Rio is alive and well

If you ask the hundreds or thousands or even millions of people whose lives were touched by Rio Diaz-Cojuangco, they’ll tell you she’s not dead. She can’t be. Because she lives in every one of them.

Rio lived a charmed life. She was blessed with three wonderful children — Ali, Claudia and Jaime — and a spirit that was resplendent. Her smile was infectious and her graciousness, disarming. She had a gift of making you feel special because in her eyes, you and I as God’s children are truly special. Rio was a genuine human being. She sincerely cared for others. She fervently prayed to God for others. She selflessly dedicated her life to others.

For six years, Rio battled cancer. And during the long and hard struggle, it dawned on her that there was a reason for her sickness. It was God’s way of turning His special angel into His special messenger. Rio became a symbol of Christian love.

Rio knew life on earth was temporal. God lent her to this world and would later take her back to where she really belonged–with Him in heaven.

Because life is a blessing, Rio lived to make a difference. God’s will carved her path of destiny. Life brought her to a stage where she could reach out to hundreds, thousands and millions of people through media and share her boundless love. She was a beauty queen, a movie actress, a TV talk show host and a vice mayor. Rio parlayed her background as a popular public figure into a springboard for her Christian work.

Corita Kent, in the Dec. 17, 1984, issue of Newsweek, said "Life is a succession of moments, to live each one is to succeed." Rio made every second of her life count. She lived her succession of moments to the fullest. Her life is an inspiration to all of us.

My memories of Rio go back to when I was fortunate to visit her in the US during her treatment. She underwent chemotherapy but never showed the strain of the process. She never wanted to show her suffering and pain. She wanted people to be happy with her, not sad.

I remember once, we had dinner at her favorite Chinese restaurant somewhere near San Mateo. Some friends from Bacolod were in town. We got to the restaurant ahead of Rio. When she arrived, it was like night turned to day. The waiters knew her and doted on her. I knew she had touched their lives, too, with her courage and friendliness.

It was like she wasn’t ill. She was dressed in a pink pantsuit, I recall, and wore a floppy hat. She looked gorgeous. And she was so much fun, cracking jokes, sharing shopping tips and talking about life away from home.

On another occasion, I dropped in on Rio late morning. Claudia and Jaime were watching a Christian family cartoon tape on a VCR. Rio asked them to sing and dance–which they did so well. Rio went to the hospital for her treatment that afternoon and I was told she would be flat in bed for a few days after the debilitating dosage. Before she left, Rio hugged her children tightly and repeatedly said she loved them. I was later informed that doctors were never sure if a patient could survive the day’s treatment.

Someone told me a story about Rio showing up for chemotherapy at the hospital one morning. At the waiting lounge, she noticed the glum look on the faces of the other patients waiting their turn. Rio tried to cheer them up. Suddenly, a big, black nurse walked in and asked the patients to hold each other’s hand in prayer. It was such a moving moment. After the prayer, the nurse left and the patients all had smiles on their faces, like they were relieved of the burden from a heavy cross. Rio then went to the receptionist to ask for the big, black nurse’s name only to be told there was no big, black nurse employed by the hospital in that section.

My hair stood when I heard this story which only proved that God had a special role for Rio in her life.

I remember Rio teasing me endlessly when I used to endorse a multi-vitamin. I boasted that the multi-vitamin made me more virile. So did that mean I would charge at Menchu, my wife, like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine, on the way to a rendezvous with Jane, asked Rio. From then on, Charlie and Rio called me Tarzan.

Rio was blessed, too, by a loving family. Her sisters and brother took turns visiting her while she underwent treatment. Charlie never left her side at her most trying moments, reassuring her of his love forever. Her parents-in-law, Ambassador Eduardo and Gretchen Cojuangco, cared for her and loved her like their own daughter. She was special to them as they were special to her.

At Rio’s wake, there has been an endless stream of people from all walks of life coming to pay their respects. Politicians, movie stars, TV personalities, sports heroes and ordinary folks converged like equals under one roof. How appropriate because that’s how Rio saw people–as equals. She had as much respect and love for a high government official as a lowly sidewalk vendor. In her eyes and in God’s eyes, we are all equal–with one heart and one soul.

We are blessed that in our lifetime, we walked the same earth as Rio. God brought Rio to this world for a purpose and she fulfilled her mission. She has returned to the Lord, paving the way for others to follow her into His kingdom.

Rio’s death is a paradox because she is alive and well in all of us.