Paalam Tatay Pinoy

I learned from my sister yesterday that our neighbor Tatay Pinoy passed away. My sister said that around 11:30PM Monday evening, she heard Tatay calling her name. Since the old man lives at the back of our house, she hurriedly went to Tatay Pinoy's house. Tatay Pinoy told Inday Bam that ‘I think I’m going to die’…. ‘Kasakit nga kamatayon’. Sabi naman ng sister ko ‘Tatay umupo ka at tatawag kami ng masasakyan natin kasi dadalhin kita sa ospital’. The old man obliged and my sister went back to our house and ginising ang mother ko who’s already sleeping soundly. They (my mother and my sister) then went to Tatay Pinoy’s eldest daughter who happens to be my mother’s sister in law. Bumalik na rin sila kaagad sa matanda and then Tatay Pinoy took his last breath. Yon lang daw, no drama, he just died.

They weren’t able to bring him to the hospital anymore. He died at the age of 80. Inday Sweet, our neighbor who’s a Registered Nurse said that Tatay could have suffered a cardiac arrest. According to the medical practitioners kasi, nangingitim daw ang mga taong nagka cardiac arrest. We really don’t know the cause of his death kasi wala namang diagnosis. We knew that he’s been suffering difficulty in breathing for awhile. Siguro grabe ang suffering niya but he just did not told us.

Nakaka awa pa naman ang matanda kasi inabandona na ng kanyang mga anak. He has two daughters who are teachers. The other lives in a far off place and the other one live in our village. Masasabi ko lang na inabandona siya ng kanyang mga anak because they didn’t care for their father. They didn’t care whether the old man eats and sleeps well. Nakuha na kasi nila ang kanilang mana so they don’t see any use for the old man anymore. They’ve already squandered their legacies. Kaya lesson learned for Tatay na dapat ang mga magulang hindi binibigay ang mana habang sila ay nabubuhay. Look at what happened to Tatay. He gave away everything that he has without thinking that he’ll live that long. When his daughters got their legacies, they just forgot that they still have a father.

My family has been feeding the old man for several years already. Hindi namin pinagmamalaki at pinagsasabi but people know that we care more for the old man than her daughters. Sabi ko nga baka naman abot hanggang maynila kung umatungal ang mga anak niya ngayon. Well, it’s too late, the old man is dead. They could not bring back the life of Tatay Pinoy. Mga salbahe silang mga anak. I won’t be surprised if my cousins would do that also to their mother in the future. Who knows, history repeats itself di ba?

Tatay Pinoy when he’s still alive was always full of wisdom and humility. He’s always a source of inspiration. I respect and admire him as a person. I pity him for having salbaheng mga anak. Pero I know that he’s now with our Creator. Siguro with the grace of God, he’ll be able to forgive his daughters sa mga kasalbahe-an nila. To Tatay Pinoy, may your soul Rest in Peace.