BENCHWARMER

Cordi expats in California raise $2,800 for patients
RAMON S. DACAWI

Cordillera folksingers in Northern California worked for three weeks – from conception to rendition – for a two-hour concert for the sick last Oct. 20 in Daly City, Northern California.

The crowd of over a hundred who responded to the hastily organized fundraiser - dubbed “With a Little Help from my Friends” - asked for more. The performers, however, reined in the urge to oblige.

“Even with the profuse applause from start to finish, we kept to the 5-to-7 p.m. schedule,” said concert co-organizer and performer Joel Aliping. “We could have returned the favor with our extra lineup of songs but we kept to the time, which was good, as they’re now clamoring for another concert,” he added.

“They just savored every minute of it,” he admitted, surprised at the heavy turn-out despite the short notice. “We just had a lot of activities, fund drives included, yet they came for one more, this time for the sick back home.”

The biennial BIBAK Grand Canao in the Bay Area was just over when they thought of the concert. Just a week before the performance, Joel’s wife Emily hosted a “pinikpikan” luncheon which raised about $800 for the visiting Ifugao Dance Ensemble.

“With a Little Help” netted $2,785, after stage equipment rental, donation for the venue, ticket and flyer printing and tokens for visiting musicians and new immigrants still on the job hunt.

Joel upped the amount to $2,800 flat then rushed to the San Francisco Airport to hand over the amount to fellow performer, Fr. Leonard Oakes. Fr. Oakes arrived here early last week for a memorial mass yesterday that marked the 40th day of the passing of his niece – 20-year old senior nursing student Dorcas. The girl recently succumbed to skin cancer.

Dorcas’ mother Juliet (nee Tumpao of La Trinidad, Benguet) is also battling cancer for over a year now. The double whammy struck at the very core of the family of folk musician Dick Oakes. Over the years, Dick had guided Dorcas and her sisters Pocashontas and Libnah to pro bono performances in concerts for seriously patients they hardly knew or never met.

With the shoe on the other foot, the performers in Daly set aside $1,500 for Juliet’s fight. The rest will be distributed as follows: $400 for cancer patient Mary Chan, sister of concert-for-a-cause supporters Jimmy and Pok Chan; $400 for three-year old heart patient Rheanne Derrick of Scout Barrio and $300 for five Baguio public school teachers also afflicted with the big C.

The $200 left will be “for the boys”, said soloist Conrad Marzan, the newest recruit of the Northern California band. It will support concerts that Bubut Olarte, March Fianza and other Baguio musicians continue to organize here.

“Having been with them there for years, I know how difficult it is to mount a concert while shouldering the food, tickets and…. the alcohol needed to perk you up,” Conrad said.

A day before the Daly concert, Conrad and guitarist-singer Richard Arandia called up Pendong Aban, formerly of the environmental band Asin, and his wife Chat. The couple brought the house down with four Asin compositions that sent the audience to “a trip in once-upon-a-time Pilipinas, Pearl of the Orient going bananas,” Joel quipped.

“I didn’t know Pendong and Chat are my neighbors in Daly,” Fr. Leonard said last Thursday evening at the Le Fondeau folkhouse here. With them in the Daly performance were guest folksinger Miguel “Meggs” Meru, a native of Mines View Park and now with the U.S. Navy, Baguio-Benguet boys Estoy Aglit and Felix Tayaotao, Janus Ananayo, flutist Fina Pengosro, Mark Watan and the kids’ duo of Elana Aliping and Kim Somebang.

Bryan Aliping, elder brother of Joel, drove all the way from Anaheim with his wife. He ended up bringing tears to parents and nurses in the audience with his signature “San Silaw Mankimkimkim”. It’s about an Igorot student who squandered his parents’ sacrifices for his education - inside dimly-lit pole dancing bars.

“Immediately after the concert, Fr. Rico, who used to be with St. Martin’s, came up to the stage and proposed one (concert) in Vallejo,” Joel said. Cordillera expatriates in Vancouver, Canada are also beckoning.

“All we need now is a drummer to complete an honest-to-goodness folk and country band as you have back home here,” Fr. Leonard told newsmen-singers March Fianza and Alfred Dizon.
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With a month to go, the fund for ailing three-year old Rheanne Derrick has reached P99,574.75, a little over five hundred pesos short of the half-way mark of a P200,000 goal to enable her to undergo heart surgery by Christmastime.

Twenty donors, including an anonymous Samaritan, pooled P7,295 on the fourth week of the fund drive launched by the barangay council of Scout Barrio and jeepney association plying the route to the community.

Notwithstanding the time constraint, punong barangay Ramon Corpuz was optimistic that the P200,000 target would be realized to enable the toddler to go under the knife at the Philippine Heart Center to close a life-threatening hole in her heart.

“What has been collected were cash donations that exclude support through drop cans that the jeepney association has distributed,” Corpuz said. “Even our pupils at the John Hay Elementary School are filling up their second can.”

The unknown Samaritan contributed P2,500 for the week’s biggest single contribution, depositing the same under BPI-Harrison intrust-for savings account number 9693-0491-37 that the barangay council opened for the purpose. He or she was followed by parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel of Scout Barrio (P2,000) and Mikey Filler (1,000).

Last week’s other donors as of Thursday afternoon were Adrian Cuevas – P50, Marcelina Miranda – P25, Edison Rimpillo – P100, Francis Sta. Maria – P50, Lorenzo Family – P100, Mano Boado Sr. – P50, Anton Lagera – P200, Rufy Viray – P100, Joshua – P100, Perry and Letti Alviar – P100, Froilan Viernes and Family – 500, Adrian Cuevas – P20, Bien Poblete – P100, Michelle Delgado – P20, Jonathan Mones – P30, Mr. and Mrs. Rex Waking – P200, and Manuela Lacanlale – P50.

The biggest contribution of P16,000 was sent the other week by Freddie de Guzman, a Baguio boy and architect working in Canada. He grew up at the DPS Compound but also resided for three years at the Scout Barrio area.

The barangay council got wind of Rheanne’s plight last month when Andrew Pagasiway, president of the Camp John Hay United (Jeepney) Operators and Drivers Association, sought a permit for the drivers to install donation cans in their units.

The barangay council went beyond issuing a permit. It adopted a resolution to sponsor the fund drive, rcognizing the fact that Roderick, Rheanne’s father, a driver who plies the route to their community, grew up in Scout Barrio.

For transparency, and to measure public response, the council set up a giant graph beside Loakan Rd., near the barangay hall. A red arrow pointing up on the left side of the chart indicates the progress of the campaign.

So as to keep donations intact, the cost of the donation cans (P1,300) was charged to a P7,000 donation coursed by an anonymous donor through bank vice-president Rolly de Guzman of RCBC. Newsman Gani Loporada designed the sticker ran for free by a local printer and wrapped around the cans.

Rheanne, an only child, was born with a hole in her heart. It was diagnosed at ventricular septal defect. Doctors explained the hole is in the wall separating the left and right ventricles. They recommended surgery, estimated at P600,000 but which was whittled down to P200,000 given the family’s meager in come.

The toddler will have her pre-surgery check-up on Dec. 7, during which the parents will have to indicate their readiness to shoulder their counterpart of the costs.

Donors may course their support through the BPI Harrison Branch. They may call punong barangay Corpuz the barangay council at telephone numbers 442- 6237 or 444-8900, if not e-mail barangay secretary Babes Defredo at babes_dofredo@hotmail.com.