Orphans and prisoners

BENCHWARMER
Ramon Dacawi

BAGUIO CITY -- After her mother died of cancer, Olga Joy Lagasca-Cadingla of Pacdal collected the unused medical supplies into a box she sealed with a list of the items. Last week, she delivered the package to city hall.

“Kindly hand these to people who might need them in their own battle against cancer or any illness,” Olga asked the staff of the information division of the mayor’s office.

The gesture was her family’s way of coping. Olga, her sister Maricris and brother Daniel Jr. lost their dad a day after Christmas Day last year. Daniel Sr., a caddy at the Baguio Country Club, succumbed to cardiac arrest four days after he topped a caddies tournament, a month before Danny III, his grandson, was born.

The supplies donation was also the family’s way of passing forward the support they received during the over two years their mother, Cristina (nee Andaya), fought the big C. She passed on last March 15 at 56.

As per Olga’s list, the box contains one bottle PNSS, one bottle Maalox (225 mg.), seven pairs surgical gloves, four pieces urinary bag, six pcs. catheter 16”, eight pcs. insulin syringe, six pcs. tongue depressor, oxygen mask and hose, five bottles Bacterostatic water (30 ml.), two ointment tubes (for bedsore), three pcs syringe (10 ml.), one bottle stool softener (100 mg.), one bottle laxative syrup (120 ml.) and Ensure Gold. People in need of any of these may ring up 442-2502.

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Over at City Camp, another orphaned family of five also lost one member last Sunday morning. Baguio girl Jennifer Dangla, a 35-year old college graduate and a solo parent, died of heart and kidney ailment she tried to live with the past 11 years.

She left behind 12-year old daughter Shanaya, sister Marilyn and brothers Archimedes, Mark and Paul. “She experimented by not undergoing dialysis for three weeks,” Archimedes said during the wake at the City Camp barangay hall. It was a euphemism for the prohibitive cost of dialysis treatment.

Two days before she passed on, Jennifer - who survived on peritoneal dialysis treatment and maintenance medication since she was diagnosed for kidney failure and then suffered a stroke in 2000 - texted she badly needed peritoneal dialysis bags, saying she was very weak.

The Germany-based Shoshin Foundation led by traditional karate teacher Julian Chees responded, as it did during Cristina’s fight. It immediately had four boxes of dialysis bags delivered toArchimedes. By then, Jennifer could hardly respond to the treatment. “The unused supply will replace three boxes I got on credit earlier for my sister,” Archimedes said.

After the burial last Thursday, he now looks forward to seeing his niece Shayana join the Grade VI class of the Baguio Central School in their graduation rites this Tuesday.
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What the rest of the world did in one hour, 427 inmates of the Baguio city jail did in three hours and three minutes the other Saturday night.

It was the third straight year the prisoners observed “Earth Hour Inside”. Again, they went beyond 60 minutes, in response to the world-wide call for energy conservation as a means of combating climate change. To do that, they asked the jail officers to have their cells and the courtyard plunge into darkness as soon as dusk set in at 6:30 p.m., two hours ahead of “Earth Hour” outside.

Accenting on the observance of March as “Women’s Month”, jail warden, Chief Insp. Severino Khita asked Senior Insp. April Rose Ayangwa, wardress of the female dorm, to have the women residents plan the three-hour observance.

After Ayangwa lit the mother candle, the female directors dispatched four male detainees to light four candles representing earth, wind, fire and water. To the tune of “Little Candles” and “Pass It On”, 54 female inmates wearing yellow shirts moved in, setting a semi-circle of lit candles on the concrete floor in silent prayer.

The women then lit floating candles on four water-filled vats bedecked with rose petals in the middle of the quadrangle. Their faces aglow, the inmates’ choir the belted out “Prayer” for the doxology. “The candle prayer in prison was really moving,” Rafael Tallocoy, executive assistant of mayor Mauricio Domogan said after the ceremony.

From the darkness of their cells, the male inmates silently watched, some holding on to the bar grills with muted personal prayers for their families, for lighter sentences if not acquittals – and also for Mother Earth. A few had no choice but to watch, having been denied of the week-end pastime of watching the basketball game on television.

Then came “pandanggo sa ilaw” followed by other dances, mostly by the women detainees. City councilor Peter Fianza, who, now and then spends time with the inmates, glanced at his watch. More than two hours still to burn.

As in the past two editions of “Earth Hour Inside”, lawyer Jose “Bubut” Olarte and prosecutor Rolly Vergara teamed up with Alma Sara for a folk and country concert in the dark.

The trio got support from three inmates and Shakilan, lawyer-journalist Isagani Liporada an ethnic-inspired band composed of lead guitarist Ernie Caccam, father-and-son Ken and Kenneth Banasan and Alex Amador.

Amador, half of the Bolivian musical duo “Munay”, pierced through the darkness with his impeccable flute interpretation of “El Condor Pasa”. Olarte, et.al., collectively called Blue Graz, then returned for the finale number “Greenfields.”

The lights were back at 9:33 p.m. The jail erupted in applause over the announcement of the inmates’ record: three hours and three minutes. Insp. Rommel Basilan, chief of the inmates welfare development program, then thanked everyone, assuring the jail will go beyond Earth Hour.

The inmates are now preparing to observe, also for the third straight year, “Earth Day” on April 22 and “World Environment Day” on June 5. -- With reports from George dela Cruz