FATHER’S DAY: The do-it-all Dad

Part of a series on dads—and being a dad—for Father's Day.


Every time I find a story like a father protecting his children from drugs or playing with them during the holidays, I remember where we started—about 16 years ago in Romblon.

We had been living happily among the rice fields in Odiongan town in 1999 when my mother died after losing so much blood while giving birth to my baby sister, who also died a week later. My father Ressie, my 3-year-old brother Patrick and I were left.

We couldn’t afford to hire someone to help us with household chores like washing and cooking, so my father took the full responsibility for all of it. He would wash our clothes in the morning, buy food and bring it home after his class at noon, went to work as a DJ for a local radio station in the afternoon, and then referee a basketball game in the evening—all just to support me and my younger brother.

I still remember when he taught me how to cook rice the correct way. He told me, “Just remember the proportion of the uncooked rice and the water you will use must be 1:1.”

I also remember when he taught me how to fix a computer, when he taught me how to do laundry, and when he taught me how to ride a motorcycle. Despite his busy schedule, my father was still there to let me experience the process of transforming into a teenager.

A few years later, the saddest event in my life happened: my father need to fly to Qatar for work. My brother and I would be left in Odiongan to continue our education. It was really a big challenge for us to study hard despite having no one to help you solve your assignment at home.

It’s Father’s Day. I offer this to pay tribute to the father who teaches me how to do everything in my life. Happy Father’s Day, Pa. Thank you for teaching me very significant life trainings that I wouldn’t get at school. Thank you, also, Pa, for entrusting me with everything that you have left here.