CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2014

December 25, 2014

By: Norberto Betita

The nativity---from Google

We are once again celebrating the glorious event, even the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, as we go by the excitements of the celebration and run through the tide of commercialism that accompanies the festivities we seemed to forget the true and real message that the joyous season brings. There still appeared in commercial advertisements and even in our personal posts and greetings in the social media the word XMAS, palpably and deliberately eliminating the very name of the Christ which is the true spirit of the season. It is a continued clear indication and blatant disregard of the very personage whose birthday we joyfully celebrate. To eliminate the first syllable and mark it as X is kind of an insult to the celebrant of whose birthday the word Christmas was formed. 

Recently I attended a birthday party of a friend. All of those who speak acknowledged and cited the name of the celebrant honoring him. In contrast, I once attended a Christmas party of a group of intellectuals with their families. All who spoke during the program acknowledged the names of the guests and the most prominent, but I never heard them even mentioned in passing the name of Jesus Christ, until it was my part to speak and I reminded all of those present that we need to remember the celebrant even Jesus Christ. Then I quoted for them the nativity of Jesus Christ as it is recorded in chapter 2 of the gospel of Luke. It is sad that until this time this type of merry making---forgetting the Christ during Christmas, is still common in the world. 

From google

The Lord Jesus Christ was denied the comfort of even just an available room for His mother to give Him birth and for Him to lie on. Instead he was afforded an animal stable where he was finally given birth and was “wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid…in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). In that most humble nativity there appeared an angel from on high and together with Heavenly hosts praising God announced the glorious tidings of great joy saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14) He was long prophesied to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but since that humble birth, He was simply known as the carpenter’s son. He walked the lonely road of Jericho, performed miracles for the lonely, the distressed, and the afflicted. On one occasion, He performed miracles to ten lepers, but only one ever returned to express gratitude to Him by whose miraculous and powerful hands relieved the men from their sufferings and afflictions.

We wonder if we even have the Lord, His mission and His sacrifices, come into our thoughts at this blessed season of the year. We wonder if even one out of ten had ever raised their voices of gratitude after He suffered in the garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross at Calvary’s hill, saving us from our sins that we might not suffer even as He suffered.

From google

Materialism flaunt even more clearly each Christmas. The humility and simplicity exemplified by Jesus Christ at His birth is now seen as a pathetic display of prideful sumptuous feasts and commercial covetousness. While we celebrate the birth of the one who exhorts us to “lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D & C 81:5), and who reminded us that if we would do these unto one of the least of the brethren we have done it to Him (see Matthew 25:37-40), we spend more for our own self- gratification and overindulgence.

The Lord Jesus Christ whose birthday we celebrate would rather, that we remember Him in daily quiet reflections of His Atoning Sacrifice not only until the end of the festive season but the whole year through. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

RISING FROM A CRITICAL BLUNDER---A MOTHER’S LOVE AND A SON’S COMMITMENT

The story of Willyjean B. Sepria and her son John Bert Alburo

By: Norberto Betita

Pictures of homeless children courtesy of Google

The local City population Office reported that Surigao City has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy. This problem generally results to single motherhood and unwanted and abandoned children, which become a family and community concern. Many times I had witnessed homeless children sleeping in sidewalks along commercial buildings with empty boxes as mats without even a blanket or a sheet to cover them from the cold night air and the chilly draft of dawn. One rainy December morning while I and my wife were on our way to the market, we saw children still sleeping on boxes in sidewalks at Kaimo Street, bodies bent with knees almost touching their chin and arms firmly crossed to keep them warm. They seemed not even bothered by the cold sprinkles of drenching rain falling from the eaves of the building. The sight was pitiable and poignant; a despicable view in a location of affluence.

In our walk through the uncharted routes and uncultivated fields of life many of us are trapped between the crossroads and are often bothered by the decisions which trail to follow and what direction to pursue. Because of the uncertainties that cloud our circumstances, we sometimes make wrong choices and failed judgments. And, so we stumble into the mire of hardships and unwanted difficulties. But failure is not an end for those who have the faith and courage. Rising from a critical blunder is an act of positivity which eventually will bring one to an elevated station of success. Life is not measured by the number of failures, but by how you rise up every time you fall. Such was the inspiring story of a mother’s love and a son’s commitment. I wish to share this story to every Surigaonon or to anybody for that matter who might have grappled and wrestled with the hitch of single motherhood. There is hope.

Willyjean  B. Sepria in Singapore

Willyjean B. Sepria or Nening as she is fondly called became a victim of a man’s sweet melodic promises and deceptive ploys which eventually resulted to her giving birth to a son without a father. Such was a very painful encounter of the worst kind. Her womanhood was wrecked and her chance of being married to a more worthy man was dimmed. From such sad experience she seemed to hear the words of Wayne W. Dyer, “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” Nening chose to spring back and stood tall from a critical mess up and serious mistake. She did not want herself and her son to be imprisoned in the realms and sad confines of terrible hardships brought about by her failed judgment. She determined to be a single mother and to focus all her energy, love and affectionate attention to her son John Bert. She raised and reared her son as a lone parent with little assistance from extended family. In her mind perhaps was the thought of a saying: “A single mother has backbone made of steel and a heart made of gold.” Her very meager income from her beauty skills provided for the infancy and childhood needs of her dearly beloved son. Her best wishes were for him to grow and level up from the underlying difficult circumstances which they both suffer. She did all that is possible to provide, nurture and educate John Bert. 

During the wedding day of John Bert and Aileen

However, as John Bert grows and his needs increases income and resources started to become inadequate and the only possible option she found was to join the Filipino diaspora. It was such a painful decision to leave his beloved son at the care of relatives. She was blessed to have been able to find a good and generous employer in Singapore, but the thought of her dear son back home made her nerves unsettled. Then she seemed to hear the words of Louie Giglio, “[Willyjean] God is using your present circumstances to make you more useful for later roles in [John Bert’s] unfolding story.” These words encouraged and motivated her to get going and be more diligent and persistent in her quest to rise above the blues notwithstanding all odds. The battle was difficult and the sacrifice needed was enormous. Yet in her limited capacity she was willing to face the gigantic challenges rather than see her son wallow in the mud of failure. Then with God’s Providence she caught sight of the road to success as she marched beside her son during college graduation rites and in his son’s grand and glorious wedding day. As she stood tall before the wonderful scene of victory, there reverberates the feeling as described by an unknown author: “Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love and twice the pride.” 

John Bert Alburo with wife Aileen

John Bert on the other hand was acknowledged as a son by his biological father for the purpose of giving him a name. But never did he have the opportunity to be supported and guided by a father during his nurturing years. In his infancy and early childhood he must have longed for his father to take him in a clutching embrace and carry his little body into his bosom. How he yearned for his father to hold his little hands and train him how to walk. How he wished for his father to take him by the hand or lift him on his robust shoulders for a walk by the seashore at the back of their home. How he dreamed to sit by his father’s lap to be taught the principles of life. How he imagined both of them sitting in front of a table for his father to assist him in his school assignments. How he craved to play childhood games with his father, and more. Perhaps, last of all how he hoped and envisioned for his father to march with him and his mother in the great and glorious once-in-a-lifetime event---his wedding day. Yet all had remained and will ever remain to be just dreams and unfulfilled longings of the heart. Generally he got needed advices from his grandparents, uncles and aunts who were always available for him when needed. 

John Bert's Ficus Rubiginosa root-on-rock Bonsai tree originally
the size of a barbecue stick now covering the whole rock

In his youth he had the opportunity to visit our home and saw my bonsai collections. Then early in his college years I once visited their home and saw a Ficus Rubiginosa miniature tree planted over a small coral rock. It was John Bert’s first try of a bonsai specimen. I noticed that it was a seed tree and had grown on the rock for quite a while as evidenced by the base being already round as a marble while the trunk was just as big as a barbecue stick. It was getting very limited nutrients through the roots penetrating inside very tiny crevices inside the coral rock. I brought it home and cared and nurtured it. As I followed the life story of John Bert I found that this wonderful Ficus Rubiginosa bonsai which he originally planted on a rock was a fitting symbol of his unwavering personal commitment to reciprocate for his mother’s greatest love and sacrifices, and best wishes for him. The nurturing and love he received from her mother despite hard life were as the nutrients which the bonsai tree got from the very tiny crevices inside the coral rock. Such a root on rock bonsai became an object lesson of John Bert’s relentless efforts and rock-like-steadfastness to survive his journey through life amidst great trials and tribulations. His movement forward to success is represented by the continuing growth of aerial roots which allowed this tiny tree to grow in strength and beauty. 

On their wedding day

John Bert was easily attracted and was observably appealing to women. When I heard that he already had a son out of marriage I thought that this must have been a sad repetition of a critical blunder which happened to his mother. Little did I know that John Bert had long since promised and covenanted never to repeat his depressing and miserable experiences of life upon his children. He trudged an independent journey and charted his own course in preparation for a solid foundation of a home and family which he wanted to create. His joining the Filipino dispersion landed for him a rewarding job in Korea. He worked hard for he wanted to offer her future wife the joy and comfort which was deprived of his mother. As John Bert and Aileen, his wife gracefully and happily marched forward to the matrimonial altar and were pronounced husband and wife, they seemed to see the light gradually purging and eliminating the gloom and shadows of the past, subsequently showing the gleaming brighter prospects of tomorrow.

John Bert and Aileen were so filled with extreme excitement at the time of their wedding day, yet they were able to grasp and will always remember the true meaning of the covenant they have made to live “for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer till death do they part.” It is for them a reminder that married life is not all calm, there will be winds; it is not all sunshine, there will be shadows and rains; it is not all joy, there will come sorrows. But like the bonsai tree planted on the rock by John Bert, he and Aileen will have the sustaining power to overcome the winds of adversities that may happen to blow in their direction as they continue to nourish their relationship with sincere love and devotion to each other and their children.

No matter our failure, there is hope. No matter our difficulties, all doors of opportunities are open for us to choose. No matter how dark the way, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. One need not be discouraged nor forsake and abandon an unwanted son or daughter out of wedlock to beg and sleep on sidewalks in the cold of December nights. They have their own future to create. They have a life to build. One need only the courage and faith to move on, rising from whatever critical blunder in life as did Willyjean and John Bert.

FTA PAREDES--- BRACING THE SINURIGAO DIALECT AT UP 12th PHILIPPINE LINGUISTICS CONGRESS

By: Norberto Betita

Francis Tom Aragon Paredes

Surigaonons should be very proud and grateful for having been represented in the 12th Philippine Linguistics Congress held at the University of the Philippines, Diliman on November 26-28, 2014 by our very own young teacher from Alegria National High School, Francis Tom A. Paredes. His presentation is entitled “Sinurigao: Pormada, Plastada, Tunada, Pasabot.” This presentation is all about the pure “Sinurigao” as a local dialect. His efforts in studying the language and writing it in a thesis format and presenting it before an international congregation of linguists deserve every Surigaonon’s accolade. It represented that as Surigaonons we have our own cultural identity apart from our national identity as Filipinos. It proves that we have a unique and distinctive heritage.

Francis Tom A. Paredes was born at Navarro St., Surigao City to a teacher mother---Ms. Florpina Aragon Paredes. He is a member of Linguistics Society of the Philippines; a student of Master of Arts in Education, major in English at the Surigao State College of Technology. All his life is spent in Surigao City and the province of Surigao del Norte. He was born when the Sinurigao dialect was already starting to be adulterated by different languages as a result of continuous flow of migrants from other Provinces. But his childhood was still adept at speaking the pure Sinurigao. Yet as he grows older he discovered that the Sinurigao as a language is starting to be endangered. It was shortly after he became a teacher himself that he was motivated to take an in depth study of the local language with noble intentions to preserve, regenerate, and reinvigorate the use of the dialect.

At the UP 12th  Philippine Linguistics Congress

His work, the “Sinurigao: Pormada, Plastada, Tunada, Pasabot,” is intended to be published in a book form to serve as a suitable medium to help in the comprehensive study of the Sinurigao grammar, especially as it relates to the required extensive bilingualism in public schools. He hopes that this work will be able to serve well as one effective channel upon which the teachers and students in the Province of Surigao del Norte and Surigao City may be encouraged and persuaded to effectively use the language both in oral and written communications.

The lengthy study and survey landed him to different municipalities in the Province of Surigao del Norte and the barangays in Surigao City. Time consuming research on morphology, syntax, phonology, and semantics had to be undertaken for him to best introduce grammatical configurations and word usage. These relentless efforts compelled him to establish the Sinurigao Yare Ameliorator Grammar Establisher Theory (SYAGET). It was never an easy task, yet he felt it a duty to enliven and strengthen back our withering cultural and language identity and heritage. He observed that the use of the Visayan language superimposed the local Sinurigao dialect in the utilization of mother tongue for learning instructions in public schools. Consequently, he seriously engaged himself in this work to be able to finally write a Sinurigao Grammar Learning Manual as ready reference for teachers and students.

The venue---University of the Philippines, Diliman

I have read his work and I find it as being a no easy job. I learned many grammatical and language configurations, outlines, and patterns that I need to correct in my future writings in Sinurigao. Although my ancestry may be traced back to the islands of Leyte, yet since childhood I have been most comfortable in using the Sinurigao dialect in my conversations with friends and at home with my family until now. I lived in Surigao all of my life, hence I felt like a pure Surigaonon, and therefore acknowledged and recognized with deep gratitude the work of Francis Tom A. Paredes in reinventing the Sinurigao language and revitalizing its use as part of the bilingual medium of instruction in public schools and in our daily conversations. It is also hoped that the DepEd Divisions in Surigao del Norte and Surigao City will recognize Sinurigao as a mother tongue language for bilingual instruction in public schools and utilize the work of Mr. Paredes as a grammar learning reference manual. Perhaps in consideration of the efforts of Mr. Paredes in the preservation of our vernacular, the Provincial and City governments should also support and recognize his efforts.

MORE THAN A THOUSAND JOINED THE FIRST SCPS FUN RUN

By: Norberto Betita

Warm-up exercises

Days before the scheduled date three of my grandchildren were already excited to participate in the Surigao City Pilot School’s (SCPS) first ever fun run on December 14, 2014. Even when I told them that it’s a Sabbath Day and they are not supposed to take part in such activity, they reasoned that it is to be done very early in the morning while our scheduled Sunday services are in the afternoon. Besides, this is only for once during the entire school year and for a personal history before they will leave the portals of their elementary school---the SCPS. They thought perhaps that it would be just wonderful to write in their journals that they are among those hundreds of pupils and runners who participated during the first SCPS fun run in Surigao City. Two of my grandsons---Rulon Asher and Craig Kirby registered for a one kilometer run, and my granddaughter---Keeshia, who is the president of the SCPS Pupil Government, and who felt it a duty to participate, registered for a three kilometer run. 

At the start and finish lines

The fun run was purposely made to raise funds for the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of the Surigao City Pilot School which is headed by incumbent City Councilor Engr. Baltazar “Batang” Abian as elected President. While the parents were eager to support the PTA initiative, it also aroused the interests of children to experience for the first time in running a race. This experience as it may be expected will be a catalyst for each child to one day build an interest in athletics and sports. Although I do not have part in the activity I went with my grandchildren and their parents. I am so excited to see their reactions and feedbacks after the run.

As early as 5:00 o’clock in the morning hundreds of students and parents were already in the assembly area at McDonalds. Children seemed to be very excited to run. I enjoyed seeing my grandchildren meeting with friends and talking about how they would run the race. There were a lot of flashes of cameras as pictures were taken for remembrances with parents, friends and classmates with tarpaulin fun run banners as backdrops. Everybody seemed to enjoy even before the run was started. Each group of runners for five, three, and one kilometer runs were required to have warm-up exercises which all so excitedly participated. 

My granddaughter Keeshia

When it was time for my granddaughter Keeshia to run the three-kilometer race, her mother tried to follow and check for her from each corner of the route. Then she sent a message to my son to check on Keeshia as she was reported to have been short of breath for a possible hyper ventilation attack and was possibly brought to the nearest hospital. Good that before my son left, he told me about the warning and I informed him that Keeshia already crossed the finish line with friends and was physically fine. When it was my grandsons’---Rulon Asher and Craig Kirby--- turn to run, Rulon Asher’s father took pictures at the starting line and then rush to take his motorcycle to find a corner where he can take pictures of the children actually running in the middle of the race only to find that before he could reach a corner the boys were already at the finish line. The experience was truly fun and the activity joyful. Much as I would want them to have a treat a McDonalds the store was filled to overflowing and so we went home and just have a special homemade burgers and fried bananas for breakfast prepared by their aunt. 

My grandchildren after the run

The following school day, Monday, my granddaughter Keeshia had to be absent due to muscle pains. One of my grandsons, Craig Kirby also experience severe muscular pains, but he managed to go to school. My grandson Rulon Asher did not as even have any physical disturbance a day after the run. When he arrived home from school he announced that most of his classmates who participated in the fun run were complaining about bodily pains, but he proudly told me that he felt nothing painful. Her physical body seemed to have been prepared for such an activity.

When I was diagnosed as having asthma a friend and colleague advised me to start a daily run. I was then a young 19-year old security guard. My first run was with him for a four kilometer uphill route and my lungs seemed to burst as we reached the summit. The following day I could hardly walk due to muscle pains. Hence, I made my succeeding runs on a shorter and a plainer route. Since then and for more than twenty five years I truly enjoyed running as an antidote for my asthmatic condition which I have been able to overcome as a result of my daily run. At the Surigao Vasquez Athletic field I would run five to ten laps a day followed by a 15-minute rope jumping. During Saturdays and declared holidays I would run from twenty to thirty five laps and sometimes run the 12 kilometers distance from Surigao City to Ana-aon, my hometown for a visit with my parents. Although my running was purely for physical conditioning and not for any contests, I had since love to recite the poem of an unknown author entitled “Champion” while running:

Preparing for the 1-kilometer run

The average runner runs
until the breath in him is gone,
But the champion has the iron will
that makes him carry on.

For the rest the average runner begs
when limp his muscles grow,
But the champion runs on leaden legs,
his courage makes him go.

The average man's complacent
when he's done his best to score,
But the champion does his best,
and then he does a little more.

I have since considered myself a running champion for triumphantly winning my race against asthma which until now no longer had stirred an asthmatic attack. I missed those long distance runs, but ageing and afflictions already made my feet plodding and faltering. 

Neighborhood friends and schoolmates joining the fun run

The more than a thousand participants in the first SCPS fun run surely enjoyed the community activity and perhaps would be so willing to again support the same and succeeding family fun action in the future. We should be grateful for the organizers and sponsors who made the fun run possible. Arousing the interest of children and adults in fun athletics and sports activities such as this will be a boost for a healthy community life. However, as we are to keep our lives in balance it would be such a fitting suggestion for the organizers to schedule the activities on regular holidays other than Sundays for everyone to have the chance to participate without necessarily sacrificing their observance and spiritual enhancing interests on the Lord’s Day.

WE EXPRESS OUR HEARTFELT THANKS AND WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SURIGAO CITY PILOT SCHOOL AND THE SCPS PARENTS AND TEACHERS ASSOCIATION TOGETHER WITH THE SURIGAO RUNNER’S CLUB AND THE REST OF THE SPONSORS FOR SPEARHEADING THIS FUN AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ACTIVITY AND FOR THE JOB WELL DONE! TINUOD GAJOD NA MARAJAW KARAJAW SA SURIGAO!

MGA SIMBAHAN SA “MORMONS” PUNO NAN MGA BAKWIT SA BAGYONG “RUBY”

ni: Norberto Betita

Sa suyat na gipitsahan Disyembre 3, 2014, na pinermahan ni Annette P. Villaces, Deputy CDRRM sanan ni Surigao City Mayor Ernesto T. Matugas, gihangyo an Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) sa Surigao City na gamiton an mga simbahan isip bakwitanan mahitungod na sa tagpa-abot na bagyong Ruby. Isip sanong sa hangyo sa City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, gilang-an dajon ni Robert Sherwin S. Betita, District President nan Surigao Philippines District an mga lideres na iandam an simbahan para sa mga mobakwit. Gipasiguro nija na jaoy igo na gamit panhinlo sanan mga gamit para kasilyas. Ija sab gipadumduman na hangyoon an mga mamakwitay na motabang pag mentinar sa kahinlo sanan kahapsay sa simbahan.

Gikan pa duyom nan Huwebes, Disyembre 4, 2014 nagsugod na pagpamakwit an mga tawo suod sa dagat didto sa simbahan sa mga “Mormons” did-on sa Narciso St. sanan sa Brgy Luna, Ciudad nan Surigao. Una na namakwit an mga miembro na naghuya suod sa dagat basi na sa hangyo nan mga nagdumaya sa simbahan tungod sa posibilidad nan pagdako sa dagat dungan sa mga balita nan radio sanan telebisyon mahitungod na sa bagyo na “Ruby” na kusog karajaw.


Basi sa impormasyon nan Branch President na si Ernanie Anding Disyembre 4, 2014 nan duyon may 742 na ka tawo an nobakwit didto sa simbahan sa Ceniza. Laong pa ni Anding na nadugangan pa ini hantod Disyembre 6, diin sa ila karkulasyon noabot ngadto na sa sobra 800 ka mga tawo . Naggikan ini sa nagkalainlain na barangay dapit sa dagat sanan kilid sa suba sanan bukid. An tanan kwarto sa simbahan giukopahan an iban didto rakan sa “multi-purpose hall” sanan sa agihan.

An sa Brgy Luna, laong pa ni Hon. Rico A. Nagas, Brgy. Chairman, nakalista sila nan 160 ka mga pamilya na may sobra 500 ka tawo---bata ug hingkod na pangidaron, an nobakwit didto sa amo na simbahan. Ini amoy ila taghatagan nan mga hinabang na pagkaon suyod sa panahon na jadto sila sa simbahan. Gani nakita nako an pag panhatag nila nan mga pagkaon didto gajod mismo sa suyod nan simbahan.

Didto sa simbahan sa Narciso St., may 32 ka pamilya o kinatibuk-an na 124 ka tawo an nakalista isip mga bakwit.

Laong pa ni District President Betita kabahin na sa panginahanglan nan mga miembro sa simbahan na namakwit daan na sila gitudloan na kinahanglan jaoy gajod ila andam na pagkaon suyod sa tuyo ka adlaw na gitawag na “72-hour kit”. An waya gajod makaandam daan na nagpreparar an mga lideres para suportahan an ila panginahanglan na pagkaon.

                   

Mga personahi sa Department of Health (DOH) sanan Department of Welfare Services
and Development (DSWD) nobisita sa amo na mga simbahan para sutaon an kahimtang sa mga namakwit. Unom ka mga Pulis--- PO1 Lhex A. Jadumas, PO1 Mark Vincent Dayondon, SPO1 Siegfried G. Agra, PO3 Edmund P. Argente, PO2 Alfredo L. Degamon, Jr., PO1 Janebeth P. Dela Peña an isab gidestino 24 oras para pagbantay sa kahapsay sanan kalinaw.

                                 

Para pagpawaya sa kalaay samtang didto sa bakwitanan nag-andam an simbahan nan dako na telebisyon tapos nagpasalida nan mga religiyoso na mga sine para kalingawan.

Laong pa ni District President Betita na nagpasalamat an simbahan na nakaserbisyo sa kumunidad labi na sa mga tawo na nagkinahanglan nan proteksyon sa posible na kadaut tungod sa mga kalamidad, kay isa man ini na paagi sa pagpakita nan pagmahal sa mga katawhan na amoy katujoan nan katukuran sa tinuod na Simbahan ni Jesu Kristo.

ENJOYING THE BEAUTY OF THE RAINBOW AFTER THE SUMMER RAIN

The Zita de la Peña-Maquiling story

by: Norberto Betita

Zita De La Peña-Maquiling

In her hometown of Liloan, Southern Leyte stands a lighthouse which serves as a watch tower and an accurate guide for fishermen and sailors towards safe harbor, particularly during inclement weather conditions. This rural municipality is located in the northern part of Panaon Island and a smaller portion being part of the mainland Leyte. A channel called “Wawa” which is popular for its “lilo” (whirlpool) from which the name “Liloan” (place of whirlpools) was derived, isolates the island from the mainland. However, a bridge was eventually constructed to connect Panaon Island into the mainland of Leyte. In this island town ZITA DE LA PEÑA was given birth on December 21, 1950 under extreme penurious circumstances.

On rare occasions young Zita, while strolling by the seashore of the scenic Liloan bay delimited by picturesque greenery and wind breaking hills, enjoyed viewing rainbows formed as temporary backdrops of the lighthouse after intermittent rains. Such wonderful sceneries shaped and generated in her young mind an abiding desire and enduring hope to be able to move away and be free from the abyss of destitution and misery which her family was confined. The lighthouse was for her a reminder that in her voyage through the oceans of life there is a guiding light to chart her course to the secured and safe port. The Wawa Bridge provided her with an assurance that in her life’s journey there will always be a bridge to connect her to her youthful dreams.

With husband Romanito Maquiling with their brand new car as backdrop

Young as she was but filled with vision, she made plans and struggled enough to withdraw and retreat from the mire of poverty and hardship that engulfed her childhood. Her parents could not afford to help her even to finish Elementary. Filled with enthusiasm to bounce from the quagmire of difficulties, she requested her grade VI teacher to accept her as a working student. She was welcomed and she served for a year enough to finish her elementary school.

Driven by her hope that there is such a bridge to connect her to her future and a lighthouse to make sure that her life’s voyage will eventually be guided to a safe harbor, she sailed to Manila and lived with her sister. Opportunity was opened for her to study high school. However, poverty seemed to continually follow her route to the future dragging her back to that awful beginning. While in her hometown of Liloan she was reminded of the continuing view of a rainbow after the rain in summer. She was grateful that she was experiencing life’s continued rains and even storms, for she is sure that there will be moments when the beautiful rainbow will form followed by a bright sunshine in her life.

Enjoying their vacation in New Zealand

Such thoughts provided her with unwavering confidence that she will one day be able to find a much bigger door of opportunity. Her youthful enthusiasm and optimism gave the impression that in her young mind were engraved the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “We are all inventors, each sailing on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.” During summer after her first year high school in Manila she envisioned another gate of opportunities and crossed the roaring currents of Surigao Strait to find a job even at her very young age that would earn for her enough to enroll the following school year. Perhaps she had been motivated by the thoughts of an unknown author: “I may not know where I end up. All I know is I have the courage for the journey.”

With their first grandchild in New Zealand

Her brother in Bad-as, Placer, Surigao del Norte introduced her to the Medina family who were in a copra buying business. She was employed as house help of Mrs. Concepcion Vda. de Medina, the mother where she served for a few months, after which she was invited by Mr. Ildefonso Medina, the son and his wife Rose to stay with them. Thenceforth she worked with Mr. and Mrs. Indefonso Medina in Bad-as. Despite her very young age, she determined to do her duties with efficiency and diligence. She thought that it was her chance to prove that she is a very responsible and a trustworthy young woman.

After one year, sensing that she already had enough savings to continue her schooling, she asked permission to leave. Knowing her noble plans and self-sacrificing efforts of going back to high school, she was instead offered to stay with them in Surigao City as a working student. She was overjoyed and the feeling deep in her heart was full of ecstasy. She rejoiced in grateful recognition that a bigger door of opportunity was opened for her. Immediately that school year she enrolled at the Surigao del Norte National High School (SNNHS) as a second year student. To her such an opportunity was very rare and she’s got to make sure her service with the Medina family will be even most acceptable and appreciated. She imagined that the opportunity was the kind of Wawa Bridge that will connect her to the bigger and brighter prospects of attaining her dreams.

The family

Indeed, true to her commitment she did her best and was accepted by the Medina family no longer as a house help or a nanny but as a foster daughter. In fact when Mrs. Medina went to Quezon City for her University of the Philippines one year scholarship grant, she went with the family and there enrolled in a high school in Quezon City for her third year. Back in Surigao City she again enrolled at SNNHS and eventually graduated from high school in the year 1970. The high school graduation to her mind was the first rainbow after the rain in her life. Her service with the Medina family must have been very exceptional that she was again given the opportunity to study college in a private school---San Nicolas College, which is more expensive than the rest of the colleges in Surigao City. Again she proved her worth and in the next four years---in 1974, she graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce, major in accounting. To her it was just kind of a make believe. She realized that the symbolisms of all those landmarks---the lighthouse, the Wawa Bridge, the beautiful rainbow found in her hometown of Liloan, Southern Leyte which had been her inspiration to move on through life started to provide meaning into her life.

Still with the able assistance of the Medina family, particularly Mrs. Medina she was given the opportunity to work immediately after graduation in the Surigao del Norte School of Arts and Trades for six years. By some providential coincidence and good fortune she was invited by Atty. Rocha to work with Mrs. Gloria Rocha at the Philippine National Bank (PNB). She then was employed as Auditing Aide of the Commission on Audit under Mrs. Rocha, the Branch Auditor. There she started to see the conceptual bright sunshine of summer and enjoyed the resplendent beauty of the rainbow after the summer rain made abstract as a backdrop of her life. 

The beautiful rainbow after the rain

It was at PNB Surigao Branch where she met the man whose diligence and sincere expressions of love through daily hole-and-corner offering of red roses on her office table eventually touched her heart and led her to say, “I do” to ROMANITO B. MAQUILING in a marital covenant. Such boundless love and affectionate devotion for each other bore for them, four priceless gems which added beauty and meaning to their married life. During each loving parental embrace they gave each infant child as they come to life, they both promised and committed never again to let their little ones to ever pass the sad and lonely trek of their journey. Together they tried to walk and sail ahead and farther away from their common despondent beginnings discovering what little things of life are in store for them and their growing family. They were inspired by the words of Temple Bailey, “It is not possible for a married couple to reach happiness with eyes fixed on different stars; … they must set up a single ideal and work toward [it]. … Cease cherishing impossible fancies of impossible futures. Take the best of [your] dreams and fit them to life as it comes every day.” Day after day and year after year prospects of growth were opened and the gates of opportunities broadened. 

The Wawa Channel and bridge

As she now counts the modest achievements and accomplishments she had attained and all the heavenly blessings bestowed upon her family, her heart swells with deep and abiding gratitude and love to those who provided the key to the wide gates of opportunities afforded her ---the Medina family and the Rocha family. Until now she has never forgotten those “Alimango” (crab) labelled trucks of the Medina family while in Bad-as, Placer for they symbolized the transport that helped her cross the bridge to the future. She felt they were instruments in the hands of God to provide answers to her youthful prayers and dreams. Above all she expressed her deepest gratitude to God for His tender love and mercy as to guide her into a life far beyond her childhood expectations.

After 34 years of service with her last position as Auditor II for the Commission on Audit, and 6 years in the Surigao del Norte School of Arts and Trades or a total of 40 years of government employment, she finally made the decision to retire. The words of Og Mandino leave imprints in her mind: “The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.” Three of her children were already graduated with college degrees, the youngest having only a year more to finish. She felt she has been blessed more than enough. All she wanted now is to be with her retired husband for them to enjoy together the remaining years of their lives which have been yoked by a marital bond of more than thirty years. Their coffers are not overflowing with abundance, but their lives overflow with happiness. They believed the words of Democritus that, “Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul."

The light

She very seldom had the opportunity to visit Liloan, the town of her birth for she became an adoptive daughter of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte having spent almost half a century of her life in the City. However, as she now reflects on the memories of her youthful life in Liloan she is so much grateful that she took courage to leave the shores of the Liloan Bay for by so doing she was guided and eventually alighted in an even blissful seaboard of life. The symbolisms of those old memorable landmarks and wonderful sceneries had since become real and tangible verities in her life. The Wawa Bridge reminds of her crossing the channel from her difficult beginnings to the mainland of opportunities---elementary graduation, high school graduation and college degree. The lighthouse is reminiscent of a secure voyage which landed her into a safe harbor---a total of 40 years of government service, providing adequate provisions for her family. As she now harvests the glory and grandeur of her accomplishments and the joy of family life sheltered by a modest home, she feels like enjoying the beauty of the rainbow after the summer rain, which once in childhood was engraved in her mind giving hope of future brighter sunbeams to decorate and adorn her life. 

 

The nativity

         
The celebration of her birth is just a few days to the Christmas Day. As she now recalls the many empty birthdays and Christmases of her childhood, she is reminded of the story of that first Christmas morn recorded by Luke: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). Although her childhood birthdays and Christmases were deprived of even the most humble cuisine, toys or trees or tinsel, yet it was this Christmas story that inspired and encouraged her, and it was the Christ that gave her hope to rise above the condition of her penurious beginning, the attainment of which filled her heart and soul with deepest gratitude.