Last Tuesday we had some surprises in our life.
We did not expect to receive a message from a friend way back while we were still actively covering every news beats in Davao City. Our friend now lives in New York City, USA running two small business enterprises and heading a group of Davaoenos now residing in that recently CoViD-disturbed city of the big apple.
Yes, we did not have any iota of idea that former third district lady councilor Dr. Frances Mabel Acosta (nee Robillo and later nee Laman) would find our name in the social media and sent us a message through Messenger.
The last time we heard of her was when she ran unsuccessfully for Representative of the third district. But that was years back. Then we noted her residence in Calinan becoming eerily lonely. With high fence every time we pass by her house it seemed to us as abandoned.
Then the succeeding years of her absence apparently made her a lost memory to many of her former constituents especially those from Toril where her family resides and those from Calinan where she later established residence with second husband former manager of the defunct Banco Filipino – Davao Branch Raul Laman.
And the other day we got her message through Messenger that she is now in New York running a caregiving facilities she calls NYC Caregivers LLC and Neonate Care USA LLC. Aside from the two enterprises, Mabel also disclosed that she has organized a group of Davaoenos now based in New York which she named Hijos de Davao USA, Inc. She has however, not yet given us details what the organization is all about and what its objectives are.
We believe however, that the Hijos de Davao USA is a social organization with the intention to keep closer bond among Davaoenos in New York.
And from her message we can deduce that she is a happy and proud mother. What with all her three kids all grown up and professionals giving her four granddaughters? Her eldest son is a lawyer practicing in Manila, his second son a pilot of the Philippine Airlines, and her youngest, a daughter, is a nurse at emergency room in a New York hospital.
Well, what Mabel failed to achieve as a politician she got it as a mother and an entrepreneur. And she told us her family is planning to visit Davao this May, subject to the end of the dreaded CoViD 19 pandemic.
Well, your former constituents are surely excited of your visit – if you can.
Thank for messaging us Bel.
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Now back to the times’ world-wide top and seemingly the only topic of news broadcasts and public discussions – the CoViD pandemic that has already claimed several thousands of lives all over the world including doctors. And now the dreaded disease has infected top government officials like senators, congressmen, and top officials of the executive department of governments.
Where before Philippine and World Health Organization (WHO) authorities were hesitant to call it epidemic because they were not certain whether the viruses could get out of the boundaries of Wuhan, China, suddenly they had a change of mind. They submitted it was a disease of epidemic proportion because of the speed with which the viruses infected people.
When cases of the CoViD were reported infecting populations in countries outside China world health authorities admitted it was already getting to be a pandemic.
Now, almost all countries affected by the killer disease are found unprepared to confront the unseen enemy. The governments realized to their dismay they don’t have neither the vaccine nor the medicine to prevent or treat the illness. The countries, except China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are all receiving flacks from their citizens for their laxity. And the proud President Donald Trump of the USA was unable to escape such scathing criticism.
What tragedy this CoViD has brought to nations of the world!
