IN 1975, I was 26 years old. I frequented hospitals as I was a detailman. This is how I met a remarkable person. Florentino Pineda was the supply officer of the Central Luzon General Hospital (CLGH).
He was in his late thirties. He rose from the ranks. To say that he was a model civil servant is an understatement. He was honest and devoted to his work.
I discovered that he finished law and was raring to take the bar. At that time, I resumed my law course at the local college. So we reviewed together for the 1977 bar examinations. I was a witness to the sacrifices that his family went through when we attended review classes.
I saw how his wife and four children supported him morally and even financially in his desire to be a lawyer. They had to scrimp on their needs including food just so they could help. He studied long and hard but life is unfair.
The results of the bar were released but his name was not among those who passed. This failure could have shattered the family spirit. And worse, the wife was diagnosed to be seriously sick and she died thereafter. The father and the four orphaned children faced more trials and tribulations.
Fast forward to today – Nancy, the eldest child graduated from college and became an executive of a tetra pack company. She is happily married to a photo-journalist.
Sonny, the second child became a successful salesman of a gas company. He still is.
Jun, the third child is a professor in a leading university.
The bunso, who is named after her father (Florence) graduated from Medicine. She specialized in Pediatrics and she is now one of the leading practitioners of the city. She has legions of patients, queuing up everyday in her clinic.
Happily, Florentino Pineda saw the lives of his children transformed from nothing to something. He guided them with core values of love and honesty. He is now content in playing with his grandchildren in the twilight of his life. You can never put a good man down!