‘In The Name Of My Father…’

Today, Aug. 20, our family marks the 99th birthday of the man who molded us 11 brothers into what we are today and who served as our model in public service.
Our Tatay, Bernardo Magbanua Piñol, passed away 29 years ago, on Aug. 3, 1995, shortly after he gave up the quest to become Mayor of our town, Mlang, which came when it was discovered that he had brain tumor.
With barely three weeks to go before the elections, I was asked to take his place as candidate for Mayor, a contest which I won by a very slim margin of 246 votes, a turning point in my life,
When I was sworn in as Mayor, Tatay was in a wheelchair, obviously in pain but beaming with pride. Four weeks later, he passed away, 16 days before turning 70.
Tatay and Nanay, Efigenia Fantin, who were both public school teachers, taught us the values and ethics in public service – never take government money.
When he was Division Supervisor of the public schools, Tatay diligently collected all of the receipts of expense he made when attending conferences and accounted for every peso.
It was values he learned from his father, Jose Cordero Piñol, a farmer in Pototan, Iloilo, who worked for a short period as train inspector during which he found a “buri” bag with money left in one of the coaches and promptly surrendered this to the train supervisor.
As young kids, when we heard of that story, we asked Lolo Jose why he gave up the money that he found and he simply said in Karay-a: “Insa nga bul-on mo ang bukot imo?”
Translated to English, he said: “Why take what is not yours?”
Lolo Jose and Lola Azun (Azucena Malasador Magbanua) moved to Upi, Cotabato from Iloilo before the war and later resettled in Mlang.
Tatay moved to Cotabato after the war and served as public school teacher and farmer at the same time. It was in Mlang where he met Nanay.
Our grandparents died poor but the lessons in life that they shared with us are treasures that we keep until today.
It was our grandparents and our parents who taught us how to grow food in the farm and bring to the public market on Saturdays whatever was produced in excess of the needs of the family.
But it was the hardships which they went through as farmers that left an indelible imprint in my mind of the need to lift farmers from the bondage of poverty and protect them from the middlemen and traders who exploited them.
I saw the pain in the face of my father when, after selling his corn, he barely made enough to recover his expenses and the joy when the harvest was bountiful and the price was fair.
He bought a stainless Jiffy from his farm earnings but later led Cotabato farmers to meet with Senators of the Republic to ask for help in addressing the very low prices of Corn.
In the name of my father, my grandfather and the other Filipino farmers, I will remain true to my advocacy to improve agriculture and correct the flawed agricultural marketing system which kept farmers poor.
This is my way of remembering and honoring them.
Happy Birthday Tatay Narding!