Tatang Ladgasan Pongasan fled war-torn Basilan and hoped to have a better life in Cebu.
Now blind from old age, Pongasan has been reduced to begging for loose change in streets near the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino to survive.
“I don’t like to beg,” he said, as this “hurts his pride as a man.”
However, as a father he has to feed his family.
He could only reminisce the days when he could still catch fish or sell merchandise to earn a living.
What pains him most is being unable to do anything productive and make a better life for his family.
Pongasan’s wife died a long time ago. His children have all moved to Manila and have gotten married, except for his third daughter, Mila, who tags along with him when he does his round of asking for alms.
His children in Manila are also hard up and could not afford to send them a single centavo.
Mila also has her own family. Her father lives with them in a shack in sitio Puntod in barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
Pongasan’s only wish was for his children to be safe. He also longs for a chance to see his grandchildren.
He holds on to his cane to support him as he goes around begging for coins, the only thing he knows how to remain useful to his family, his only wealth in his life.
“The cane is very helpful to me especially that I could not see anything”.
To be blessed with good health is his constant prayer. Also, he said, people should never forget to ask forgivenes from God.
Unable to go to school when he was young, he does not know how to read or write. He does not even know how old he is although he looks about 70 years old.
And he was not even aware that it was Father’s Day yesterday or what the celebration was all about.
To him, every day is the same. /USJ-R Intern Mayfair D. dela Cerna
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