Manila Day, Stroke Day: How June 24 Changed Everything for Me

 I apologize for the delay; I was unable to post for several months. I had a stroke last year, and this is my story.

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While the city blazed with parades, lights, and fanfare, my world dimmed in an instant.

I remember it clearly—or at least, I try to. The day began like any other Manila Day: warm air, buzzing streets, and that proud, defiant heartbeat only our capital knows. But somewhere between the laughter and the feast, my left arm went limp. My words began to slur. My heart knew before my mind could catch up: this was not normal.

I was having a stroke.

While others were marching in celebration, I was being wheeled into a hospital, not knowing if I would ever march again.

The irony bit hard—on the day Manila was born, I almost died.

The days that followed were blurred pain and silent prayers. I couldn’t move my hand. My body, once strong and steady, had become unfamiliar. I was a prisoner in my own skin. But something in me, something Manila-bred and fire-forged, refused to give up.

I fought.

One twitch became a movement. A breath became a sentence. One step became two. Then three.

Now, one year later, I don’t just celebrate Manila Day — I honor it as my second birthday. Not the day I was born, but the day I was reborn.

I am not the same man I was.

I am slower, maybe. But I am deeper. Wiser. Grateful.

The left hand may still be stubborn, but the heart? It’s unstoppable.

So today, as the city raises its flags — so do I.

A survivor. A warrior. A living testament to the spirit of this city and the strength that rises when all else falls.

Happy Manila Day. Happy Survival Day.

#everyone #strokesurvivor

Eliminating Diabetes: Rotary Club of Manila

 Thank you so much Rotary Club of Manila and your transformational leaders for sharing your precious time and resources at the Claro M. Recto High School, Division of City Schools, Manila last December 4, 2020.  I was one of the recipients during this time of pandemic and I am so proud of your efforts.  May your tribe increase! #rotaryclubofmanila #rotaryinternational

 

Helping Cats in the Time of Turmoil

🏚️ Storm, Stray, and Sacrifice: A Mother Cat’s Typhoon Rescue

I’ll be honest — I’m not really a cat person. But yesterday? Yesterday changed something in me.

It was November 1, 2020, and Typhoon Rolly was throwing a fit over Binondo, Manila — strong winds howling through narrow alleys, rain pounding rooftops like a thousand drums. I was inside, focused, prepping for a big online Rapid Open Chess Tournament hosted by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines on Tornelo. All calculations, strategy, and focus.

Until life — raw and real — interrupted.

From the hallway outside our condo unit, through the screen door, I saw a mother cat scurrying back and forth, a tiny kitten gripped in her mouth. Panic was written all over her posture — not fear of humans, but that primal urgency of saving her babies from something bigger than all of us: nature in rage.

I didn’t pay her much mind at first. Chess awaited. But then she returned. And returned again. Each time, more frantic. Each time, wetter and more desperate.

That’s when it hit me. This wasn’t just a lost stray.

This was a mother on a mission.

I rushed to the door and opened it. She bolted in, kitten still clamped gently in her jaws. I wiped them dry with an old towel. But then, something unexpected happened.

She paused at the door. Looked back. Waited.

And then — zoom — ran out into the storm.

Two minutes later: she came back with another kitten.

Then another.

And another.

Until four kittens were safely inside.

This heroic feline made three dangerous trips in the middle of a typhoon, soaking wet, braving gusts that would knock a full-grown human off balance — all to save her babies.

And she trusted me — a non-cat person — with their lives. That moved me deeply.

The two older kittens we were feeding outside? Turns out, they were hers too. So I scooped them up and brought them in. A full family, reunited. Safe. Dry. Together.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds for this little clowder of survivors. But what I witnessed wasn’t just instinct.

It was love in motion, courage in action, and motherhood at its most fierce and fragile.

And somehow, in that storm, a piece of my heart got claimed by cats.

Yes — I may not be a cat person…

But maybe, just maybe, they chose me anyway. br /> style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

Halloween Show at SM San Lazaro

I went to SM Manila to witness the 2009 Halloween Costume Party, it so happened that my two kids were also participants. I enjoyed the party of course. BTW here are the pictures...