y'all!
i was checking my email today or yesterday, when i saw this. it is touching that this man is trying his best to fulfill a promise, a promise he gave to a man who had left this world. i am posting his emphatic email in my blog - unfortunately, it is all i can do at the moment.
may this plea for help reach the right ears, at the right time. please help by letting your friends know of this plea. you can always forward them the link to this post.
^^liza
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Dear All,
By now you should know that I am not a fan of sending or forwarding personal matter through email… and my friends would attest that I am not that keen on writing letters, even to those who are closest to me. But in this case, I would like to make an exception.
A few days ago, I woke up late, tired from the previous day’s work. Saw that I missed some phone calls. One of which was from Mr. Luisito Ibarrientos, or Kuya Lito. Kuya Lito and I would usually exchange texts messages every so often. But due to the tons of stuff I had to do that day, I failed to return Kuya Lito’s call. Or to even text him back…
Who is Kuya Lito? He was the supervisor of the College of Business canteen in UP Diliman. Sobra kaming close nito. He practically took care of me when I was still in UP. Served as my pseudo-dad. And when there was a time my faith in the Lord was waning, he was there for me. He would read the Bible to me in between classes. He served as my “spiritual director”, and gave me sound advise and moral strength. We were not of the same religion, but he prodded me to be strong in the faith. He even gave me a prayerbook one day so I will always remember to pray. Birthday ko noon. And he didn’t know na birthday ko. I so felt God’s love through him, even during the times I questioned if God did indeed loved me.
We were so close that I invited him to work sa isang business na kasosyo ang family ko, hoping that I can improve the quality of his life. Naging ninong din ako ng kaisa-isang anak niya. His name is Jigo. 6 years old siya ngayon. I think he’s in Grade 2. Things were going on smoothly for years, until business needs dictated that the corporation had to let go of some workers. Napasama dun si Kuya Lito. I felt bad na during that time. Wala kaming magawa. Me and my family tried to look for a job din for Kuya Lito. But since he was not that young anymore, nahirapan kami. We tried to start a sari-sari store business din for him, pero it failed too.
In spite of that, Kuya Lito and my family, would normally keep in touch. Lumalabas ako at si Kuya Lito minsan, kasama si Jigo, just to bond. Minsan, natutulungan at naaabutan ko rin siya ng kaunti, because I was still working then.
But law school came. And all the responsibilities that came along with it. I had to resign from this post I had from this multinational firm. Di ko na din naaabutan si Kuya Lito dahil wala na akong steady income. Nawalan na ako ng oras. But we still kept in touch, until recently, when talagang my responsibilities took most, if not all of my time.
Back to the phone call. Yes I missed it. And I totally forgot to return his phone call.
A few days after, (last Friday) I got a text from Kuya Lito’s wife. Nastroke daw si Kuya Lito, and ni pang CT scan wala sila. I tried to make some phone calls to facilitate his transfer to a better hospital. But in spite of that, hindi daw sya stable. The next day, (Saturday) he died na. At hindi na naman ako nakadalaw. Busy with bar exam preparations. Late na nung nakadalaw ako. Sunday. Patay na sya.
I feel so guilty because I promised him I will try my best to make his life much better, especially for my inaanak, Jigo. But I failed. I know it is not naman my responsibility, but I so feel that I failed him. Ni yung last phonecall niya, sa sobra kong pagod at busy, ni hindi ko nasagot.
Worse, before Kuya Lito died, pinagbilin nya sa wife nya to contact me. He still remembers my promise na I’d try to make his life much better. He told his wife na lapit ka kay Ralph, he won’t fail us.
I would like to ask for your help. Kahit huli na. If you know any place where I can get a scholarship for Jigo, then please let me know. If you would like to give anything to him, kahit kaunting amount lang, then please feel free to contact me. I want to raise funds for Jigo and his family. I will not fail on my promise.
Please help me fulfill my promise for a better life, at least for Kuya Lito’s son Jigo.
For any donation, please feel free to contact me, rafael_calinisan@ yahoo.com or 0917-8441111.
Thank you so much.
above is a picture of Ralph, Kuya Lito, and Kuya Lito's son, Jigo
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