The enemy within?

In a radio interview yesterday, Philippine National Police headman, General Panfilo Lacson, hinted that his house inside Camp Crame might have been the target of the grenade blast. If this turns out to be the result of the investigation, then it will give a new and significant dimension to the disturbing events that are happening in our country. If the grenade blast did not come from the Mindanao terrorists, could it have been a handiwork of enemies within?

The speculations that have been spawned by the grenade-throwing incident at Camp Crame must be doused at the soonest possible time. Which means that a thorough and credible investigation should be immediately pursued with its results divulged to the public, also at the soonest possible time. Unless this is done, the image of the Philippines as a country to shun and avoid, for the time being, will wreak havoc to our beleaguered economy.

I had written about them, at different times, in previous columns: two young working mothers who, earning a common man's pay, had to toil day by day, just to enable their children and family to survive. The first named Cely worked as a receptionist at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, assigning patients to therapists and bringing rays of sunshine to people in pain. For several years, whenever I dropped by the hospital, the affable and gentle Cely was always there, to lend me a helping hand.

Some four years ago, I was told when Ellen, a co-employee of Cely was undergoing chemotherapy. I never had an inkling that Cely, who, the last time I saw her, had helped me get a blood test at the hospital, was fighting the biggest battle of her life. She had cancer of the breast and had just undergone surgery. Her doctors had prescribed chemo, and she was strictly following her doctors' orders. Unfortunately, this working mother had hardly any money to pay for her costly chemo sessions.

One day, as Cely continued working despite her terrible ordeal, because she had to earn not only for her children but also for her chemotherapy, I quietly handed over to her my own personal donation. Then, I wrote about her plight, without divulging her name, because I did not want to make it appear that she was begging for help. Fortunately, several Good Samaritans, many of whom were strangers to her, chipped in. Every now and then, Cely would wade through traffic jams just to reach my office and receive the donations coursed through me.

Eventually, I lost contact with Cely. Sometime in 1998, I was told by a hospital employee that Cely had passed away. Apparently, the surgery, chemo sessions and other forms of medical treatment failed to exterminate her cancerous cells. Yes, Cely lost her gallant battle against the Big C.

The second lady, who, during the past nine or ten years, had often served me coffee and food at the Garden Cafe of EDSA Shangri-La, went through a similar experience. One day, Lucy approached me, to seek my advice on how she should cope with her cancer of colon. She had just undergone surgery at Makati Medical Center, and her doctor had told her to undergo chemotherapy.

At that time, she resisted the idea of chemo, not only because of the high cost involved but also because she had heard of the great risk faced by one who goes through chemo. But almost totally unaware of what lay ahead in her battle against cancer, Lucy decided to go ahead with her chemo sessions. I then asked friends and colleagues at the Tuesday Club to lend the lady a helping hand, to enable her to have her chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, as she underwent chemo, Lucy grew weaker and weaker. Soon, she was forced to take a leave from her work as food attendant at EDSA Shangri-La. The last time I heard about her, Lucy's weight had shrunk to a pitiful 90 pounds. She was in bad shape as she lay in bed at the De La Salle Medical Center in Cavite.

Last May 13, a co-employee of Lucy called me up to inform me that Lucy had passed away. Just as in the case of Cely, I felt sad that both working mothers had to go through awesome expenses, pain, agony, depression and mental torture as they struggled to fight the Big C. Yes, it is sad that their months on earth, after their cancer was discovered, did not have the quality of life that they should have enjoyed.

The two working mothers, though, were lucky in the sense that they were prepared to meet their Creator. Apparently, both knew that they were losing their battle against cancer. But Cely and Lucy, with the help and prodding of friends and kin, fought on, hoping against hope that they might just make it. Sayang, both were such nice ladies with a friendly smile always etched in their faces.

Art A. Borjal's e-mail address: <[email protected]>