MANILA, Philippines - Most people, faced with a heart-rending loss, question the powers-that-be for their situation. A rare few, like Julieta Melendrez Cruz, take up the challenge to look beyond their grief and make a difference in other people’s lives.
In 1993, Juliet and her husband, Leonardo, came back to the Philippines from Houston, Texas, USA, to reunite with their children Leo Valentine, Leo Jonathan, and Lea, and to resume their business activities, at which they had been successful before their migration.
On November 30, however, tragedy struck. Their two sons were brutally murdered by a group of young men partying in a neighborhood where Leo Valentine’s motorcycle had been hit by the vehicle driven by one of the assailants. Leo Valentine had gone home after the accident, but returned with his brother, Leo Jonathan, to investigate the cause of the accident. They were met by deadly gunfire.
Distraught, the bereft mother was prevailed upon by a sister of hers to go back to the United States to nurse her grief. She stayed there for just one month, opting to return to the Philippines to seek justice for her sons.
The path to justice for the Cruz sons was tedious and expensive. It was only after 17 long years, on Feb.2,2010, that the perpetrators of the heinous crime (three out of four), who had been apprehended, were adjudged guilty and meted the proper punishment.
While waiting for justice to be served, Juliet was not idle. Aside from her various business ventures, she undertook charity work with the Lions, the civic organization her husband and she were connected with in the ’80s. Then, in 2003, she organized the Pasig Bayanihan Lions Club, an all-female club under District 301 D-2, whose governor is Felix Tienzo.
“Most of my members are widows and spinsters,” she says, pointing out that consequently, she has taken it upon herself to fund the club’s projects, which are considerable.
Thus, her club supports the Home for the Aged, conducts nutrition feeding programs for street children, gives free reading glasses to senior citizens, and sponsors cataract surgery for those who cannot afford it
Although she is kept busy by her real estate work (property development, sales, and building construction) her Technical and Vocational Training Center, her Fast Lane, Quick Oil Change, and Auto Service Center, she continues her works of charity and her search for justice as a member of the board of trustees of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.
The loss of her sons, surprisingly, has not embittered her towards her Creator. “They were taken in God’s time,” she stated, which she does not question one bit. Rather she is grateful that she has gotten justice for them at long last and now seeks to help more of her fellowmen in need.
“I ask only for good health to continue my work and the opportunity to share my blessings because, after all, you can’t take them with you,” she says matter-of-factly.
“When the time comes for me to meet my Maker, I hope I can tell Him that I have done my share,” she adds.
The many whom Juliet Cruz has helped in her quiet, unassuming way, can attest to the fact that she has indeed helped the least of God’s children.
At 65, Juliet Cruz, the lady whose heart bleeds for the less privileged and yearns for justice for all, hopefully will have many more years in which to share God’s gifts with those who have less in life.