Nothing short of a miracle

Hong Kong — The sky was overcast. Weather officials raised the “yellow” storm alert to “red.” A notch higher and it would turn into an ominous “black.” That would mean Ang Galing ng Pilipino… Saan Man Sa Buong Mundo, the Hong Kong Launch for the World Tour 2012 which we’ve been agonizing over for months with fellow Ang4s Isay Alvarez, Pinky Marquez and Bo Cerrudo would — heaven forbid — be cancelled at the last minute.

I stormed the heavens.

“Jesus, please all we ask for is sunshine for this day,” I implored. “This is not mine nor ours but Your show, for our kababayan who sacrifice so much just to feed their family back home and who miss their loved ones like hell.”

Tita Kerry, my Filipino community council leader and friend who has the longest-running Filipino radio program, prayed with me.

That was early morning, when we touched down at Chek Lap Kok airport. The rain poured in buckets under the dark dawn skies as we deplaned. The show was set for 3:30 p.m. at the open-air Chater Grand Central. The Hong Kong government understood our ways and allowed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to gather in droves on occasion. So they closed down Chater Garden Road for the free concert. We had a few hours time to pray for sunny skies.

Then the miracle happened.

The sun started peeking in and out through the clouds a little past 3 p.m.

“I beg of You,” I prayed again. “Just let the sun shine for us all.”

Lo and behold! By the time we stepped onto the stage, the sun’s warmth hugged us like a long-lost friend. Not a cloud in sight. I was never so happy to welcome sweat trickling incessantly over our faces. God’s answer to our prayers! I could not help murmur, “Salamat po!”

We looked at the sea of happy faces before us. We sang their favorites, reminded them how much their greatness makes lives positively different even with the difficulties they endure in their loneliness and hardship for their loved ones.

Pinky does the twist while Isay takes her picture

We told our kababayan just how priceless they are in teaching their young wards good old Filipino values of hard work, prayerfulness, frugality and respect for elders — an instinctive task so natural they themselves imparted it on the children of others rather than their very own whom they had to painfully leave behind.

Someday — Isay, Pinky, Bo and myself announced to our OFWs — these young people will rule this foreign land. And they will be proud that you taught them values — and their countrymen — through the toughest times, which these Filipino mentors themselves endure.

You could almost hear a pin drop in that SRO venue.

These OFWs willingly make other people’s lives happier even if their own families are falling apart back home. Sure, these families enjoy life’s comforts. But an absentee parent can ruin the very foundation on which society rests.

While these OFWs were watching our show, a basketball tournament and another concert were being held nearby. But the crowd — for some unexplained reason — chose to join us instead.

Perhaps it was because of Tita Kerry. His well-loved Pinoy Tayo Sanman radio program has saved many lives, thanks to a hotline he had established for troubled listeners to turn to for counseling. It is an initiative borne out of years of being one intemperate OFW veteran himself.

Tita Kerry not only promoted the show, he persistently encourages every Filipino struggling there to always believe in our inherent character to be great doers of great deeds — simply because such is our very fiber as a people. He also got us much-needed hotel sponsors.

We only bring to them the message their hearts now embrace.

I have so much to be thankful for. Our sponsors, PAGCOR, Air Phil Express, Pidro T-shirts, 158 Smart Pinoy, PLDT Hong Kong Remittance, Andok’s Litson Corp., Commission on Filipinos Overseas, PMS and Tita Kerry AM Radio 1044 Metro Plus served as our anchors.

Our kababayan then, as now, are our driving force, the one incredible reason why we keep on coming back to hold these free shows — through fair or foul weather.

The truth — often if not always — is nothing short of a miracle. I said it then. And I’ll never tire of saying it once more, for the second time, again. The truth is … Ang Galing ng Pilipino Saan Man Saan Man Sa Buong Mundo!