"We just attend Mass together and go straight home afterwards. Sometimes, we’d go to the market and cook something special for lunch. It’s cheaper," said Gloria, 41.
Gloria recalled that life was better when she and Francisco, 43, were working in a big shoe factory several years ago. But the business hit a lull and they lost their jobs.
Now, Gloria is working as a contractual worker in a shoe factory in Antipolo City while her husband is with the barangay security force.
The couple had attempted at business by selling frozen meat. But they went bankrupt later on. Many customers bought on credit and they had difficulty paying up.
"It was hard to say ‘no.’ All our inventory ran out," Gloria recalls.
The couple’s income now is barely enough to put food on the table and to pay the electricity and water bills and the mortgage of their house on Dao street in Marikina City. They can no longer send their sons to school.
But the children are not losing hope. The eldest, Jonathan, 22, is now in college taking up business administration and, at the same time, working in an apparel chain. His brothers Jeffrey, 20, and Francisco Jr., 17, just graduated from high school and are looking for jobs so they can go to college.
But the couple never thought that despite their difficulties, they would be chosen the "2006 Huwarang Pamilya" awardee of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The Mora family was nominated to the DSWD by the city government of Marikina after winning the city’s search for a model family for its campaign against illegal drugs.
The DSWD program is in line with the celebration of the "National Family Week" from Sept. 24 to 30, as mandated by Presidential Proclamation No. 60 signed on Sept. 28, 1992. Every year, the DSWD gets its awardee from a particular locality. For 2006, it is Marikina.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral has extolled Filipino families for rising above difficulties and contributing to nation building.
"We hail the families of overseas Filipino workers who cope with distance and separation; families of soldiers in battle grounds for braving the sadness and dangers of war; solo parents for raising their children single-handedly; poor families who remain hopeful in their capacity to succeed through hard work and determination," she said.
Cabral added that "the resiliency of the Filipino family, and one of the reasons why we remain happy and hopeful in the face of a crisis, is because we are assured of the support of our family."
Francisco told The STAR that they were really surprised when they bagged the Marikina City ’s award. "Sa mga kalaban namin, may mga titulado at may-kaya sa buhay. Napag-tapos pa nila sa college ang mga anak nila. Kaya nagulat talaga kami ng kami ang manalo (There were degree-holders and well-off people among our competitors. They were also able to send their kids to college. So we were really surprised when we won)," he said.
Gloria revealed that she and her husband are still hopeful that one day, they would be able to send their kids to college "It is our dream for them to finish their education, so they’ll have a better life when they have their own family," she said.
Jonathan admits that sometimes, he feels bad when his parents could not, for instance, help him with his tuition fees. "But it does not last long. I know they are doing their best to provide for us."
According to Nadea Sarte, a DSWD consultant and head of Marikina ’s Council for the Welfare of Children and Family Concerns, they looked beyond economic status when they chose the Moras.
"You’ll really admire that family. It is hard to raise three boys but the couple did it well. Their sons never got hooked on drugs. They have a very strong family relationship that we can hardly find in most families nowadays," Sarte said.
The Mora children also have withstood the temptation to smoke and drink alcohol, a virtue that makes their parents proud.
Sarte added the Mora couple also wowed panel interviewers with their answer when asked about the secret of their close family ties. "Their answer was very simple — open communication. That is really important between parents and children."
Jonathan confirmed that they are so open to each other that their parents know the stories of their love life. In fact, he let his parents read the letters of his girlfriend.
"They know my girlfriend. I want to have a wife who is like Mama, beautiful and kind. I want to raise my kids the same way they brought us up," he said.
The couple admitted that just like ordinary husbands and wives, they also quarrel, especially when they run out of money to pay the bills.
But for them, it is better to let the sun down snubbing each other than push their views while they are angry.
Francisco said things tend to get more complicated and they might say something that they will regret later. So they simply don’t speak to each other.
And this silence hardly bothers the children. They know very well that the quarrel will not last long, especially when their father brings home siopao for their mother.
"We talk only when tempers cool to avoid clashes. That way, our family is peaceful," Francisco added.