By Manny Pinol
Sixteen years ago this month, when I was into my third month as a first term Governor of North Cotabato, I went home to the small house in Bacoor, Cavite which I bought when I was still a newsman.
It was a special day because my second child, a gentle child gifted with talent in music, Josa Bernadette, was celebrating her 9th birthday.
In spite of my busy schedule as a new Governor, I wanted to make sure that I was with her on her birthday because this was the girl who slept countless nights without her father beside her, unlike her older sister Maria Krista with whom I spent many memorable moments as a child.
It was Sept. 20, I remember distinctly, when I reached home and this little girl showed extreme happiness seeing her father fulfill a promise to be with her on her birthday.
“What do you want for your birthday?” I asked JB, her nickname, as she sat on my lap.
I was expecting her to rattle off the wish list of a young girl like her – doll, beautiful dress and a lot more.
To my great surprise, however, she simply answered: “The gift that I like for my birthday is for you to quit smoking.”
That jolted me. I never thought she would ask me that.
Quitting smoking never even entered my mind. I was smoking three packs of Philip Morris everyday and I started smoking when I was still 14 years interrupted by a few months of failed attempts to quit.
But with a little girl I love so much begging me to stop smoking, I had no choice but to say “Yes.”
On Sept. 21, 1998, I stopped smoking for good and not a single stick of cigarette ever touched my lips ever since.
Initially, I thought that by giving up smoking, I was showing JB how much I loved her.
It was only years later when I realized that by asking me to quit smoking, my little girl was actually expressing her love for her father.
Many years after I quit smoking, I underwent an extensive medical check up done by heart doctor Dr. Bernard Chiew and it was then when it was discovered that I had a small calcification in one of the arteries of my heart.
“It’s a good thing you stopped smoking. The calcification stopped,” Dr. Chiew told me.
Eight years ago, I also decided to give up drinking alcohol, including beer and red wine.
Today, I look back to that day when my young daughter, who is now a 4th year medical student, through a simple birthday wish, changed the course of my life – for the better.
Tonight, when we share dinner, we will not only be celebrating JB’s birthday but also the new lease on life that I received because of the gentle and frail-looking girl who asked me to quit smoking.
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