A most beautiful home in the hills of Montalban

The last time I received an invitation from Col. Alex Escaño, president of Meralco Foundation, to a school affair where Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the guest of honor, the invitation card said: "The Vice President is known for her punctuality. Please come 30 minutes before her arrival." GMA has, indeed, gained a reputation for adhering to strict, real time -- no, never Filipino time.

As the Argentinian, Brazilian and Italian priests belonging to the congregation of the Sons of Divine Providence, together with their guests headed by the Most Rev. Antonio Franco, Papal Nuncio of the Philippines, awaited last Saturday, March 18, the arrival of GMA at the driveway of Cottolengo Filipino, for the 3 o'clock ribbon-cutting rites, I looked at my watch. It was 3:10. "GMA cannot be perfect," I said to myself.

Fr. Daniel Bouza, the chief organizer of the big event and the executive director of Cottolengo Filipino, looked tense. While the other guests, who included Argentinian Ambassador Juan Garibaldi, engaged in jovial banter, Fr. Bouza kept on looking at various directions. "Look at how nervous Fr. Bouza is," I whispered in amusement to Marilen Dinglasan, who helped organize the board of trustees of the Cottolengo Filipino.

Five minutes later, a giant bus, with the most colorful decor I have ever seen, with the faces of smiling children and of GMA herself etched on its side (the bus looked like a three-decker), appeared at the gateway to Cottolengo Filipino. It was from that bus that GMA alighted. Ah, it was then that I realized why GMA was a few minutes late. The bus must have met some hassles, negotiating the two-lane, sometimes rocky, road at Barangay San Rafael, where the sprawling ranch-like Cottolengo Filipino lies.

Immediately after GMA reached the portico of Cottolengo Filipino and after greeting the assembled guests, the ribbon-cutting rites began. Then, the Papal Nuncio led in the blessing of what is a Bahay Para sa May Kapansanan, an inspiring project that came about after President Estrada's visit to Argentina, and after GMA herself strongly recommended it to President Erap.

As GMA toured the immaculately-clean and brand-new facilities of Cottolengo Filipino, which is located at what seemed to be the farthest end of Montalban town in Rizal, she gushed in admiration. With an architectural design that resembled the sprawling villas and ranches that one sees in Latin American tele-novellas, the Bahay Para sa May Kapansanan cannot but elicit admiration. Cobbled stones, wind-blown hallways that let fresh air in, finely-crafted and wide porticos, barrier-free walkways -- all these and other architectural features inspired GMA to describe Cottolengo Filipino as "one of the most beautiful homes for PWDs in the Philippines."

The Sons of Divine Providence certainly gave prime importance to their project in Montalban. They must have poured in millions of pesos to buy the sprawling land in Barangay San Rafael, and to build the villas and facilities inside the two hectares of land. And look at the strong social and Christian orientation behind Cottolengo Filipino. It is, as its brochure says, a home for "abandoned, neglected, surrendered, unwanted, destitute poor persons in society with a disability."

At Cottolengo Filipino, where some 25 PWDs (that is the acronym for Persons with Disability) are already staying, skills training programs are being undertaken, with the support and cooperation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The thrust is to make the PWDs self-sufficient and productive. At the same time, the Cottolengo Filipino also serves as a rehabilitation center for people needing physical and occupational therapy services.

The inauguration of Cottolengo Filipino is definitely a happy happening for Montalban, a town that I last saw in 1961, during the campaign of then senatorial candidate Raul Manglapus. What I remember of the town, as Ramon Tagle Jr. and I moved from precinct to precinct to monitor Manglapus' votes, is that it was sleepy and backward, with cogon grasses growing along the unlighted roads. The Montalban that I saw last Saturday is a far cry from the town that I saw 39 years ago. Yes, it has grown by leaps and bounds, especially now, under the leadership of Mayor San Diego.

Surely, Cottolengo Filipino is going to draw visitors, both from the Philippines and abroad, to Montalban. It will be a model center for the rehabilitation and care of PWDs. And I am sure, with the full backing of GMA and other agencies, both public and private, Cottolengo Filipino will become a vital component in easing the lives of PWDs.

As the giant bus, with GMA and son Mikey on board, moved away from Cottolengo Filipino after the inaugural rites, the townsfolk of Barangay San Rafael in Montalban rushed out of their homes, not only to marvel at the Disneyland-like features of the bus, but also to wave a friendly greeting to the personage who could, most probably, become the next President of the Philippines.

The Social Security System, under the leadership of Carlos Arellano, really shows. When it learned about the staging of the first-ever Pambansa Millennium Chess Grand Prix, the SSS immediately contacted the Philippine Chess Federation, to express its interest in sponsoring the participation of six physically-handicapped youngsters in the tournament which offers a grand prize of one million pesos to the winner, courtesy of Real Bank, whose president is the dynamic Rey Sarmiento.

The PWD chess masters are Reinier Labay of Metro Manila, Jasper Ron of Cebu City, Brian Priete and Henry Lopez of Davao City, Leolen Tubianosa of Metro Manila, and Sander Severino of Silay City -- and they come from all over the country. All of them have played in top-level tournaments, proving their mettle in the game of kings and demonstrating their potential to become future grandmasters. The SSS certainly deserves a big pat at the back for showing again its strong social orientation towards the disadvantaged sectors of society.

Not only did SSS pay for the P10,000 registration fee for each PWD; it also took care of bringing the physically-challenged chessers to Metro Manila, the venue for the historical chess tourney. The gesture of the SSS is so lofty that it is worth emulating by other entities.

Everything is set for the Chess Grand Prix, which marks, for the first time the award of a mind-boggling one million pesos, to the champion. Many of the country's provinces, cities and municipalities have sent their champions to the PNB Financial Center, where hostilities will begin on March 22, with Interior and Local Government Secretary Alfredo S. Lim as the principal guest of honor.

Arturo A. Borjal's e-mail address: [email protected]