Gullas to be laid to rest on Camomot’s birthday

CEBU, Philippines —  The Freeman Chairman, Dr. Jose Gullas, will be laid to rest afternoon tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Daughters of Saint Teresa compound in Valladolid, Carcar City on the 107th birth anniversary of DST’s founder, the late archbishop Teofilo Camomot.

To be laid to rest at the DST compound will be a fulfillment of Gullas’ dying wish to be buried near the late archbishop. He was a Camomot devotee and was very active in the cause for the late archbishop’s beatification and canonization.

Gullas, a philanthropist, died on February 25, 2021 at 87 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

Mother Louella Grace Buscato, superior general of the DST sisters, told The Freeman that Gullas’ final resting place is located beside the new Sta. Teresa Chapel that Gullas helped build.

“Actually, ang iya gihangyo nako before natukod ang chapel, sa amo cemetery siya palubong tipon sa mga madre namo, pero pagtukod na sa chapel, ako gi-suggest nga diri sa new chapel dapit siya ilubong as our token of gratitude,” Buscato shared with The Freeman.

Buscato said they have prepared extensively for Wednesday as they expect more pilgrims to visit the compound because of Camomot’s birth anniversary.

“Yes, daghan gyud mangari; expected na daan,” Buscato said.

She said they have added automatic thermal scanners with alcohol dispensers, as well as contract tracing forms, at the main doors of the chapels at the compound. They will also deploy additional personnel and traffic enforcers.

Buscato said of Gullas:

“His mission is finished but he left us the legacy of being so generous, kind and humble. He is a kind of person very rare to find whom the DST sisters could not forget.”

The cause for Camomot's sainthood started in 2015. Camomot was known for his generosity, love for the poor, living a simple life, being prayerful, and for healing the sick.

Camomot was born on March 3, 1914 in Carcar City, Cebu.

He died in a vehicular accident in the town of San Fernando, Cebu on September 27, 1988 while on his way home to Carcar City. — JMO (FREEMAN)