Testimonials

A Great Example of Service

2006-03-14T14:53:00.000-08:00

Cissy is our only local Chinese member of Singles For Christ here in Hong Kong. In many instances she would bridge the language gap between Filipino members and Hong Kong Catholics who wanted to know more about the community. In the land where more than 90% are of Chinese ethnicity, it will be ironic not to have one single member in SFC.

Thank God there is Cissy.

She had been a member for more than four years, beginning when she was at work in Thailand and getting to know community members Jenny (now in Australia) and Shasha (now in the Philippines) who used Hong Kong as workbase. On those years I would wonder how it feels to be alone especially when your companions start talking in tongues -- er, mother tongues.

I feel isolated when my officemates start talking in Cantonese during our lunchtime break. I am the only Filipino in the group. So it's not difficult to understand what Cissy must have endured. As much as we find Cantonese language difficult to grasp, she must have the same thing in mind too when it comes to learning Tagalog even if she sometimes utter words taught maybe by Linda, Esther or Arme.

She looks silent when we are at gatherings, probably because she belongs to a (culturally) one-man minority. But she also gives her ideas, many of which are in context of the local values and practises.

There have been attempts to invite locals in the Christial Life Program, but nearly all of them fade away even before halfway of the entire seminar. Thus, the aim to build a multinational SFC community in Hong Kong remains a goal. And Cissy remains without a local companion.

It was not difficult to befriend Cissy. It was not surprising to see me having dinner with her and confide something I cannot tell to others, or ask something that is related to her being a Hong Kong local. And when she thought about a new service she'd like to pursue, she also sought my words about it. Gladly she accepted the call and will now be moving on a new life in Cambodia, extending her talent, treasure and time away from her family.

She leaves Hong Kong life, the shopping experiences, the comforts of family and friends' companionship and a stable job, in order to be with people who need her help more.

On the day of her thanksgiving Mass, I was unable to fulfill a promise due to my recent arrival from an intercontinental flight. That would have been my tribute to her as promised during our dinner before Christmas break.

I hope for a good health, safe working condition and happiness in your journey in Cambodia. I honor you Cissy.

Our 15th Member

2006-01-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

We used to call him "singkaw" in an apparent reference to his twisted elbow after he fell down from the carabao he was riding when we're in grade school. If the painful reminder of that fall were still prominent, the monicker would not dissipate -- ever. Even when he is now a police officer whose in charge of 91 "able bodied soldiers", as his recent e-mail would describe his troops.

Grecel is a man of gallant stance, loud, intimidating voice and affable, contagious laughter. Right from the start he had the leadership quality, showing off his skill as a neophyte troop leader of our Kawan 177 under Ma'am Papin in Grade 2. It was around this time when he lost his father, a policeman and probably his inspiration to do these stuff, to cardiac arrest. Couple it with the fall, and he was a skinny kid, whose elbow was cast and later subject to taunts of classmates and friends.

Singkaw...

When bullying was common in our neighborhood, the only way to get around him was to scamper around and shout the word which only sparked his fits of rage chasing his antagonist.

He was my classmate in Grade five and the annual boy scout camp is to be held at Malagos, home to the Philippine Eagle. It was raining and he was absent for the past two days due to fever. But he surprised the class of Bougainvilla under Ma'am Alejandro when he showed up at the departure day, wearing the rosary as his necklace.

In high school, he was our Company Commander, a rung under the corps leadership of Aldrin, the Corps Commander, Adjutant Warlito, Logistics Officer Joanne and me as the Intelligence Officer. He could easily pass as the leader of the battalion but was instead appointed in the most influential post of all. He commands leadership among the two platoons of male cadets, who are his close friends off the pitch.

In college, he was a high ranking official at University of Southeastern Philippines ROTC corps, Davao's consistent topnotcher at annual tactical inspection. It was 1994 when I was in my second year and a sophomore at University of the Immaculate Conception when our school scored a sensational upset over Rodel, Iga and the rest of the Ateneo de Davao ROTC, an intra-city rival. But when it was the turn of USEP, we got swept to third spot, after Notre Dame of Marbel coveted the cinderalla finish. When I asked John Elmer about the feat of USEP-Mintal joining their cadres of Obrero campus, he proudly told me it's because one of our childhood friends was lording over the disciplined troops, ushering them to another top podium finish at the end of the inspections.

It was not surprising when he skipped Mechanical Engineering and went through a military school in the north. By that time I was in UIC as a programmer and I seldom hear about him.

Recently, I learned he was assigned in Maragusan, a town in Davao del Norte bounded by pristine ecological beauty and attraction to local and foreign adventure seekers. At the same time, it was known that many Communist rebels are in the area. Probably he was put there because he deserves such challenge.

And when he found time to search for something a few days ago, he found my photo online and got curious of what is going on. I immediately invited him to be the 15th member of our Yahoogroups. A day later he is officially a member of mintal_barkadas, joining us in reminiscing and keeping in touch.

Just as Apolinario Mabini was the brains of the Philippine revolution despite being a polio victim or Lance Armstrong withstood bouts with cancer to win his seventh Tour de France title, being "singkaw" was never ever a reason for Grecel to lead the 91 gallant men serving the country.

Welcome to the Group!

Friends Forever

2005-12-17T06:24:00.000-08:00

Her Friendster photo motivated this piece of blog/testimonial.

Looking at the past it does not seem too distant when I think of Rizza. A prominent figure in school, I have noticed her fame in campus as a classmate in grade school, high school and college. I have known her for the past twenty years.
We had times joining Flores de Mayo together since we belonged to one chapel in our place and were once awarded Mr and Ms Flores de Mayo one summer in late 80s. Her brother Randy shares the same birthday as me.

As my first crush ever, she has been very influential that I have to be very careful of protecting my own "identity"; at the same time very casual that I don't get goosebumps when she is around. In fact it was a routine in the past to drop over her house and play chess with Randy or watch the photo albums.
Her apparently (could be deceivingly) frail figure earned her several monickers from the past until the present. Make no mistake, this girl more than makes up for the lack of it. She is intelligent and open minded. As if school and common friends in Mintal were not enough to get the opportunity to know her more, I got another shot at the chance being an officemate of her for three months at Philweb.

And while she had some not so successful relationships in the past, I never tried to court her, even if she had been my guest star during my slumber trips to dreamland. As if fate would have it, we were destined to be friends forever. When she announced her wedding sometime last year, I immediately sent one sober message for her to read and realize how blessed she is to find the one she will spend the rest of her life with.

Most memorable times about Rizza:

1983 - Being taunted by Junjun, Von Ryan and Michael A. Her umbrella was destroyed.

1984 - She becomes my classmate at Grade 2 Zinnia under Madam Papin, declared her as my first crush.

1986 - Under Mrs Alejandro, I would often fight with Michael M to take the seat behind her.

1987 - Attended Flores de Mayo with her.

1988 - She got With Distinction on our Grade School graduation, same as me.

1989 - She becomes my seatmate at Madam Alminaza's St Agnes class at Holy Cross of Mintal.

1992 - Finished high school with Rizza an Honorable Mention like me. Both of us decided to take Computer Engineering at UIC.

1996 - We went to the same company on our on the job training.

1997 - Finished college.

2000 - She invited me to join Philweb, which I gladly obliged.

As I was told I have been honored to be chosen as one of the emcees (please confirm Riz! haha) if I had my attendance confirmed.

Anyway she is happily married and will soon be delivering her and husband Buddy their first-born child early next year.

May God bless her young family even more.

It wasn't too late

2005-09-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

My family has fond memories of traveling to Cagayan de Oro and until I went to college, we used to go there together. My mother usually goes there to visit family members during important ocassions like our grandpa's death anniversary and fiestas.

As our family roots come from Bohol, on both my parents' side, it's understandable that May fiestas are important dates to look forward to, probably just next to Christmas. The trip usually starts from Cagayan de Oro and an overnight ferry ride to the island province is all it takes to get there. In one of those occasions my mother met one of my father's relatives, aunt Sylvia.

Upon learning that she married a Chinese man, I conceived in my mind that she must be well-off and therefore an opportunity for my mother to ask for help. We have been saddled with debts left and right and we even sold our little shop in the market to augment our studies. So aunt Silvia must be rich and compassionate enough to help us. She used to work at Zenco Footstep and now must just be staying at home taking care of children.

My mother really appealed to her for help. But when I learned she refused because she is also struggling with daily financial concerns, I felt we must be on the same boat.

After school I went to Cagayan de Oro after working in Davao City for three years. My office was in Carmen, where aunt Silvia's family live. Without wasting time, I came to pay a visit. My perception of a bungalow house with an old but decent car in the garage long vanished but as I came there I did not realize they were in the situation that is similar to us. There she was, smiling as she whisked me to come inside and take something to eat.

"Thanks, I just had lunch at Coralles, and will be heading to office soon", I told her on that Saturday afternoon.

She is the younger sister of my uncle Max who is also very dear to me. Uncle Max, apart from Gary Jaravata or Raul Ramirez, provided me refuge in Manila during my jobhunting days.

She has a son who is taking nautical studies and hopes to land a job in an ocean going vessel when he is done with school. When told about staying at uncle Max's during his Manila practicum, he told us "uncle Max is strict". I told him, "No, he maybe strict but as far as I am concerned, I liked the way he treats me. Just be honest to him. Don't be shy. I used to sleep on their dining room when I went to Manila".

As aunt Silvia looked at her son, I see the hope etched on her eyes, probably imagining that Junior will soon be a ship officer, with his neatly pressed white uniform and freshly trimmed hair, overseeing the unloading of cargo somehwere in the Far East. It was not long before I bid goodbye and promised to return since my office is just a walking distance.

But my promise never materialized. I somehow drifted away. Barely a month after that first and only acquaintance with aunt Silvia, I was assigned in Manila to work for a month. And when I returned to Cagayan de Oro, I filed my resignation with plans of moving to Manila. I can still recall my papa Lito, whose place I was staying at the time, helping me fix my hanging closet, feeling sentimental of leaving the place I started to feel comfortable with. I had to move on. With tight schedule I left Cagayan de Oro at night, unable to bid goodbye to my other relatives, aunts, uncles, nephews and neices. The following morning I am in Davao, preparing my flight to Manila.

I was proudly telling uncle Max what transpired during my visit to his sister's house and even jokingly told him not to be strict to his nephews. Uncle Max is my father's cousin so even with a little more distant parental lineage, I am grateful for him, aunt Thelma and the family's hospitality.

It wasn't long again before I embarked on a trip to Hong Kong. Days passed and I seemed to lose contact with them, as my lifestyle changed, more concerns to attend to, more activities to pursue, more things to do.

My cousin April, uncle Max's daughter told me one day that aunt Silvia has cancer, and it's on terminal stage. I immediately told my folks in Davao to contact them and offer help when we can.

I was busy telling her about my trip to Singapore last year when her reply was totally out of sync and saddened me: aunt Silvia passed away on November 11, more than four years since we met. I haven't been that very close but somehow, seeing her in person was enough to warrant beautiful memories.

She may not see a recent photo of her son on his smoothly pressed uniform personally but she will be glad to see any successes he will achieve. It won't be easy to live without a mother but her efforts of sending her child to school should be enough to inspire every child out there.

I believe that every meeting with someone is very special. A friend, a parent, a high school bully, an old office's security guard or your favorite saleslady at a shirt shop. Learning from my personal experience in meeting aunt Sylvia, I will not know if I am meeting a friend, a colleague or a relative for the last time. We have one short lifespan and in this life we share our goals, happiness and fears. Isn't it nice to share a burden with a friend willing to carry it with you?

But if that friend is gone forever...