On the 24th of July, 2011, around 1:50pm, my father (I call him papa) was just about to leave his stall in Munting Palengke in Gen. Kalentong Street, Mandaluyong City. His helpers are already outside waiting for him. The store was already tidied-up, and all that needs to be done is for Papa’s altar to be tended to. He began his daily ritual of lighting a couple of incense which he leaves to burn on the altar, all the while, he did not notice that a man jumped over the counter of his stall to stand beside him, and fired a gun at his head point-blank. At just the exact moment that the man fired his gun, my father looked-up, so that he was not directly hit on his temple, but only on the right side of his mandible. Papa was still not aware then, that at first he mistook the gunshot for an explosion coming from the incense that he was lighting. It was not until he saw the blood rushing from his jaw, and the man’s violent shove at the back of his head, that he realized what was happening. He was shoved by the man onto his own cooler, which is another counter in his stall, with a thick metal plate for a cover, that opens-up into a large space for meat to be stored in, along with a great number of crushed ice. He was forced to bend over the cooler, so that the man can check his pockets for the money he usually just puts in his many-pocketed shorts. His wallet was also taken. By then, all the people in the immediate surroundings are cowering inside their own stalls, afraid for their own safety. The gunman was not alone, while papa was being checked, he saw while looking down, another set of legs, another man, also with a gun, while they are checking papa, he saw that their guns were holstered, and for a while, he thought of unsheathing his butcher knives, but fortunately he thought better of the situation, and realized that he would be putting his life in further danger by doing so. The gunmen, after a few minutes, left with hundreds of thousands of his four-days worth of earnings, with which he was supposed to pay for his consigned meat, and his bag, which contains a number of already-dated checks—payments from his customers, which he was supposed to use as payment as well. Later, we learned that there weren’t just two men but three, one was assigned as lookout just outside the market.
Immediately after the shot was heard, the people around him cowered. One of his helpers, named Kokoy, rushed to the police sub-station, which was only a few feet away from the market. He got there as fast as his feet can take him, but once he got there, he found that there were no police inside, not even after he checked the inner rooms. He was shouting for help, but no one was around to hear. Another of his helpers heard the gunshot, and rushed to where papa was. The helper, named Kuya Ricky, saw that papa was full of blood, and that he was having difficulty standing up, while clutching and supporting his shattered mandible. Kuya Ricky shouted and attempted to call for help, not to fight back against the assaulters, but to rush papa into the hospital. He was not aware that the men beside him were the ones that did it to papa. The assaulters did not see his act as what it really was, and thought that he was calling for men to fight back. They immediately silenced him by pointing another gun at him, and told him to keep quiet or else he would be hurt too. He shut up, and it was not until the gunmen left, that he was able to gather his wits together, and started helping papa onto the tricycle, which was already standing by before the assault happened. He was brought in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, and was taken to the emergency room for immediate care.
Me, my mom, and my partner, Topher, were in Greenhills Shopping Center. We were taking mama for a walk in the mall, after having attended the Sunday mass, and after having eaten lunch. We were still walking and looking at the stores when my brother called, telling us that papa was shot, and was taken to the hospital. We immediately left the mall, and drove safely to the hospital. When we arrived, we were greeted by men waiting outside the entrance to the ER. I asked them where papa was taken. I was ushered into the E.R. and I saw that there was blood everywhere. The doctors’ hands were bloody, the floor too, the sheets, the tools. Marissa, my father’s second wife, was already inside, looking after him. An investigator approached me, and by then mama was already inside the room as well, she looked so worried that the investigator asked us to go outside first for a few questions. Afterwards, the doctor approached us and told us that they have to make a hole in his throat for a tube to enter, through which he would be able to breath. It was because his tongue too, was hit by the bullet, and was beginning to swell so much that soon, it would make his breathing difficult, and may become fatal if not taken care of soon. We gave our consent. A tube too, was inserted in his nose, that would enable him to ingest food in the form of fluids (looks like milk, a mixture prepared by the dietician).
We planned on moving him to UERM, a government hospital, because we would not be able to afford the cost of the upcoming operation, a reconstructive surgery to repair his broken mandible. The doctor in Lourdes Hosp. responsible for him also works there, and he would refer us so that we would only pay for the titanium plates that would be used for the operation. The plates alone costs more than a hundred thousand pesos, and the screws are another matter.
The cost in Lourdes Hospital is so great. On July 26, the amount was already 105k. On July 28, it was already 141k. By then they were demanding that we settle the excess amount after the coverage of PhilHealth and Caritas, even if papa is still not yet being discharged. He was discharged a week after, Saturday, July 30, 2011. The bill’s total was more than 190k. After being moved to UERM, he became so afraid because he did not like the state of things. The surgeon looked like a fresh graduate, the ward is open and old, the people in it with him looked suspicious, and the equipment looked like dismantled parts of a boat. He was not able to sleep that night, so that the following day, after financial support from friends and family came, he decided to go back to Lourdes Hospital.
He was operated on by Dr. Elmo Lago, on the morning of August 1. He went in at 10am, and was out at 4:30pm. His right side, where a part of his pelvic bone was taken, hurt so bad. The pelvic bone went and became a part of his jaw, which was made secure and reinforced by the titanium plates. He was not able to walk again for a few days. The whole set of titanium plates which cost 150k was used up, and only a few small pieces remained. His mandible now appears to have swollen, and I’m afraid it would stay that way for the rest of his life. When subjected to cold temperatures, he complains that it gets stiff and sensitive to little movements.
Papa was discharged on the afternoon of August 16. The hospital bill amounted to 170k+, while the doctors’ fee (there were six), amounted to 144k.
I titled my blog “Another Proof” for a number of reasons:
- The incident showed proof that my father’s will is strong. He was shot, and was shoved towards his meat locker/cooler, but he remained conscious despite the continuing loss of blood. He fought against fainting and panicking, thinking that he should still live, and that many people are still depending on him.
- Proof that there are forces beyond our understanding that are there when we need them most. Papa should have been dead, after being shot in the head. But luckily he was at an angle where it only hit his mandible.
- Proof that some people are not who they appear to be - My father knows a lot of people due to his being a vendor. Some people appear so close to him that one might think they are brothers. When he was assaulted, some of the money from his pockets fell on the floor, 500 and 1000 peso bills. The assaulters did not bother picking them up because they were in a hurry. Someone might have picked the money up, because they disappeared, but no one bothered returning them.
- Proof of how weak our police force is - Papa knew some of the policemen in the area. I would like to think that they were just tied up with some similarly-important and urgent incidents, because the opposite would be hard to accept. There was no one in the sub-station when Kokoy went there, if there were any, the robbers might have been caught. Add to that the fact that papa was the third victim of similar hold-up/robberies in kalentong, and maybe tenth in kalentong’s immediate surroundings.
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