“Akoy gama sa inyong jingle, kay disabled man sad ko... batig dagway!”
This was what the late comedian and singer Romano “Yoyoy” Villame told Prudencio “Nonoy” Concha, president of the Regional Federation of Persons with Disabilities, when they met on board M/V Zamboanga Ferry 20, last February 16.
Villame voluntarily composed and sang the jingle “Pobreng Disable” for the members of the Alyansa ng mga may Kapansanan sa Pilipinas, a party-list group that failed to obtain a seat in Congress.
Concha attended a federation meeting in Dumaguete City while Villame just came from Dapitan City after an early campaign for senatorial candidates Sonia Roco and Cesar Montano.
Concha said he did not expect to get the attention of Villame whose cot was near his own.
Being a cripple, Concha said he had to be carried while another person carried his wheelchair.
Villame, Concha said, casually approached him and heard his usual funny tone: “Musta Doy!”
That greeting led to a night of storytelling where Villame concurred that the disabled in the Philippines are not as well taken care of as those in the US.
This led to Villame’s offering to make the jingle, an offer that Cancho was hesitant to accept at first.
“Yoy, wala man mi budget,” Concha told the comedian singer who just laughed it off and this led to the joke of his being a disabled.
Concha remembers him saying he knows the budget requirements as he had been a councilor in Las Piñas once.
Villame said he was offered to run as vice mayor but backed off when he realized the amount involved in running.
After that night, Concha was not expecting Villame to make true on his offer until he received the disc sent through LBC in the morning of March 8.
He then thanked Villame heartily and said that the disabled, at least those that could, were dancing to the jingle which he composed at the beat of “Hayop na Combo,” one of his popular songs.
Concha said Villame called him up noontime of election day.
“Ingon siya ingon ana man gyud na doy, lig-ona lang jod na inyong grupo, lisod man god nang walay kapit nga kwartahan og ilado,” was VIllamme’s last words to Concha.
With the failure of AKAPIN to obtain a seat in Congress and with the death of the jolly composer, Concha said the campaign and advocacy would continue for the disabled as a marginalized sector.
“Ato silang tagaan og higayon, mapabati ilang plano ug programa panggobyerno, maskin may kapansanan, may talento man gihapon,” goes the most catching part of the jingle.
Villame was a bus driver who made it big in Manila through the support of his then employer.
His most popular songs include “Magellan,” “Exercise Tayo” and “Abakada.”
He died last Friday of a heart attack. Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP