His work mates were not able to lend him money and so he decided to just go back home to Cavite. Since he did not have any fare money with him, he was planning to walk all the way to Walter Mart (which was two rides away from Ayala) where the FX shuttles are, and somehow beg one of the drivers there to let him ride for free. How did you get here in Makati in the first place? I asked him. Turned out he was able to hitch a ride on a truck that was transporting vegetables from Cavite to Guadalupe. From Guadalupe, he walked all the way to Makati Ave.
He really was a pitiful sight, an old man in his 60's or 70's walking alone in the streets of Makati at that late hour. And since leaving him there seemed like a criminal thing to do, we offered to accompany him to Walter Mart and pay for his fare. During the bus ride, we learned that his name was Manual Ibanez Sr. and that he was a widower with two children aged 14 and 10, apart from his 12-year old son who just died. They were children from his second marriage, which accounted for their young age. His son was already 8 days at the funeral home and he was told that he should pay the bill and get the body already, else it will start to rot and smell. Being poor and unemployed, he went to seek the help of various local government officials but was turned down. He even went to the ABS-CBN and GMA Kapuso Foundations, but learned that help would be granted only after his story was aired in TV and donations came in. By the time the funds would be available, his son's body would already have started to rapidly decompose. His last resort was to seek the help of his former work mates which, likewise, did not turn out to be successful. On top of this dilemma, Tatay Manuel was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer and all he wanted was to take his children with him to his hometown in Tacloban, Leyte, so he could die there in peace, and have his relatives take care of his children. He seemed like an educated man because he was able to utter phrases in fluent English while he was narrating his life story. He never asked us for money or pleaded that we help him out with anything.
Dan took his cellphone number and details of where he lived and the name of the funeral parlor where his son was laid. We gave him a little extra cash so he can pay for the FX ride to Cavite and maybe buy some food for himself and his kids when he gets home. I don't know, call me naive but there's just something about old people that moves me. Surely old men won't resort to lying. They're wise souls, aren't they? His story seemed genuine to me.
After we got off at the Pasong Tamo-Buendia crossing, we flagged down a jeepney going to Walter Mart for Tatay Manuel and bid goodbye to him. Dan and I can only look at each other and shake our heads in dismay at that sad encounter.
But then something came up. After arriving home, Dan texted me that Tatay Manuel's story was on the internet. He forwarded me a link to a Facebook page and I saw this:
Note that this Facebook post was made last October 2011. I googled some more and even found one dating back to 2010.
Like what I said earlier in this post, I don't know how to react to this. Should I be enraged because I was scammed and "victimized" by this old man? I cannot bring myself to say "Beware This Man" because in the first place, he never asked us for help, and if we gave him some money, we did it out of our own free will. He never should have made up those stories, yes, he was at fault with that, but can we really blame him for what he did? What with the neglect our government is showing to the poor in this country? Tatay Manuel probably deserved that money more than I did. I would have probably just spent it on greasy, unhealthy food or on a fancy item at the mall that I don't need. I do not regret being scammed.
