Sing it again, Fr. Joe!

Hiram sa Diyos ang ating buhay
Ikaw at ako’y tanging handog lamang
Di ko ninais na ako’y isilang
ngunit salamat dahil may buhay
Ligaya ko na ako’y isilang
Pagkat tao ay may- roong dangal
Sinong may pag-ibig
Sinong nagmamahal
Kundi tao Diyos ang pinagmulan

Refrain
Kundi ako umibig
Kundi ko man bigyang halaga
Ang buhay na handog
Ang buhay kong hiram sa Diyos
Kung di ako nagmamahal sino ako?

You hear this most-sang song, Sino Ako?, at Sunday Mass, funerals and other solemn occasions, where it never fails to stir the soul or draw a tear. It’s one of the most requested songs on the airwaves. Turn on the radio first thing in the morning – before you take breakfast or floss your teeth – and chances are, your favorite DJ is playing it. Why, it’s become radio’s national anthem! Ever wondered who composed the song? Sino siya?

Well, most people thought it was composed by this priest, associated with the former establishment, who also recorded Sino Ako? without permission from the original composer. Of course, this priest didn’t hear a whimper of protest from the song’s rightful owner. But then came a ripple of protests from concerned quarters who wanted to set the record straight.

So will the real composer of Sino Ako? please stand up?

Meet the man behind the song, Fr. Joe Castañeda of the Archdiocese of Lipa.

"It really didn’t bother me that somebody pirated my song," says the self-effacing Fr. Joe. "It was enough that my dream was fulfilled. Since I was a child, I had dreamt of composing a song that would touch people’s hearts."

We were indeed touched (there wasn’t a dry eye around) when Fr. Joe gave journalists an impromptu performance at Pearl Manila recently. This man (of the cloth) has a booming voice. We thought he had swallowed a microphone.

Born on Feb. 4, 1956 in the little town of San Pedro, Buhi, Camarines Sur, Fr. Joe’s little cry was music to his parents’ ears. Fr. Joe is the sixth of 12 children of bakers Andres Castañeda and Segundina del Rosario Sarto, who became vice mayor of Buhi. Fr. Joe remembers growing up in a household filled with the sound of laughter and the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting from the family’s bakery.

Fr. Joe went to grade school at Buhi Central School. Then, one day, he thought he heard a call.

"I did have a normal youth, but I felt I was being called by God," he confesses. "I made a promise to the Miraculous Medal."

Fr. Joe answered the call and in 1969-1973, he went to the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary in Naga City and then to Ateneo de Naga in Naga City Novitiate where he took up AB political science. Then he moved on to the St. Paul Seminary in Makati where he took up AB philosophy. In 1980, he enrolled in a theology course at St. Alphonsus School of Theology in Lucena City.

It was here, in Sept., 1981, where he composed the song Sino Ako? but that’s getting ahead of this beautiful story.

"I was reviewing for my final exams," he gingerly relates. "It was 2 a.m. and I had just come from a hospital apostolate at Quezon Memorial Hospital. There, I talked to a patient who was suffering from a liver affliction, lumalaki ang tyan nya."

A teary-eyed Fr. Joe continues, "He was depressed. His wife had left him; he was alone, he had nothing. He asked our help. That night, I couldn’t sleep, I was bothered by this man’s predicament. I asked myself what could be the highest motivation for a man to help, to give – until it hurts?"

Fr. Joe searched his heart, nay, his soul. And the answer came in one word: LOVE.

With a song in his heart, Fr. Joe took his guitar and in one hour flat, a song was born: Sino Ako?

"The music and the lyrics of the song just came to me," he says. "It was free flowing, as if the song wrote itself."

Fr. Joe lacked the funds to have his song recorded. But God provided.

The song was included in the album Dahil May Buhay, which was recorded in 1982 (arrangement by Raphy Balagot with Rebecca Roxas and Rosie Pabello as production managers). Only 800 copies were released and they were virtually given away as gifts to friends and family.

Fr. Joe has since recorded two other albums, Kung Nagkulang Man (1995) and Isang Landas (1997).

But you might ask how Fr. Joe fared in his finals.

"I got 1.7," says a beaming Fr. Joe, who was ordained priest on Nov. 30, 1984.

It makes Fr. Joe burst into song whenever he hears his song sung. "Once, I went to Daly City, San Francisco, and people requested for Sino Ako?," he recounts. "They didn’t know that I was the composer of the song."

Fr. Joe sings his song wherever he goes. "Like when I visit hospitals," he says. "One time, I visited Msgr. Clemente Yatco who was afflicted with lung cancer. According to a lot of people, my song uplifts their spirits. Music does have healing power."

The good priest notes: "With my song, I hope people would reflect on the fact that our life is a gift from God, so we also have to be gracious to others."

Fr. Joe, now archdiocesan director of Apostolado ng Panalangin, Archdiocese of Lipa, has not stopped dreaming. "I dream of a Christian community motivated by love," he muses.

Fr. Joe shares the dream of Batangueños to build a community where trust and love reign supreme. The Executive Council of the Archdiocese of Lipa is kicking off a project billed as Pondong Batangan to help the small businessmen of Batangas. At the helm are Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, Fr. Totit Mandanas and Msgr. Boy Oriondo.

Fr. Joe explains: "With Pondong Batangan, people can borrow from P2,000 and up each. Here, the only collateral is trust. We aim to establish a business community motivated by trust. Our target is 5,000 borrowers, among whom are the flower vendors, fishball vendors, market vendors, and farmers. We feel that the real solution to our economic crisis today is not big business but small business. On a rational basis, we pray it will be successful. On a faith perspective, we’ve got to give it a try – God has faith in us so we must have faith in others, too."

Fr. Mandanas picks up where Fr. Joe left off: "Money is not the main thing here. The main capital here is trust. People may contribute what little they have, kahit barya. But this simple giving of barya symbolizes love for one’s neighbor, as Christ calls us to love one another."

Which brings us back to Sino Ako? Sing it again and again, Fr. Joe!