Vol. 6, No. 1, April 15, 2002
The Beat Goes On!
It all started with a simple desire to excel, fired by youthful enthusiasm, inspired and encouraged by a teacher whose excellence we tried to emulate.
This drive for excellence gave birth in 1965 to Scholastic Gazette, our school’s first campus paper. For the first time, the voice of the students was heard. Our first attempt at campus journalism looked as tentative and unsure as a baby’s first steps, but it gave us wings to soar.
Yet it was good only while it lasted.
Perhaps due to exuberance of youth, we failed to reckon with the social and cultural factors at the time. We were totally unprepared for the vigorous resistance led by a small bespectacled fellow whose sanctimonious cynicism was so contagious that he easily swayed the students into rejecting the campus paper in a referendum. Thinking that the time was not yet ripe for such an endeavor, we conceded defeat and quit.
But we quit too soon. We did not know that the fire that we ignited was not fully extinguished. It lay smoldering in the hearts of some students. It burst into flame when Campus Keeper was published in 1968, edited by Henry Yu and Emelita Lee.
In August 1968, it caught fire among the students and alumni when Charles Sy founded the Spectrum. Printed by letterpress, it was impressive and professional looking. With improved writings and artworks, it commanded a wide readership. Yet the Spectrum suffered the same fate of its predecessors. It lasted only a year.
In the summer of 1970, Henry Yu and Charles Sy came up with LCHS Time-Out. It was circulated in Iligan as an insert of Chinese Commercial News. Like the Mayflies, it did not outlive the summertime.
You may wonder why in spite of the valiant efforts of the editors, no paper ever survived. Why? To be candid, we simply could not overcome the prevailing social and cultural factors as we politely called them. In black and white, we succumbed to the old scourge of mankind: Doubt, apathy, indifference and I-could-not-care-less attitude.
In 1997, after lying dormant for over a quarter of a century, the Spectrum flickered back to life. The stimulus for its revival was the new technology of the Internet. With this technology, it was no longer expensive to produce and distribute the newsletter. The Spectrum bridged alumni from all corners of the world. It reunited teachers, students and classmates. It even brought back together friends and lovers.
For the last five years, the Spectrum came out regularly. Internet surfers from as far as Norway, Sweden and Japan marveled at the ability of the editors to come out with an issue on time, year in and year out, without fail. It was so successful that copycats sprouted in a number of websites.
Yet, at the end of five years, we had a sense of déjà vu. It seemed that the old scourge of mankind was slowly creeping back. It was the same old refrain of doubt, apathy, indifference and I-could-not-care-less attitude.
Fewer and fewer news from home were coming in. Many contributors stopped submitting manuscripts. Subscriptions to the Spectrum dwindled to the point that the editors wondered if it was still worth going on. In an editorial, Henry Yu asked why the editorial office was in Cebu and not in the old hometown of Iligan where it should be. Perhaps, it was a time for change.
Some alumni disagreed, but eventually, the issue was resolved and the Spectrum was brought home to Iligan.
We in Iligan welcome the Spectrum like rain in a dusty summer. We may not be equal to the task, but we will try to serve our friends, classmates and playmates. We know that it is not an easy job especially when we are working under the shadows of doubt, apathy, indifference and I-could-not-care-less attitude.
We draw our strength and resolve from the thought that through the Spectrum, we will be able to bring to our friends in exile the ambiance, atmosphere and setting of our old hometown. We know that they thirst and hunger for bits of news from home. In turn, we will hear from them. We will take pleasure in every word and picture from them. We too miss our playmates when they are gone. (VLC)
Cheerine
Dy is LCHS valedictorian
In
the graduation rites and recognition program held on March 22, 2002 in
the LCHS Gym, the following high school graduates landed in the honors
roll with Cheerine U. Dy, in photo, as Valedictorian in both the
English and Chinese instructions. English Department: Cheerine U. Dy, Valedictorian;
Jefferson T. Chiu, Salutatorian; Bryan Cynric T. Dy, 1st Honorable Mention;
Franklin V. Khu, 2nd Honorable Mention; and Oileen Hettie C. Chio, 3rd
Honorable Mention. Chinese Department: Cheerine U. Dy, Valedictorian;
Jefferson T. Chiu, Salutatorian; Oileen Hettie C. Chio, 1st Honorable Mention;
Armi Leslie D. Te, 2nd Honorable Mention; and Bryan Cynric T. Dy &
Franklin V. Khu, 3rd Honorable Mention.
New Spectrum staff members
The
Spectrum
staff has been reinforced by the entry of several new members. The new
recruits, known for their writing experiences and communication skills,
are Charmaine Molo (Batch '65), in photo at left, Emma Yap Matiao
(Batch '66), in photo at center, Castor Ong Lim (Batch '69), and
Rodolfo Yu (Batch '69), photo at right. Charmaine has a wide
experience in academic, government and private sectors. In high school,
we used to call her “Cutie Pie.” Emma is based in Dumaguete.
She has a degree in journalism. She believes that a “busy” person
is actually a lazy person. Emma has a remarkable insight on human
nature. Castor is the president of his class. He has superb
organizational skills. You may not see his bylines often. His
forte is “working behind the scene.” Rodolfo is a professor of English
and communication arts. He has collaborated with other professors
in writing instructional materials. Today, he is leaving for China
to visit his relatives. He will also be giving a lecture on how to
conduct a debate in Chinese Overseas University.
 . |
Henry
Yu marks 50th birthday with a bang
Henry L. Yu, former Spectrum editor, marked his 50th birthday last April 3 with a grand celebration punctuated with pomp and fanfare. The birthday bash, held at the Grand Majestic Convention Center, Cebu City, was highlighted by photo exhibits, a trivia portion, a creative three-tiered birthday cake, giveaway souvenir items, and a moving candle lighting ceremony participated in by Henry's close friends and colleagues in the medical profession. A highlight of the program was the two-part slide presentation showcasing the celebrant's journey of life over the past 50 years. Some 150 friends, relatives and colleagues attended the lauriat dinner bash called "A Golden Celebration of Life and Living." Photo, available in website edition, shows Henry Yu with, from left, his wife Virginia "Gingging", and daughters Hazel and Hannah. |
Like their illustrious mothers before them, children of the Ngo sisters all finished school with flying colors. Jasmin Lim, daughter of Helen Ngo-Lim (Batch '68) graduated cum laude in B.S. Architecture at the University of San Carlos (USC) last March. Two years ago, Jasmin's elder sister, Christine, graduated magna cum laude in B.S. Pharmacy, also at USC. Kimberly Militante, daughter of Alice Ngo-Militante (Batch '68) finished high school also at the top of her class last March at the Sacred Heart School for Girls (SHSG), Cebu City. Likewise, Kimberly's younger sister, Gretchen, finished third year high school at SHSG at the top of her class. She was the only one among her batch to pass the examinations for a special summer scholarship at the Ateneo de Manila University (AdeMU) this year. Two years ago, Alice's eldest son, Ryan Militante, finished at the top his elite class of honor students in Management Engineering at the AdeMU. Another daughter, Karen, is now a third year Management student at the AdeMU. Michelle Lo, daughter of Susan Ngo-Lo (Batch '74), graduated salutatorian in high school last March at the SHSG. Michelle's elder brother, Michael, is now a third year Engineering student, also at the AdeMU.
HONORS ROLL
Tristan
Ervin Lim is grade school valedictorian
In the graduation rites and recognition program held on March 22, 2002 in the LCHS Gym, the following grade school graduates landed in the honors roll with Tristan Ervin G. Lim as valedictorian in both the English and Chinese instructions. English Department: Tristan Ervin G. Lim, Valedictorian; New Blossom C. Ang, Salutatorian; Carleen Dara L. Ibanez, 1st Honorable Mention; Camille Krizia D. Yap, 2nd Honorable Mention; Zynth S. Yap, 3rd Honorable Mention. Chinese Department: Tristan Ervin G. Lim, Valedictorian; Camille Krizia D. Yap, Salutatorian; New Blossom C. Ang, 1st Honorable Mention; Janalee Ng, 2nd Honorable Mention; and Zynth S. Yap, 3rd Honorable Mention.
Honors Roll for non-graduating HS students
The following non-graduating high school students were conferred scholastic honors for the school year 2001-2002 (English Department) in a recognition program held on March 26, 2002 in LCHS Gym, First Year: Joni A. Ling, First Honors; Giselle Mae S. Letegio, Second Honors; (No student qualified for Third Honors). Third Year: Enjoy Faith C. Ang, First Honors; Jian Leih C. Racines, Second Honors; and Elbert Louie B. Eslao, Third Honors. Due to stringent qualification standards, no scholastic honors were conferred on the second year high school students.
Honors Roll for non-graduating GS students
The following non-graduating grade school students were conferred scholastic honors for the school year 2001-2002 (English Department) in a recognition program held on March 26, 2002 in LCHS Gym, Grade 1: Thomas Derrick P. Siao, First Honors; Maleika Andrea Q. Dy, Second Honors; and Jude Shahara G. Rosales, Third Honors. Grade 2: Nicole Leslie L. Chua, First Honors; Kevin Bill R. Taongan, Second Honors; Maxine Alexis D. Yap, Third Honors. Grade 3: Ann Catherine L. Co, First Honors; Reggielloyd F. Aguilar, Second Honors; Sarah Grace B. Uy, Third Honors. Grade 4: Kevin Bryan M. Dy, First Honors; Karen Adrea L. Chua, Second Honors; Jason Louie G. Lim, Third Honors. Grade 5: Jason Edric T. Dy, First Honors; Pao-Ju L. Chi, Second Honors; and Franzymyll V. Dy, Third Honors.
OBITUARIES
Tan
Lam, 92
Tan Lam, owner of Tan Lam Glass Palace, Pala-o, Iligan City, passed away at 5:45 a.m., on April 8, at his residence. He was 92 years old. He was survived by his children, Reynaldo Suminguit aka "Bonton" (Batch '72), Roger Suminguit aka "Bonso" (Batch '73), Romeo Suminguit (Batch '73), Remedios Suminguit-Shu (Batch '76), Ramon Suminguit, Roberto Suminguit, and Rosita Suminguit. On Saturday, April 13, 2002, he was buried in Iligan Chinese Cemetery beside his wife who died earlier on April 7, 1986. A record crowd joined the funeral procession and paid their last respects.
Vienalyn T. Rosillo, 10
Vienalyn T. Rosillo, 10, died on March 29, 2002
after a lingering illness. She is the fourth child of Benito and Helen
Rosillo Sia. Vienalyn suffered from deficiency of the heart and lungs,
which started when she was six years old. The child’s father, Benito, is
the son of Sia Siu On and Celsa Rosillo, the owners of Heng Huat Trading.
Looking
for Fr. Boy Gupana
Fri, 12 Apr 2002 15:54:44 +0800
Please help me get in touch with Fr. Pacifico Gupana. He officiated the wedding of Joan Quimbo. I got the information from the LCHS Spectrum, August 13, 2001 issue. Thank you very much. --Isagani Marcorde, E-mail: gani@xs.edu.ph
Letters of condolence
Tue, 9 Apr 2002 17:47:54 -0000
My heartfelt condolence to the Suminguit family. I grew up knowing
everybody in the family, went to school at LCHS with Ramona "Bon Eng",
Roberto and Rosita. May God bless you and comfort you. --Evelyn Yu-Go
(Batch '77), San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., ego@texas.net
Tue, Apr 09, 2002 9:39
Dear Roger and family: I join you and all your loved ones in
praying for the eternal repose of your papa. May he rest in peace. --Henry
L. Yu (Batch '69), Cebu, Philippines, hvty@skyinet.net
Tue, 9 Apr 2002 15:25:57 EDT
To Roger and family: Our heartfelt condolence. --Ernie Yu
(Batch '65) and Verna Yu, Buffalo, N.Y., U.S.A., Ernstyu@aol.com
Mon, 8 Apr 2002 11:14:48 -0600
To the family of Tan Lam: Please accept our deepest condolences.
May the Great Architect of the universe bless and comfort you all during
this sad moment. --Dr. Greg Dy (Batch '59) and family, Chicago,
Illinois, U.S.A., gregdy@juno.com
Mon, 08 Apr 2002 11:59:56
Our heartfelt condolences to the Tan Lam family. --Alex Rodriguez
(Batch '65) & family, Miramar, Florida, U.S.A., alpacino_8@hotmail.com
Sun, 7 Apr 2002 21:27:22 -0500
To the family of the late Tan Lam: We are extending our deepest
sympathy for the loss of your beloved father. Our thoughts and prayers
are with all of you. --Ritky C. Dy (Batch '76) and family, Clanton,
Alabama, U.S.A., ritkydy@mindspring.com
 . |
Spectrum columnist Marie Janiefer Lee and her mother Fe "Guat Ching" Dy-Quimbo are currently on vacation in the U.S.A. and Canada. Photo shows Janiefer and Guat Ching in their visit with fellow Spectrum columnist in snow-covered Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. From the U.S.A., they will proceed to Canada, where Janiefer's sister Marie Josiefel Ello now lives with her family. (Photo courtesy of Ernesto Yu.) |
Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69
VCMC and Me: At 50
There’s one thing in common I have with the Visayas Community Medical Center: We both are celebrating our Golden Anniversary this year. Our 50th. Yes, we’ve both lived together and grew up together in the tradition of “Living together, growing together”. And we still do. For how long, only time will tell.
I remember the first time I came into the portals of what was then known as Cebu Community Hospital (CCH). It was one cloudy 1st of August back in 1977 when I was assigned in the Department of Pediatrics as a Senior Clerk who was graduating from the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) the following year. One month’s rotation at CCH indeed brought forth a lot of medical experiences and exposures which have made me become more confident as I continued with the rest of my Medical Internship days and months. The next time I was back to this hospital was in July of 1982 when I had my residency training. Since then, it’s VCMC and me all the while, all the time, all the way. All of twenty solid years.
Today, that inscription above the Business Office transaction window that read “We dress the wounds, but God provides the healing” may no longer be there. But we still live up to that belief and conviction all these years. Yes, we are indeed God’s instruments in His Healing Ministry. And to Him we give the glory.
As the hospital withstood the test of time and still standing strong and sturdy all of these high and mighty, hefty fifty years, how much do we know about Visayas Community Medical Center? How did it come to being? Why did it keep changing its name?
Join me therefore in this sentimental journey as we look back and reminisce the years gone by but always remembered by us who lived and grew up with this hospital through all these many many years.
The present-day Visayas Community Medical Center (VCMC) was known originally as Cebu Evangelical Hospital. It was a joint project of the Presbyterian Mission of the United States and the emerging United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). The said hospital was erected by the American missionaries on April 6, 1952 on Jones Avenue (now Osmena Blvd.). Dr. William McAnlis and Dr. Eva T. McGilvray were its first Administrator and Medical Director, respectively. A decade after, what was known then as the Cebu Evangelical Hospital became Cebu Community Hospital (CCH), thus erasing the misnomer and mis-notion that the hospital was only for the “Evangelical” commonly called “Protestants”.
Once upon a time in the rolling 50s and the fabulous 60s, this hospital was the biggest and tallest infrastructure in the whole Jones Avenue and the first modern private hospital in the whole City of Cebu. As records would show it, “it was financed with a grant of P100,000.00 by the Presbyterian Mission Board and a counterpart contribution by local Churches of Cebu Conference in the amount of P35,000.00. The whole project was managed and chaired by Rev. David P. Martin, who was ably assisted by Bishop Santiago G. Iyoy.”
In the course of time, trials and tribulations, dilemmas and predicaments saw them all besetting the hospital decade in decade out, with the hospital facing the challenges valiantly heads up through the years. Yes, it has come out victorious amidst acid tests and storms and other such calamities. The word “Metro” was added to Cebu Community Hospital, thus it became known as Metro Cebu Community Hospital (MCCH) in the mid-80s, lasting for a little over a decade after which it has again changed its name to the present-day VCMC or Visayas Community Medical Center (in October of 1999) with the end in view that as a health care giving institution, it should serve the community and the whole of humanity this side of the Visayas region. And the story continues, with each page, a history by itself.
How come I seem to know much about VCMC? For the record, we’re both born the same year (1952) with me ahead by just three days. And that’s the truth, nothing but ...
Marie Janiefer Q. Lee, Batch '87
My Hero
Whenever we go in and out of the country, there’s a big chance that on the same flight there’s an Overseas Contract Worker (OCW) either on their way to a work assignment or on their way home for a vacation. The main reason for going abroad is mostly economic, it always makes me feel bad that we can never provide enough jobs for our own people.
On my last trip from Singapore, I was seated right next to a gentleman in his fifties. He was trying to initiate a conversation but I was so tired after days with my two little rascals that all I really needed was just some peace and quiet. But my mono-syllable answers didn’t stop him from asking more questions that I finally decided to put down my earphones and just talk to him, I was hoping that by answering his questions directly I’d finally get the much needed peace. But I was wrong.
He asked me if I was on a vacation trip or was it on business. Then after he learned that I was traveling with my family he commented on how my kids are lucky to have the chance to travel at such an early age. I wanted to tell him how I saved for this trip and how I skimp here and there just to pay for this trip. But I thought it might prolong the conversation even more so I just asked him a question in reply. I asked him where he’s coming home from, and I guess it was just the question he was waiting for coz he was just too happy to narrate to me his “life” story.
I learned that he has been a seaman for the past 25 years. That means he has spent half of his life overseas. He has grown-up kids who are now professionals. He told me how proud he is of his children who were good students and who are now earning well in their respective fields. He just has one regret all his life, that he was never there to watch his kids grow up. Sometimes he’d give them a call from overseas just to hear their voices only to be answered by those tiny voices who sounded like they don’t know who they were talking to.
At one time he would look at kids of about the same age as his kids just to have an idea of how they’d move how they’d behave. He said that he’s away most of the time that every time he comes home it’s like trying to get to know his own family once again. I really felt sorry for him, and the more I listened to him I realized why the OCW’s are our modern day heroes. I can’t imagine what type of brainwashing they do to themselves to be able to endure being away too often and too long.
Just the thought that I’d be leaving my two-year old daughter for a few days was already very hard for me. I wished that she is old enough to come with us for the trip. I was already thinking of the possible things that I’d missed or the new words that she’d utter for the first time which I won’t be able to hear. Which made me think that no matter what I’ll do I’d never have enough strength to be an OCW. It takes more than the drive to earn better to be able to stand the loneliness of being away from home. It takes something stronger something deeper, which I really don’t have and can never have.
Our government have started honoring the OCW’s as our modern day economic hero, but I think they are more than dollar producers for our country.
They should be treated with more decent services and privileges. They deserve more than a garland on their neck when they come home.
I’m just glad that on that one ordinary day aboard that one ordinary flight, I was lucky to meet one of our heroes. I’m glad I stopped and listened, it didn’t cost me a thing but I’m sure I made that person feel prouder of himself, as he so rightly deserve to be.
Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch '65
Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteenth
I know, it is a week late now to propel my younger sibling's (Henry) juices into whirlwind intensity. Just the same, I won't be able to hug my pillow soundly if I don't air out a comment or two on the milestone where he blew off, in a single deep breath, the lighted torch on his 50th birthday cake. He smashed the icing with a contagious bewilderment of a kid who just graduated from short pants! Gosh, what steam his staggering lungs still possess. Then again, he has fifty years to craft gold out of unpolished bronze.
Brod, the breeze these days around fiftysomething clubs is fortified with brooding half-truths when prickly age-related issues are tossed in intimidating bluntness. A question about age has more emotional whack than a relentless whine about skin blemishes and droopy eyelids secondary to being a quart low on youth hormones. Due to the gravity of this hysterical denial, such inquiry commands a slightly more cynical spin, a highly safeguarded, manipulated reply. Oftentimes, when a discoloring princess or the lords of prunes with extra flesh at the waist are pressed about their down-to-the-bone earthly years, it is not atypical to be oscillated by a feedback of vaguely garbled sounding first number, followed by a second numeral mumbled in fractured Arabic or Russian. What galls me is the misplaced priorities of a breed of forever-young wannabes who would dare to bare their consuming passion just to mask an empirical birth age of fifty with a well-buffed forty four, especially when emblems of god-awful physical mileage like facial sags and rickety joints easily delineate the baffling white lie. This really hits a raw nerve. A capricious mockery of grand illusion!
I must confess fresh puzzlement on the ugly reaction among dinosaurs of mankind who deem it tonsil-threatening and take personal vendetta when pals attempt to flame their insatiable appetite for twisted versions of being old with such blistering sarcasm as, "C'mon, gimme a break. You don't park a set of submersible dentures nightly because you are a spring chicken?" or "Did you quit extinguishing birthday candles after your decade-ago hearing aids tune up? H-e-l-l-o?" If you find it wryly amusing to zip your guttural laughs to the minimum of amplification on these wily old creatures' antics, then anticipate a scenario where these quaintly old fogies from Jurassic Park will expose their fangs with raunchy rhetorics foaming out of their mouth as you debate their engaging discourse and blatant mathematical miscalculation. Whatever the slender merits of concealing the stark reality, there are always squirming midlifers who work feverishly to market themselves with fake serials and who perpetually hallucinate as Tom Cruise or Britney Spears when their external anatomy textures are those of Gene Hackman and Sissy Spacek. Brod, what jarring punches am I trying to land on your rusting mental circuits? As straight from the heart as this: "Age is a matter of attitude and outlook. You can tiptoe on the scale of "matured nuts", riddled with crepitations in all mobile appendages or implanted with fat pads in wrong places, but, hey, you can still regulate your heart to tick like your debonaire days. There's no such terms as gritty defiance of extinction thru the disguise of subtraction and deeper subtraction to your collection of true breathing years. Age gracefully and honestly, without hesitation and shuffling steps. Only turn back the clock for memories that tinker on your fancy, all done on the rocking chair. There is a good assortment of members in our fifty-and-beyond society. A fraternity of alligators packaged in incredible sizes and shapes, the extremes range from skeleton profile to tub conture, that are waiting to be manufactured into leather. The Gucci and Prada kinds, of course! It is not a death-defying act to accept as holy the actual odometer of your engine, whether it throttles or zooms. Besides, what choice do you have when hairs fall instead of leaves in autumn?"
Got to go, I need my daily dabs of Rogaine and need to track down Juan Ponce De Leon's website. My May Day (May 8 natal day) is creeping around the corner. Yes, my sixteenth to reply in slurred speech the pointed question that is a dagger to my heart.
.
Portrait of My Love
By Janet Lee
Batch 1969
An ideal man is one whom you think perfect
enough to be imitated. There are many persons who are worthy of admiration
as an ideal or model, 
such
as our national heroes, our teachers, our head of state, et. al. But I
cannot exchange my ideal to any of them because, deep in my heart, I have
loved and honored this man ever since I was a child. Because he deserves
such affection from me, I am writing a short biography of my ideal man
-- a portrait of my love (in photo).<
He is a native of China who was born to a poor couple. Although, he is the only one in the family, he was never spoiled. Years later, his hometown was stricken with poverty. Because of this, he was forced to help his parents earn a living despite his youth. When he grew up, he immigrated to the Philippines and started to work and study independently. Ushered by patience and industry he became a teacher. Later on, he was appointed principal of the school where he taught. After World War II, he became a businessman. Finding himself deserving to settle down, he married a Filipina.
A few years later, they begot a son named Ruben. He loves the company of every member in the family and his incessant desire to send his children to school makes me intensely grateful. He goes to work everyday with the intention of providing his family everything necessary in life. He dresses simply and never goes out gambling nor does he drink heavy liquors, or smokes cigarettes like other men. His chief means of recreation is reading and he sometimes brings the whole family to a movie house.
As a husband, he is not a faultfinder. He is very understanding with his wife. He has a sense of humor that pleases us so much, especially when everybody in the family, after dinner, sits together in the veranda. He never argues with his wife. And what a thoughtful husband he is! When he is away, he never fails to contact his family; he wires them, or writes fond letters. Upon returning home, he always brings along with him many surprises for each member of the family -- and valuable presents.
His thoughts are always centered at his children, that whenever one of them celebrates his birthday, he does not hesitate to come home and celebrate with them. He renders his family the respect due them. As a father, he keeps his word: whenever he promises something he always fulfills them.
And finally, being a loving husband and a kind father, he cherishes all the family circle. His greatest concern is in his family, especially when someone gets ill, no matter how slight the ailment is, he always feels uneasy until he gets medical care for the patient.
That is my ideal man -- one I shall never forget for in knowing him, in loving him, there’s a light that brightens my path of learning as well as living.
My father is my ideal, and I shall remember him till the end of time. (Reprinted from the October-November, 1969 issue of the LCHS Spectrum.)
[Editor’s Note: This article was written in 1969 when Janet Lee was still studying in Cebu. Being a former schoolteacher and principal, Janet’s father put education as the main concern for his children. And true to form, his children did not disappoint him. They brought home honors and distinctions in their studies. Of nine children, five graduated with honors: Ruben (cum laude), Emelita (cum laude), Janet (magna cum laude), Lucille (summa cum laude) and Franzel (summa cum laude). Two or three were board topnotchers. And most of them were consistent honors students in grade school and high school. Janet’s father, Mr. Dy Tiao Lim, and Mr. Sy Seng Chiok, father of Nelson and Charles Sy, were the prime movers in founding our school in 1938. Mr. Dy Tiao Lim died in 1996 after a lingering illness.]
Porong, Iko, and Other Unforgettable
Characters
By Charles O. Sy
Batch 1967
Like dinosaurs of a bygone era, they once roamed the face of the earth and left behind footprints that continue to linger in the pages of our memories. We remember them not so much for their popularity but for their peculiarity. They were ubiquitous sights that colored the landscape of Iligan in the 50s and 60s.
One of these unforgettable figures was Eugenio whom we all knew as Genio, the street vendor. But he is remembered more for his fearsome character than for the foodstuff that he peddled daily on the streets of Iligan. To many adults, he was the source of a hearty snack with his delivery of hot siopao. To kids like us, he was a scarecrow. Stout, short and pug-nosed, his appearance never failed to send chills down our spine. A few of his front teeth were missing so that even his smile could not conceal the terror we saw in his face. Knowing how we dreaded him, he seemed to enjoy teasing us even more whenever our paths crossed. Not that he meant any harm. But the more we feared him, the more he relished in scaring us with his antics.
I remember once while playing with some other kids at the city plaza. We were so engrossed in our games that we did not notice Genio's presence in the vicinity. Normally we would know if he was nearby because his call of "siopao, init siopao" would precede his arrival. But this time he deliberately kept silent until he was right behind us. Like an apparition, his sudden appearance scared the daylights out of us. We scampered in all directions, tumbling over one another in our fright. I was the last to run away. Not because I was bold enough but because I was too scared stiff to move. As he approached, he pointed at me without uttering a word. I was so shaken I sprinted away with all my might leaving behind my sandals along with all my spirit.
Equally unforgettable as Genio was another character known as Porong. His name was Telesforo Abragan but everybody called him Porong. He was a daily sight peddling sweepstake tickets and newspapers. But unlike Genio, he was benign. He wore short pants all the time as he went around town selling sweepstake tickets and newspapers like the The Manila Times, the Manila Chronicle, and the local Lanao Mail. Occasionally he also peddled a popular local frozen delight called Alaska Ice Drop. Porong was a frequent sight during elections. Amiable by nature, he was a favorite recruit in political campaign where he would help distribute campaign leaflets for his candidates. Porong is gone but I remember several years back when he was asked by a radio reporter why he stopped selling sweepstakes on the streets, he said in his characteristic staccato speech, "Wa na nahon." With that everyone understood that he meant wala nay panahon.
And who could forget Iko and Maganda? Very few knew their real names or the nature of their relationship. They were often seen together, wandering around aimlessly or simply scavenging for scraps. Quite often Maganda would be seen around town with a flower adorning her hair. That was perhaps why she was called Maganda. The two were among the better known hobos of the city. Though they looked unkempt in their tattered clothes, they never bothered or caused anyone any mischief. Oblivious to the world around them, they simply went about their scavenging routine around the city. At the end of the day, they would seek refuge in their common hideaway at the city plaza by the basement of the gazebo or what we as children used to call "the kiosk." How they managed to hole themselves up underneath the gazebo with all the stench inside was a testimonial in itself to their capacity for survival.
Perhaps the most gifted of these unforgettable street characters was Simeon. He was a one-man band. Every so often on special occasions like the city fiesta or Christmas, Simeon would go around town, playing his instruments from one store to another. It remains a mystery how a seemingly penniless vagabond could have assembled an array of musical instruments and managed to play them simultaneously all by himself. Although we never understood a single tune that he played, his assortment of instruments was an attraction in itself. The instruments included a harmonica, a pair of cymbals, a bass drum with pedal, a snare drum, an air horn, and a few other percussions, all of which he played with amazing synchronization. It was a case of ingenuity that Simeon was able to put together an "orchestra" all on his own, never mind the riot of tunes that came out of it.
Simeon, along with Genio, Porong, Iko and Maganda, characterized a lost
era when life was simple and carefree. In each their own peculiar
way, they added a little mystery and magic to our childhood. Perhaps even
more remarkable is the fact that, unlike other vagrants, they never begged
or pestered other people for alms to make a living. Somehow they
carved out a life of their own in each their odd and special way.
If even for that perhaps will they be remembered forever with childlike
fondness and nostalgia.
|