricycle and took the boy straight to the hospital. They also decided to take Liza’s other two siblings along, Her husband, Jimbo, was busy with his occupation as fisherman and is still afloat somewhere in the fringes of Mindanao’s turbulent ocean.
The hospital administrator, apparently with the reported deaths of the quadruplets in metropolitan Manila caused by hospital indifference that was all over the radio still fresh on her mind, and also with the persuasive tongue of the missus assisting, decided to accept the patient without the required deposit. But only after the missus signed the prescribed form as guarantor should the parents be unable to foot the hospital bill.
The next day, the missus and the patient’s mother visited the patient at the hospital and noted that the flow of the dextrose at the boy’s arm was n
It was already late in the afternoon of July 31 when the missus arrived from Tagbilaran City fully exhausted and obviously disappointed. Earlier in the day, she called via her cellphone that the harelip repair of the third patient could not be performed as the boy still had fever. The doctor therefore again postponed the operation for another date.
Upon arrival at our residence, she could not help but express her apprehensions. She is afraid the parents of the child might decide to withdraw from the planned operation. With two postponements already experienced, it is highly possible they might resolve not to pursue it any further thinking that the “Ginoo” (or Lord) does not want the inborn features of their son changed. And what could we do if this defeatist attitude get into their skulls’ membrane?! This possibility may sound queer, but in this rustic and bucolic place where superstition and age-old habits are still devoutly practiced, one can never tell what the rural folks will think of next.
After dinner, we both hied off to our backyard to enjoy the early evening sea breeze and evaluate our dwindling finances. With harvest still three months away, we reckon it’s time to methodically prune our expenses. Medicine is still top priority, our various projects must also continue, food shall be selected with the end view of purchasing the less expensive ones, while the planned visit to Cebu must be postponed for another date, otherwise, we may end up victims of loan-sharks who, like in almost all places, charge usurious interests. Five six??
At this juncture, Liza our neighbor, approached us and narrated that her family had a problem that is already unmanageable for them to solve. She said that her eldest son, Lotlot, who lives with her parents some fifty meters away from their house, was suffering from acute stomach pain and was vomiting the past three days. Her father already took him to a rural doctor who prescribed the medicine but that the boy’s condition did not improve. With their meager savings already fully spent and with nowhere to turn to, they decided to come to us for help.
Before I ever had a chance to open my mouth, the missus opened hers and decided to literally take the bull squarely by the horns, I silently mused: “It’s time for Supergirl”. But at age fifty-four, “Supergirl”? Ho, ho, ho!! But wait! She can ably fill the shoes of Wonder Woman; for after all, she often works wonders, and is undoubtedly wonderful!! But what happens to our fast-dwindling finances?? Heck, Someone up there will just have to attend to this later!
After getting all the information that she needed, she immediately rattled her instructions to Liza and thereafter went home to change clothes. Together with the patient, the mother and the grandfather, they rode a tricycle and took the boy straight to the hospital. They also decided to take Liza’s other two siblings along, Her husband, Jimbo, was busy with his occupation as fisherman and is still afloat somewhere in the fringes of Mindanao’s turbulent ocean.
The hospital administrator, apparently with the reported deaths of the quadruplets in metropolitan Manila caused by hospital indifference that was all over the radio still fresh on her mind, and also with the persuasive tongue of the missus assisting, decided to accept the patient without the required deposit. But only after the missus signed the prescribed form as guarantor should the parents be unable to foot the hospital bill.
The next day, the missus and the patient’s mother visited the patient at the hospital and noted that the flow of the dextrose at the boy’s arm was n
DEATH IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The lion has just returned from his Sunday morning chore of going to market for their weekly food provisions when on his way home he passed by the shanties of the fishermen at their backyard and there Liza, Jimbo;s wife said: “Nong Jun, patay na ang imong amigong si Cesar Pogi” (Bro. Jun, your friend Cesar Pogi, is dead.)
And so the lion retorted: “Ngano man?” (Why?) And she said: “Ambot sa’!” (I don’t know. ) “Pero namatay siya, kanginang mga alas tres sa buntag ra! (But he died only about three this morning.) she added.
So without additional word the lion entered their backyard and upon entering the house immediately reported the sad news to the lion tamer.
Just who is Cesar Pogi??
Cesar is a one-year old son of a septuagenarian neighbor who was born in November of last year whom the lion befriended and later he playfully nicknamed “Pogi”. The second son by a second marriage to a woman half his age, it is said that Cesar’s mother who was still in her early twenties when the ailing first wife was still alive some twelve years ago, the latter allegedly expressly wished that his husband marry the young girl once she pass out to the next world.
Whether this is true or not, one could no longer tell, but he did, and so, aside from his six grown-up children by his first wife and who have since lived apart from their father, the father later added another set of children composed of two boys, one now ten years old named Mark, and the other he named Cesar, who would oftentimes execute the “high five” or hold the lion’s hand to place it on his forehead for blessing, a custom widely known to the rural folks. At times the lion would take Cesar from his mother and playfully baby-talk with him to the child’s utmost delight.
The father is a “retired fisherman” whose family now subsists on the generosity of his adult children. His electric bills are paid for by a daughter who works for the local electric company and even the “pampers” of Cesar, a luxury item in this rustic place, is provided for by an elder brother. Another brother, now abroad, would also periodically send in remittance to his father to support their needs. But since these dole-outs are not regularly sent and are neither substantial, their daily subsistence cannot be considered luxurious and in all respects, may be considered as strictly on a hand-to-mouth basis.
And so it was that when the lion broke out the sad news to the lion tamer, it came to her as a total shock. Which made her remark: “How can we help?”, and got from the lion this reply: “Well, you can first visit them and see what you can do! For a start, bring a little money to enable the mother at least to buy coffee.” You may also decide to send five kilos of rice that relatives from distant places may have something to eat upon their arrival.
So the missus barked back: “Will two hundred bucks do?” “Well, the lion said: “For start, I guess that will do. But play it by ear. They may need more than that later.” Which she did.
An hour later she was back and said that the septuagenarian father, after receiving the P200, went out of the house but when he returned had with him a 4”x 8” plywood instead of coffee and sugar. Promptly, he took out his carpentry tools and proceeded to make a coffin the size where his youngest son would fit. Also, he matter-of-factly said that instead of holding a wake for several days, he and his wife decided it will be best that their child be buried the same afternoon. There is no need to stretch the agony any longer.
Upon arrival from the cemetery later in the afternoon, the mother said that the evening prayers will be held, but only for one night. And so the missus instructed his favorite twelve-year-old neighbor to ask for voluntary contributions so that at least, there will be something to partake after the novena that will be held later. Wherefore the boy promptly returned with fifty pesos in his hand.
So the lion said, “double the amount. I think, a hundred peso worth of pan de sal will suffice.” Much as we would want to give more, under these exigencies and considering the number of attendees during the evening prayer that would already be enough.
And so it was that one young soul exited from this to the other world without even a whimper. Quite handsome even with his frail but angelic face, he did not have a chance to show his wares and prove his worth in this unpredictable and cruel world. But then perhaps, it was for the better, facing extreme poverty, he probably deserves to be reincarnated to another time and place and there enjoy a more challenging and fruitful life instead on this that is extremely and totally in want.
The lion has just returned from his Sunday morning chore of going to market for their weekly food provisions when on his way home he passed by the shanties of the fishermen at their backyard and there Liza, Jimbo;s wife said: “Nong Jun, patay na ang imong amigong si Cesar Pogi” (Bro. Jun, your friend Cesar Pogi, is dead.)
And so the lion retorted: “Ngano man?” (Why?) And she said: “Ambot sa’!” (I don’t know. ) “Pero namatay siya, kanginang mga alas tres sa buntag ra! (But he died only about three this morning.) she added.
So without additional word the lion entered their backyard and upon entering the house immediately reported the sad news to the lion tamer.
Just who is Cesar Pogi??
Cesar is a one-year old son of a septuagenarian neighbor who was born in November of last year whom the lion befriended and later he playfully nicknamed “Pogi”. The second son by a second marriage to a woman half his age, it is said that Cesar’s mother who was still in her early twenties when the ailing first wife was still alive some twelve years ago, the latter allegedly expressly wished that his husband marry the young girl once she pass out to the next world.
Whether this is true or not, one could no longer tell, but he did, and so, aside from his six grown-up children by his first wife and who have since lived apart from their father, the father later added another set of children composed of two boys, one now ten years old named Mark, and the other he named Cesar, who would oftentimes execute the “high five” or hold the lion’s hand to place it on his forehead for blessing, a custom widely known to the rural folks. At times the lion would take Cesar from his mother and playfully baby-talk with him to the child’s utmost delight.
The father is a “retired fisherman” whose family now subsists on the generosity of his adult children. His electric bills are paid for by a daughter who works for the local electric company and even the “pampers” of Cesar, a luxury item in this rustic place, is provided for by an elder brother. Another brother, now abroad, would also periodically send in remittance to his father to support their needs. But since these dole-outs are not regularly sent and are neither substantial, their daily subsistence cannot be considered luxurious and in all respects, may be considered as strictly on a hand-to-mouth basis.
And so it was that when the lion broke out the sad news to the lion tamer, it came to her as a total shock. Which made her remark: “How can we help?”, and got from the lion this reply: “Well, you can first visit them and see what you can do! For a start, bring a little money to enable the mother at least to buy coffee.” You may also decide to send five kilos of rice that relatives from distant places may have something to eat upon their arrival.
So the missus barked back: “Will two hundred bucks do?” “Well, the lion said: “For start, I guess that will do. But play it by ear. They may need more than that later.” Which she did.
An hour later she was back and said that the septuagenarian father, after receiving the P200, went out of the house but when he returned had with him a 4”x 8” plywood instead of coffee and sugar. Promptly, he took out his carpentry tools and proceeded to make a coffin the size where his youngest son would fit. Also, he matter-of-factly said that instead of holding a wake for several days, he and his wife decided it will be best that their child be buried the same afternoon. There is no need to stretch the agony any longer.
Upon arrival from the cemetery later in the afternoon, the mother said that the evening prayers will be held, but only for one night. And so the missus instructed his favorite twelve-year-old neighbor to ask for voluntary contributions so that at least, there will be something to partake after the novena that will be held later. Wherefore the boy promptly returned with fifty pesos in his hand.
So the lion said, “double the amount. I think, a hundred peso worth of pan de sal will suffice.” Much as we would want to give more, under these exigencies and considering the number of attendees during the evening prayer that would already be enough.
And so it was that one young soul exited from this to the other world without even a whimper. Quite handsome even with his frail but angelic face, he did not have a chance to show his wares and prove his worth in this unpredictable and cruel world. But then perhaps, it was for the better, facing extreme poverty, he probably deserves to be reincarnated to another time and place and there enjoy a more challenging and fruitful life instead on this that is extremely and totally in want.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
J. R.
By: Bro. Geminiano V. Galarosa, Jr.
Dagohoy Lodge No 84
(HM- LL 185, JS 169 and RP 147)
His son was born a harelip, but this fact was not the start of the story.
Sometime last November, the jack of all trades that the missus hired to fix the leaking roof of our house reported for work obviously in tears. We knew that his wife was already about to deliver their third baby and therefore silently wondered whatever happened to her or the still-unborn child.
Upon prodding by the missus, “Yuki”, that was the sobriquet that I gave him in replacement to “Yukyuk,” the peculiar-sounding nickname that he is otherwise called, admitted that his wife Paz, has just delivered their third baby but that to his consternation was born a harelip. His enthusiasm at having a third sibling who was born with an abnormality suddenly caved in, for he could not help but wonder out aloud at his misfortunes. Himself a son born out of wedlock and marrying a girl who also had a child before he married her, he naturally felt that his Maker was being unfair to him.
The missus tried to console him and realizing that she was not effective, cajoled me to pitch in and help. True enough, his feelings were at its lowest ebb. Obviously a handsome and fine young man, he barely completed elementary education, is now aged thirty, is rumored that he has at one time indulged in drugs, but through it all has bravely weathered life’s misfortunes believing that he can still overturn life’s troubles for the good. In addition to carpentry, he can also do masonry, install tiles both at the kitchen and bathroom, paint the walls and do various odd jobs at remodeling our residence that made him the indispensable jack of all trades of the ruler of the house. And I learned he is also a good cook hired during fiestas during the month of May which is a common sight in this rustic and bucolic island!
But this recent misfortune to him was incomprehensible. His two other children, a boy and a girl now aged seven and five, respectively, at the start would not even approach their brother and would call him “bungi”, the local translation for the word harelip.
I felt it was indeed now a job for tact and effective counseling. Patiently telling him that having a physical defect does not necessarily mean the end of the world for him and his family, I cited as example former Senator Ernesto “Boy” Herrera, a native Boholano also was born with a handicap who rose to become senator; and sensing that he was becoming receptive, also mentioned the internationally acclaimed “Max” Soliven, the publisher of Philippine Star, a widely circulated newspaper in the land. His face somehow brightened when I finally assured him that he should not worry so much for we will do our utmost to have his harelip son operated on to help minimize, if not completely cure his son’s inborn abnormality.
During our visit to the metropolis last Christmas, one of our more important tasks was to contact Sis. Perla Evasco of the Manila Bodies at the Scottish Rite Temple for help. She assured us not to worry as solution to the problem can be arranged at St. Martin the Porres Hospital upon our endorsement. All that was needed was a bio-data of the family and pictures of the would-be patient to support the medical request.
Upon our return to our hometown last January we learned that a similar operation can also be done at the Ramiro Community Hospital at Tagbilaran City upon sponsorship of Christian Service International, a charitable religious organization, and thus assured Yuki that help for his son is now on the way. We were told that Dr.Ronald Ramiro, son of the hospital’s owners, close kin of VW Rosauro “Boy” Rosales of New Jersey and husband of Dr. Jane Ramiro, the missus’ physician, will personally perform the operation. Yuki can only nod silently. We opted for this alternative as having the child operated on at the big city will entail so much expenses and hassle as transportation and lodging costs will definitely be prohibitive which the poor parents and ourselves can shoulder.
On February 9, or a day after this writer attended the stated meeting of Dagohoy Lodge No. 84, me and the missus finally talked to Steve Yoder of the said religious organization who prepared the required form for sponsorship. We also talked to Darin Goertzen over the phone and thus were able to finalize the needed support. Until finally, last February 18, the missus accompanied the patient and his mother to Tagbilaran City and there Dr. Ramiro performed the first of the two-phase harelip-repair at the Ramiro Community Hospital leaving the aging lion behind at Guidulman town.
The lion could only muse silently: “that young lad may not turn out as handsome as his father but should be near similar as the medical doctors can possibly do their level best in service to humanity!”
Dagohoy Lodge No 84
(HM- LL 185, JS 169 and RP 147)
His son was born a harelip, but this fact was not the start of the story.
Sometime last November, the jack of all trades that the missus hired to fix the leaking roof of our house reported for work obviously in tears. We knew that his wife was already about to deliver their third baby and therefore silently wondered whatever happened to her or the still-unborn child.
Upon prodding by the missus, “Yuki”, that was the sobriquet that I gave him in replacement to “Yukyuk,” the peculiar-sounding nickname that he is otherwise called, admitted that his wife Paz, has just delivered their third baby but that to his consternation was born a harelip. His enthusiasm at having a third sibling who was born with an abnormality suddenly caved in, for he could not help but wonder out aloud at his misfortunes. Himself a son born out of wedlock and marrying a girl who also had a child before he married her, he naturally felt that his Maker was being unfair to him.
The missus tried to console him and realizing that she was not effective, cajoled me to pitch in and help. True enough, his feelings were at its lowest ebb. Obviously a handsome and fine young man, he barely completed elementary education, is now aged thirty, is rumored that he has at one time indulged in drugs, but through it all has bravely weathered life’s misfortunes believing that he can still overturn life’s troubles for the good. In addition to carpentry, he can also do masonry, install tiles both at the kitchen and bathroom, paint the walls and do various odd jobs at remodeling our residence that made him the indispensable jack of all trades of the ruler of the house. And I learned he is also a good cook hired during fiestas during the month of May which is a common sight in this rustic and bucolic island!
But this recent misfortune to him was incomprehensible. His two other children, a boy and a girl now aged seven and five, respectively, at the start would not even approach their brother and would call him “bungi”, the local translation for the word harelip.
I felt it was indeed now a job for tact and effective counseling. Patiently telling him that having a physical defect does not necessarily mean the end of the world for him and his family, I cited as example former Senator Ernesto “Boy” Herrera, a native Boholano also was born with a handicap who rose to become senator; and sensing that he was becoming receptive, also mentioned the internationally acclaimed “Max” Soliven, the publisher of Philippine Star, a widely circulated newspaper in the land. His face somehow brightened when I finally assured him that he should not worry so much for we will do our utmost to have his harelip son operated on to help minimize, if not completely cure his son’s inborn abnormality.
During our visit to the metropolis last Christmas, one of our more important tasks was to contact Sis. Perla Evasco of the Manila Bodies at the Scottish Rite Temple for help. She assured us not to worry as solution to the problem can be arranged at St. Martin the Porres Hospital upon our endorsement. All that was needed was a bio-data of the family and pictures of the would-be patient to support the medical request.
Upon our return to our hometown last January we learned that a similar operation can also be done at the Ramiro Community Hospital at Tagbilaran City upon sponsorship of Christian Service International, a charitable religious organization, and thus assured Yuki that help for his son is now on the way. We were told that Dr.Ronald Ramiro, son of the hospital’s owners, close kin of VW Rosauro “Boy” Rosales of New Jersey and husband of Dr. Jane Ramiro, the missus’ physician, will personally perform the operation. Yuki can only nod silently. We opted for this alternative as having the child operated on at the big city will entail so much expenses and hassle as transportation and lodging costs will definitely be prohibitive which the poor parents and ourselves can shoulder.
On February 9, or a day after this writer attended the stated meeting of Dagohoy Lodge No. 84, me and the missus finally talked to Steve Yoder of the said religious organization who prepared the required form for sponsorship. We also talked to Darin Goertzen over the phone and thus were able to finalize the needed support. Until finally, last February 18, the missus accompanied the patient and his mother to Tagbilaran City and there Dr. Ramiro performed the first of the two-phase harelip-repair at the Ramiro Community Hospital leaving the aging lion behind at Guidulman town.
The lion could only muse silently: “that young lad may not turn out as handsome as his father but should be near similar as the medical doctors can possibly do their level best in service to humanity!”
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