An Appeal for Claude Wayne S. Fuentivilla

To All ACM-VAI Brothers:

May the grace and peace be yours in full measure!

The anxiety and stress that we are now suffering is immeasurable. And it makes us sad to think the condition of our child struggling to survive. Our son Claude Wayne S. Fuentivilla has a complex congenital heart disease. The physicians predicted that he will live only up to six months the most, but through God’s mercy, until now he is still alive and two years and 4 months old already. Last April 2005, he was hospitalized for three weeks at Iloilo St. Paul’s Hospital due to pneumonia and meningitis. We thought it was the end of his borrowed life here on earth. But God is indeed a Merciful and Loving God!

Due to his critical condition our physician advised us for an immediate operation in Manila preferably at Philippine Heart Center and is requiring us to prepare a reasonable budget close to Four Hundred Thousand Pesos (P400,000) for the first operation. Since his case is not the usual and ordinary congenital problem he is required to undergo various heart surgeries.

In this regard, we are appealing to your generosity to help us extend the life of our son through your financial assistance. As parents it is beyond one’s understanding that we will do everything just to let our child live whatever ways and means it takes even if it will be of immense burden and will result to ridiculous comments on our part.

The schedule for his operation will be this November 2006 since the attending surgeon is now in the States. He will be back last week of October here in Manila.

Again, We are humbly begging from you whatever help you can extend to help us in this very depressing stage of our life. We know you can understand our feelings because you too are parents and guardians.

We do hope for your love and compassion.

With Our Sincerest Gratitude,
Reynaldo and Nora Fuentivilla

Mobile Nos.: +639189671227 / +639278816840
Bank Acct. No. 1075 0885 03
BPI-Iloilo Main Branch

or thru ACM Checking Acct. No.000-4000-18950
UnionBank-Timog Branch

Ang Kapilya

ni Emiliano Dumalaog

Wala na pala ang kapilya ni San Vincente at ang gusaling kinatitirikan nito. Tanging mga tiles na lang ang natitirang bakas ng nakaraan... Ang nakaraan na naging isang munting bahagi lamang ako ngunit sa aking alaala ay puno ng karanasang espiritwal, intelektwal, pisikal at maging ang "comical".

Hindi ko malimutan ang mga eksena ng mga seminarista na ang ulo ay nauntog sa mga salaming pinto nito. Ilan beses nga ba sa kamalasan ay na-assign ako sa paglilinis ng kanyang mga salamin. Ang "wipe in, wipe out" routine na para bang hango sa pelikulang "Karate Kid" ay lubhang nagpahirap sa akin ngunit humugis naman sa aking katawan para maging ala-Ralph Maccio (meron po akong katibayan. Tingnan ninyo na lang po sa aming annual Batch '88).

Sa piling ng kapilyang ito, natutunan ko rin ang ganda at yaman ng ating pananampalataya. Ilang umaga ba kahit aantok-antok, ako ay nagtiyagang gumising upang makasama sa panalanging bumabati sa simula ng isang bagong araw? At sa gabi naman bago matulog, ang magdasal para magpasalamat sa biyayang natanggap ng nagdaang araw at sa Poong Maykapal ay ipagkatiwala ang aking sarili... sa Kanyang mabuting kalinga.

Ilang aral at pangaral nga ba ang narinig ko mula sa pulpito nito na nagsilbing gabay ko sa aking araw-araw na pamumuhay? Isa nang bakanteng lote ang dating kinatatayuan ng kapilya pero mananatili siyang haligi ng aking pagkatao.

Ang Puno

ni Emiliano Dumalaog

Nasaan na nga ba ang mga puno ng aking kabataan? Ang matatamis na bunga ng mangga at ang duyang pahingahan na nakasabit sa kanyang mga sanga. Ang puno ng duhat na nakagawiang akyatin ng mga bata upang sa kanyang mga dahon ay makahuli ng mga gagamba. Ang mga naglalakihang mga puno ng molave, narra at yakal na tila bantayog ng mga taong nagdaan. Unti-unti na silang nagkawala... naging biktima ng walang tigil na pagputol sa ngalan ng pag-unlad. Ang balimbing, sa kasamaang palad sa pulitiko inihambing, ay bihira na lamang makitang bahagi ng mga hardin. Ang ipil-ipil, kung sa pakinabang ay walang kasing-galing, tinaga at ginawang uling.

Tuluyan nang nawala ang lahat ng puno ng aking kabataan, ngunit mananatili silang nakatanim sa aking ala-ala ng isang masayang nakaraan.

In Memory of Fr. Jerome Calcagno, CM

Father Jerome Calcagno, CM, was a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, born on September 7, 1923. He died at Our Lady of Wisdom Health Care Center in New Orleans on August 22, 2005. He was 81 years old.

Postcards
by Emiliano Dumalaog

During my college days in Angono, I seldom received any mail. I was
envious of other seminarians who regularly received letters from
family and friends. Remember that it was long before the advent of the internet, cellphones and other means of instant messaging. So, I was quite surprised one day when I received a letter from the United States. It was from Fr. Jerome Calcagno. It contained several
postcards and a note from him explaining that he remembered how I wanted to collect postcards. The postcards commemorate the newly restored Statue of Liberty in Staten Island. I was touched by the unexpected gesture of thoughtfulness from Fr. Jerome. Imagine, months have passed since I last saw him and I only mentioned that I am fond of collecting postcards in one of my short conversations with him.

Still, it was not totally unexpected of Fr. Jay ( as we seminarians
affectionaly called Fr. Jerome) to show that he cared. I know that
eventhough his stay in Tandang Sora was relatively short, the whole
community came out to wish him farewell when it was time for him to return to the United States.

Farewell, Father. Even though I no longer collect postcards, I have enough good memories to last me a lifetime.


A Sad Link
by Arthur Jimenez

Emoy's writing moved me to google JEROME CALCAGNO.. Lo and behold a link.. the first hit in the google search result.. The Obituary of Father Jerome Calcagno, CM (1923–2005). I was speechless. My ears became numb... I just couldn't believe..

I was one of the privileged few who had a peek into Fr. Jerome's inner sanctum. I've been his room cleaner for the whole time he was with us at SVS. Although the cleaning assignments changed, he asked me to go there and check his room after the assigned cleaner did his part. Giving me a copy of the key to his room was an act I couldn't believe him doing... It was a privilege and a gift so special that I cherish until now.

It just took me, then, 10 to 15 minutes cleaning his room by the fire exit. First, there was nothing to clean except for some occasional hair that fell or fine dust that entered. Second, his room was sealed with windows often shut because it was airconditioned. My job was nothing compared to the "kuskos-piga-buhos" ritual of toilet cleaners... Nothing compared to cobweb removers "tingala-sungkit" moves. Everytime I entered his room, I was transported to another place in time with scents so different from the usual.. almost like opening a balikbayan box from the US..

Every time I cleaned and Fr. Jay was not around, he always left a note and a small present.. candies, stampitas, chocolates, some US magazines which needed further "CUM PERMISU SVS".. This thing made me really look forward to house cleaning time..

The way he wrote the letter "J" in his name is something I tried to copy with the way I wrote my name but to no avail. I kept the short notes he left me until I left SVS. The last time I heard from him, he was assigned in a parish in New Orleans. That was the return address he wrote when he sent me a Christmas card with a 20-dollar bill carefully wrapped in carbon paper... The dedication went, "Arthur, Merry Christmas!... Sorry, no baluts anywhere!"

Then this link.. and I'm at a loss... Why is it an obituary?

Fr. Jay, wherever you are.. Thank you!! I'm very sure, you know what I mean by that!



Who Can Ever Forget
by Jung Del Barrio

Who can ever forget Fr. Jerome Calcagno... He was our (Special Class) English/Religion teacher during my first year at SVS. Talking about fond memories, i have both bad and good ones. I'd start off with the bad then.

Remember Ronald "Bagyo" Bona? The monicker bagyo was actually for the volleyball serves Ronald had in his arsenal of volley skills which almost ended up in a fight during an inter seminary sportsfest. No libero would dare accept Ronald's serves. hehehe!

Anyway, Ronald then had a wound on his left leg which grew to around 50x when he had it topped with penicillin. He was seated in front of me during one of Fr. Jerome's lectures when, accidentally, I nudged "the wound". Ronald then erupted into a scream which also resulted into a scream from Fr. Jerome. Ronald tried to explain but to no avail so we were both sent out of the room. I also tried to, since I was the culprit but Fr. Jerome was too insistent. After a mouthful of prudent "what-nots" we decided to leave the room. Ronald went out first but when I started to turn my back I was again given a mouthful, telling me that i am very disrespectful. He said that I wasn't suppose to turn my back while I am being given those mouthfuls. Being the promdi and the fact that I was not able to speak for what I thought should be shrugged off since it was an accident, I cried... This was one of the many times that I used the chapel as my refuge whenever I succumbed to the usual homesickness of the newbies in the seminary.

Tough as he may have appeared to me, I learned something about Americans. They have to stand firm to what they believe is the right way to form a seminarian. Pinoys will always be pinoys. We sometimes get to be guilty even if we know for a fact that we are not. In short we visited Fr. Jerome in his room. Thankfully, we were able to deliver our prepared speech of apology. Apologies accepted. End of story. We got to see again the smile on Fr. Jerome's face whenever we see him in class.

The good one was when we were asked to memorize the poem "Who is Jesus Christ?" ..and mind you, we were also asked to recite that poem in front of the class... and you know what? To this day I can still recite the poem. It really pays when you memorize a poem by heart. and to top it all, to get even, I now ask my students to recite the same poem. During the time that I was reciting the poem I have always asked myself: "What good would this poem do to me?" ..except of course for the fact that we were taught the proper (American) pronunciation of every word not to mention the pauses and the breathing...

Fr Jerome, wherever you are, you are part of the foundation of every Special Class student you handled. You taught me a lot of things which a Pinoy formator can never teach. This may be too late but I really would like to thank you for sharing the gift of wisdom, the smile which launched 999 ships (second only to Manong Leva).. The same smile which pushed and will continue to push me to follow the footsteps of Lolo Enteng in my chosen vocation...



"Pussycat!!"
by Francis Tanglao

We are so fortunate we had the opportunity to know a great man/formator in Fr. Jerome. I remember the many times I turned him "red" with my silly/stupid answers to his questions.

He happened to teach our English class and he asked us if we could name cats.. (i.e. lions......) I was probably not paying attention at that moment and to his surprise when he called me my answer was... "PUSSYCAT!!" He turned very red and just burst into laughter. I will miss him.


(photo courtesy of Vincentian.Org)

PIS GRAND ALUMNI HOMECOMING - HULING TAGAY

by Reynold Glenn Jaboneta


Bro. Joey C. Enriquez, C.M. professed brother of the Congregation of the Mission told me recently of the plan to close the Pre-Internal Seminary in Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City. Bro. Joey is currently assigned here in De Paul College as Finance Director.

He attended one of the meetings for the programs and plans to be carried out for the closure. He told me of the plan for a grand reunion of all those seminarians who had lived and experienced formation in the PIS. The reunion is set next year by March. I will keep you posted of the details.

I am informing all those people who were once made PIS their home. It is because this early you can already make your arrangements and travel to Iloilo for the grand reunion. This means asking permission from your superiors and all vis-à-vis your work. I am told of the plan to invite your former students to attend the reunion.

De Paul College will be one of the venues for the said gathering.

See you guys on that day.

In our batch, we have Jim, Enca, Bonz, Alex, Bay, Levi, Noli, Dupet, Fr. Vhoung, I hope this list is complete.

Our former formators too will be present. In our case Fr. Johnny.

Isang Tula

ni Emiliano Dumalaog

Sa muling pagsikat ng araw,
may mga buhay na sa mundong ito ay isisilang.
Kasama rin sa pamamaalam ng buwan at mga bituin,
may mga lilisan rin.
Bahagi na ng pag-ikot ng mundo,
ang hiwaga ng paggawa at pag-sira.
Lahat ay naaayon sa plano ng Maylikha,
sa panahong Kanyang itinakda.

Ang mga Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran sa Lupain ng Kangaroo at Bikini

Ikatlong Liham
ni Totep Perez

mga kapatid !

Halleluyah !

Matiwasay akong akong dumating kanina sa Bond University (12nn Sept. 8, 2006). Kasabay kong dumating ang "Good Samaritan" sa katauhan ng isang Chinese, Wang Lin, with american nickname Ricky. Sabay kaming dumating ng Gold Coast Airport at nagkatabi sa upuan ng coaster. Meron siyang accommodation on - campus, hirap siya mag communicate sa English, tinulungan ko sa pakikipag - usap sa mga Aussie, tinulungan ko din pati pagbitbit ng bagahe niya (Balak yatang dalhin ang bahay nila, super dami ang gamit, wow! matindi mga tatak, designer! mayaman talaga kasi siya mismo ang magpapaaral sa sarili niya.) Ayun, nung nalaman na wala akong accommodation. Offer niya room niya for the meantime. Habang nasa security office kami para i-activate swipe card ng room niya, may isang Indian na nagtanong sakin kung Pinoy ako, yun pala, resident ang family niya sa Pinas. Nakasabay uli namin siya sa elevator, pinakilala niya sa amin ang isang staff sa Dormitory na Pinoy din pangalan Noel (ganda ng meaning ng name niya). Sabi ni Noel kakausapin daw niya ang kakilala niyang Pinay na malapit sa Bond na naghahanap din ng student boarders. Sana may resulta lakad niya at makalipat sana ako bukas para di naman ma - sanction si Wang Lin sa pagkupkop sa akin.

8PM dito ngayon, 6PM sa Pinas. Malamig hangin parang Baguio. Kanina pa kami naghahanap ni Wang Lin ng internet cafe meron pala dito sa basement ng library tawag batcave, free 24 hrs. Dito na lang muna update, wala pa ako gaano sa mood mag kwento kasi halos wala pa akong tulog simula ng umalis ako sa pinas.

By the way, enrolled na ako kanina lang, may student ID na. Sana magkasya ang allowance ko, mahal dito halos lahat ng bagay. Sa Monday simula ng classes ko, 4 subjects.. Naninibago ako sa pagkain, panay sandwiches lang uso dito sa mga students. KAANNNIIINNNN PPLLEEAAASSSEEE !Hayy, "Food Sickness" lang to sana di ako tamaan ng home sickness...

Sige po, inaantok na ko...til next update....

toteperez
My University is Bond

Mga Simpleng Bagay na Natutunan Ko sa Seminaryo

ni Emiliano Dumalaog

Ang "putok" pala ay isang uri ng tinapay..

Ang G.G. ay isang laro o isang uri ng isda.

Sa halagang limang piso makakabili ka pala ng hamburger mula sa Burger Machine, softdrinks, kopya ng Sports Flash o ng Sports Weekly Magazine (hanggang limang piso lang kasi ang pinapayagan ni Fr. Lopez na nasa amin noon pero magtataka ka kapag lumalabas kami para sa CAT kung ano-ano ang nabibili namin).

Ang study time ay karugtong ng "siesta."

Ang housecleaning ay "taguan-pung."

(1984 photo of SVS Batch '88 uploaded to ACM-YahooGroup by Jonas Papasin)

Reflections on a Sunday Evening

by Emiliano Dumalaog

Sometimes we need to be reminded of what is really important in life. When someone we know gets sick, we get reminded of how valuble one's health is. When someone close to us meets an accident or dies, we get reminded of how fragile and precious life really is. When we lose touch with a good friend, we get reminded of how friendship made our life a whole lot richer. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. We get little reminders every day. Maybe, we are not aware of it or we just don't care.

Ang mga Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran sa Lupain ng Kangaroo at Bikini

Ikalawang Liham
ni Totep Perez

Mga kapatid,

At exactly 8:40pm (Manila Time) September 7 (Thursday), i'm bound for Bond University in Gold Coast Australia to commence my Master of Communication studies.

As expected, I experienced so many unfortunate events prior to my flight. (Pati nga pagkamatay ng Crocodile Hunter, sinisisi sa akin).

Umpisa muna tayo sa good news. Finally, may susundo sa akin sa airport courtesy of Bond. Muntik na akong di makakuha ng airport transfer request receipt kasi kelangang bayaran ko thru credit card. E, marginalized nga ako eh, meron akong credit pero walang card. Buti na lang naalala ko, my credit card si misis, ayun solve ang problema. (Kainis, ngayon ko lang naalala na may credit card pala si misis, e di sana di ako nagkaproblema sa housing accommodation. ...)

O di ba, segue na sa jinx experiences. ... Ito ang matindi, wala pa akong housing accommodation! Panong nangyari yun? Nasarhan ako ng on - campus accommodation kasi late na nga ako nag - enroll. Kaya sa off - campus ako humirit. Sabi ng manager ng Accommodation People, ang accommodation agency ng Bond, kelangan daw magdeposit muna ako para ma - secure ang accommodation ko. Dun nagsimula ang paghihirap. Wala akong perang pangdeposit kasi a day before ng flight pa makukuha ko ang settling allowance at first monthly allowance kung saan dun kukunin ang deposit. Marami sana ang nag - offer sa kin, biglang umurong. May magkapatid na students din ng Bond ang unang naglakas loob na nag - offer sa akin ng accommodation. Nagtanong sila kung ilang months ko gustong tumira sa kanila. Tiningnan ko ang cost ng deposit, good for 1 month, so sagot ko... i intend to stay with you for at least a month but I assure you that for sure I will extend....

Di naman ako sinabihan ng manager ng Accommodation People na may rule or law na minimum of 3 months ang lease contract sa kanila. So ayun, tinaggihan ako ng magkapatid!

Sunod na naglakas loob ay isang pulis. Tinaggap ko kaagad kahit na takot ako sa mga may baril kesa sa tumira ako sa bulsa ng kangaroo. Kaso, biglang dumating ang dalawa niyang anak na titira sa kanya hanggang Christmas. Di pa man nakatuntong sa Bahay ni Kuya Pulis, evicted agad ako.

Nag - offer uli sa akin ang manager ng room sa Varsity Towers (sosyal ito na student residence, parang hotel), may mga reserve yata sila para sa mga medyo malas na parehas ko... Ang housing deposit?... umaatikabong $ 1,020.00 (i guess Australian Dollars, P39 ang conversion)! !! Mga kapatid, US$1,450.00 lang dala ko, paano ako kakain nito?! Hingi ako ng advise ni Mam Bambot, parehas kami ng iniisip, super sosyal ang housing ko pero gutom ang aabutin ng bulate ko... Walang choice, di ko kayang tanggapin ang offer, marginalized lang po ako...

Kaya mga kapatid, boung tapang akong susugod sa "Down Under" na walang masisilungan man lang.... I was instructed to proceed as scheduled, like a good soldier, I obeyed without questions... .

Hindi pa po ito ang kumpletong horror story, trailer po pa lang ito. Pag may time, isusulat ko ang matitinding karanasan simula ng nang mag - apply ako sa Bond. Naalala ninyo yung kwento sa BIR ng isang free lance writer na naforward ko nga sa iba sa inyo? Panis, sisiw yun!

Munting kahilingan mga kapatid.... ipagdasal po ninyo ako. Ipagdasal din po ninyo ang Australia na sana'y hindi maapektuhan ng "special powers" ko... Pero magsaya na po kayo na maiiwan ko dahil.....UUNLAD NA ANG PILIPINAS, LUMAYAS NA ANG JINX!......

....Dasal ko din, sana swertihin na ako sa Australia... .OOOOPPPPSSSS, WALANG KOKONTRA! ANG KUMONTRA, IPAPAMANA KO ANG SPECIAL POWERS KO !!!

Vavuskah!

Toteperez
Hari Ng Sablay