A son’s blessing

A mother is one of the most cherished blessings of any son or daughter and in my case, I can never thank God enough for my mom Marina who turns 98 today. She taught her four children the virtues of honesty, loyalty, dedication, perseverance and devotion to the Lord. As the youngest of four, I was probably the most mischievous in the family but my mom would always be there to straighten me out. She was strict yet fair in teaching us what we should and shouldn’t do.

As a boy, I remember my mom and her sister Pacita cooking up wonders in the kitchen. Friends from school and neighbors who visited our house never left with an empty stomach. My mom knew the importance of a sound formative education so she made sure we had the benefit of close monitoring from our kindergarten and early elementary teachers. I will always be grateful to my mom for setting a strong foundation in my education – from Miss Nena Garcia in kindergarten to Miss Dolores Cabalfin, Miss Josefina Alburo and Miss Remedios Cabalfin at La Salle.

I never realized how difficult life was for my mom when she was young until I asked her about her early life. She rarely spoke of the hard times she endured as a girl. The third of seven children, she left her birthplace in Albay at the age of three to move to Manila with her parents. Her father died at the age of 45 when she was only in Grade 3. With little to feed her children, her mother Elvira thought of giving her up when she was 10 but changed her mind at the last minute with the pick-up van of the Philippine Independent Children, an adoption agency, already parked outside their home to fetch her. My mom relied on relatives to pay for her education and moved from home to home as she studied at Quiapo Elementary then Zurbaran Elementary and Sta. Ana Elementary School.

As a girl, my mom was taken in by relatives who paid for her elementary schooling in exchange for cleaning house and taking care of younger cousins. Then, a cousin Petrona Navarrete Crisol enrolled her as a high school freshman at the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance on Rizal Avenue. The school is now Far Eastern University. A sister Rosario sacrificed her college education to work as a ticket seller at the Tivoli Theater on Sta. Cruz to pay for my moM’s tuition. The Institute moved to a two-storey building on Azcarraga, now Claro M. Recto, when she was a sophomore and my mom applied for a job as a working student. The Institute’s founder Dr. Nicanor Reyes, Sr. put up a night school so my mom worked during the day, earning P35 a month, and studied in the evening. My mom invited her sister Rosario to apply for a job at the Institute library and before long, both were employed in the school. Since they were earning salaries, the sisters could afford to rent a two-storey apartment on 1814 M. Natividad Street, near Rizal Avenue, for P18 a month and brought in their mother and two other sisters to live with them.

Less than a year after graduating from night high school, my mom accepted an offer of P40 a month to work as a secretary with Filipinas Compania de Seguros. Eventually, she met a dashing insurance executive Gregorio who worked in the same building as she did on Escolta. They were married in 1942. I was their fourth child after Ramon, Vicki and Irene.

Remarkably, my mom remembers details of her life in the pre-war era, including the complete address of the apartment on Natividad Street, the names of her co-workers at the Institute, how she became acquainted with the sisters of Dr. Reyes’ wife Amparo Mendoza and how one of Dr. Reyes’ daughters would come to the Institute campus on Fridays wearing her St. Theresa’s College uniform to go home with her father. The daughter is now FEU chairman Lourdes Reyes Montinola. And last year, Mrs. Montinola bestowed on my mom the Distinguished Tamaraw Award during FEU’s 85th founding anniversary celebration at the FEU Auditorium in Manila. My mom was one of 18 awardees in the Distinguished category, all role models who personify the school’s values of fortitude, excellence and uprightness – the same values she instilled in her children.

When my father passed away in 1986, my mom took over his insurance special agency at the age of 70. She still remains active in the business and this year, received another award from BPI-MS (Bank of the Philippine Islands-Mitsui Sumitomo) as the company’s most senior agent. It was her fourth citation since 1995 when she received the Award of Excellence as a “million producer” from then company president Fidel Alfonso.

It’s amazing how my mom continues to serve her insurance clients, reminding them of premium payment deadlines, personally collecting checks, delivering policies, expanding her volume and reporting to office. She walks on her own, doesn’t use a cane or wheelchair. Our good friend Dr. Regina Macalintal-Canlas, chair of the department of neurosciences at the Makati Medical Center, recently ordered a CT-Scan of my mom’s brain after she suffered a fall and examining the findings, marvelled how it was intact, closely enclosed in the membrane and in much better condition than others that are 20 years less. That explained my mom’s incredible memory and cognitive thinking even at her age.

Asked what is her secret for longevity, my mom said first and foremost, it’s her devotion to God as she is deeply religious. The Man Upstairs has a special ear for my mom whose novena prayers are very powerful. Another secret is her healthy lifestyle. She said she eats mainly a “poor man’s diet” of fish and vegetables. The love in her heart and care for others are two other reasons why my mom is how she is. She is a shining example of a self-sufficient senior citizen, truly an exception in our world today. Happy birthday to my mom!