Calm and collected

The grace and equanimity displayed by Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, widow of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, when she faced the media last Thursday characterized a woman who had a healthy understanding of life and death. Her palpable spirit and optimism, as I watched her being interviewed on TV, was infectious. Amidst her grief, she was calm and collected. More than that, she was hopeful and grateful.

It was sincere strength that she showed the public when she parried questions from the media men and women in Naga City that day. Her face was open, as welcoming as her heart, the very vessel she used to answer the many questions from the press.

Leni, a lawyer, remembered with fondness the beautiful memories left behind by her husband in that 20-minute interview. All throughout, she was a picture of bliss, of contentment, of peace. There were times when she gave out that inspiring smile. In her mourning, she even managed to say a little joke or two.

“He was a regular husband, a regular father. Hindi siya secretary, hindi siya mayor pag nasa bahay. Gusto ko pong sabihin, he wanted to feel important sa amin,” she said. 

She also mentioned that her husband was a dutiful handyman. “Di ba umuuwi lang siya (sa Naga) every weekend? Yung lahat ng aayusin sa bahay, hinihintay ko siya.” So it was her husband who did the plumbing, the changing of busted bulbs, even fixing broken telephones and doorbell. “Kasi sinasabi niya, one of the reasons he wanted to come home every weekend was that he seems grounded here.”  He was also their go-to guy when there was power interruption in the area or when their Internet at home simply didn’t work.

Leni said: “While it might have been unnecessary na siya pa yung ginugulo namin sa mga bagay na ganito, it made him feel important na may ginagawa siya para sa pamilya. Parating sagot niya sa akin pag nagte-thank you ako sa kanya sa ginawa niya, sasabihin niya sa akin ‘Least I can do, Ma.’ Yun yung parating sagot niya.”

The courage amidst grief that Leni shows now is perhaps born out of love and faith her husband showed her in the 25 years they were married. In the interview, she said her husband, who had a devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia ever since he was 16 years old, went to confession two to three times a month.

Leni confidently said that Robredo was prepared to face the Lord. “He lived a full life. He fulfilled all his dreams,” she said.

She also said that her husband believed so much in the present government. “Sabi niya lahat daw (ng Cabinet members) hardworking, lahat matitino.”

Jesse and Leni celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last June 27. “Our 25th wedding anniversary was on a weekday so, I knew he wouldn’t be coming home. I was in Manila the weekend before and we celebrated already with the entire family.

“Yung day of our anniversary, it was regular. Nagwork ako, yung anak ko nag-school. In the afternoon he arrived, hindi ko alam na darating siya pero dumating siya. Meron siyang bundle of flowers na iba-iba. It wasn’t even a bouquet. It was just a bundle. Sinurprise niya ako, yun pala yung flowers hiningi niya sa nadaanan niya at ni-lock niya yun sa isang bundle. ‘Yun ang kanyang regalo sa akin. He said he only wanted to surprise me. He arrived late afternoon, I think. And he left early morning of the following day.”

What also struck me in the interview was the way Leni is accepting the fate of her husband, who died in a plane crash two Saturdays ago in Masbate. When it was easy for other people to cast a doubt on the service rendered by S/Insp. June Paolo Abrazado, Robredo’s aide who survived the crash, Leni was noble enough to fan out embers of division. She had no rancor, no hatred, no malice about why her husband died and his aide, who was supposed to protect the secretary, survived. In not so many words, she ruled out all kinds of division, negating them all, rendering them insignificant. In her heart and mind, she is grateful to Abrazado for all the years he spent serving her husband. Even her daughter Aika, in a separate interview, was grateful to Abrazado for being loyal to her father.

I’m sure Abrazado has asked himself many times why he was not able to save Secretary Robredo. But Leni and her children, through the kind words they have thrown Abrazado’s way, are helping him heal from his own guilt and from the guilt inflicted on him by others.

It was clear from Leni’s own words that the very lesson she learned from her husband was to make a difference in the lives of other people. He showed her act of kindness — that one does not need to be a hero to do something good.

Two Saturdays ago, I must admit, I was waiting for Robredo’s wife to give a statement on how she and her daughters were coping. Now, I want to listen to her to gain inspiration. The mourning widow now becomes an anchor who helps us face our own battles in life. It is because, despite her own pain, she stands tall as a picture of hope and gratitude.

Jesse Robredo, in his usual quiet way, taught us what moral ascendancy is all about. His widow, through the interview with her last Thursday, made us privy to a kind of life we should all live.

The Robredos make me proud as a Filipino.

(E-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or follow me on Twitter @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)