OFW in Saipan appeals for help to be reunited with his children back home

CHALAN PIAO, Saipan – Victoriano J. Cernal, who has been a contract worker in the US island of Saipan for 22 years, has only one wish before he retires: to be reunited with his six children whom he hasn’t seen since 1986. Now 64, Cernal wants to go back home – or what’s left of it. “Gusto ko nang umuwi sa April sa susunod na taon. Pero ngayon, gusto ko munang makausap ang mga anak ko kahit sa telepono (I want to go home around April next year. But for now, I want to talk first to my children over the phone)," Cernal told GMANews.TV during a rainy Saturday morning interview. His children — Jun, Jen, Jane, Jenny, Jomar and Vicmar — have not spoken to him for years. His last phone conversation with them was in 2004. Jun, the eldest, is now 31 years old, according to Cernal. His youngest, Vicmar, is 22. He said he has been sending letters to his family’s last known address but he hasn’t received anything back. His phone calls have also been unanswered. Cernal said his house is located in front of Villa Regina Condominium at the Divine Mercy Compound in Pasig City, Metro Manila. “Sana matulungan ako na makausap sila (I hope I will be helped in talking to them)," he said. He can be reached at telephone number (670) 234 0780, c/o Mayeth and Tony in Saipan. Cernal, who is known to many as “Mang Vic," came to Saipan in 1986 to work as a carpenter for $1.50 an hour. He now works as a farmer but has not been paid regularly for two years now. “Nagbebenta ako ng mga gulay para may pambili ng bigas (I sell vegetables so I could buy rice)," he said. At one point, he said he had one pickup truck and two sedans in Saipan. He sold them all. He said he also lent some $3,000 to fellow workers who did not pay him back. At the time of the interview, he said he only had $49 in his wallet. But he said he has prepared for his trip back home and has packed his things – about 16 boxes in all which include a television, DVD player, stereo and mostly clothes for his children. On Saturday morning, he tagged along with members of the Pilipino Contract Workers Association or Pilcowa led by its president, Ronnie Doca. The group volunteered to clean up a beach in the southern part of Saipan. Old and alone Cernal said the mother of his six children – Conrada Dilis – married another man in 1993. “Hindi kami kasal. Girlfriend ko lang siya. Nung nagpakasal siya sa ibang lalaki, lalong hindi na ako nagplanong umuwi agad (We were not married. She was only my girlfriend. When she married another man, that gave me more reason not to go back home)," he said. Besides this, he did not want to say how he ended up not visiting his family back home since leaving in 1986 for Saipan. He said he has not had any woman ever since. Now that he’s old and ready to retire, Cernal said he wants to see his children. “Pero kung ayaw na sa akin ng mga anak ko, okay lang. Gusto ko lang na maipadala sa kanila yung mga gamit na binili ko para sa kanila. Kung sakali, mangungupahan na lang ako sa atin (But if my children don’t want me anymore, that’s okay with me. I just want to send them the things I have bought for them. Just in case, I will just rent a house back home)," he said. He said he is not angry at his children. t his age, he said he has not seen any of his grandchildren. A traveling carpenter Cernal, who lives in a red tin house all by himself, was born in Leyte in the central Philippines. When he was 7, they moved to the northern city of San Fernando in La Union, where he also wants to stay if he doesn’t get to see his children in Pasig City. In 1976, he left the Philippines to work as a carpenter in Iraq. A year later and up to 1984, he worked in Saudi Arabia also as a carpenter. For only a few months, he also worked in South Korea and Japan. He said he couldn’t stand the cold weather in these two countries so he moved to Singapore in 1985. A year later, he moved to Saipan. Since working abroad in 1976, he said he would go home every two years, and sometimes every year and he and his girlfriend would have a child every time. He’s thankful that in his 22 years in Saipan, he got sick only once. “Gabi-gabi, bago ako matulog, pinagdadasal ko na maging mabuti ang kalusugan ko. Nakakatulong din na puro gulay ang kinakain ko (Every night before I go to sleep, I pray for my health. It also helps that I eat only vegetables)," he said. Saipan, the capital of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), has some 10,000 Filipino contract workers. GMANews.TV