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Sunday, December 14, 2025

My Tenacious Grandfather

Today is my Papa Lolo's 120th birth anniversary. I found his civil registry document certifying his birth. It said the records were completely damaged or lost during the battle of liberation. 



Aside from the war, Papa Lolo lived through the pandemic and built a family. His branch of the family now has representatives all over the world and is scattered across the Philippines. 


I also found some of Papa Lolo's letters to Mama Lola and a small date book. He was truly tenacious at keeping records of what he did, where he went and always had a list of bilins for Mama Lola. He also wrote down expenses and made budgets. I got that from him.


The world back then was crazy. I cannot imagine how Papa Lolo got through the war. He was part of the Bataan Death March. He walked and even helped up a comrade from being bayoneted when he fell (Mom's recount -- his son eventually became PNB president who produced a well-known telco chairman). Anyway, Papa Lolo survived and his legacy lives on with my nephews and nieces now working on bearing and growing the next generation.

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