Woman, 90, plays Santa to wounded soldiers

MANILA, Philippines - “Kung wala kayo, wala kami (If not for you, we wouldn’t be here).”

Natividad Reyes, 90, smiled at the soldier confined at the Armed Forces Medical Center in Quezon City and gave him an early Christmas treat – a black pail with a towel, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, alcohol, tissue, laundry bar and razors.

Reyes visited 126 soldiers who are recovering at the Heroes’ Ward of the military hospital. Eight of them  were injured during the seige of Zamboanga City last September.

“Di bale nang mabaril, huwag lang mamatay (It’s better to be shot than to be killed),” Reyes told one soldier.

“Time will come that (wound) will be gone and you will walk normally again,” she said to another military personnel injured in his left foot.

Reyes said the plight of security forces involved in the Zamboanga standoff had prompted her to do something for the soldiers.

“I watched on television the clashes in Zamboanga. When I saw how they behave, how they work and how they push their way through, I said it is unfortunate that some will be wounded or killed,” she said in Filipino.

Reyes believes this is a way of giving back to soldiers who sacrificed and risked their lives to maintain peace in the country.

Soldiers who received the presents were thankful to Reyes for appreciating their efforts.

Pvt. Leomark de Guzman, who was wounded during the Zamboanga crisis, said Reyes’ visit boosted his morale.

The 21-year-old soldier said he does not regret his decision to enter the service last April. “It’s part of our duty to the country,” de Guzman, a memver of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, said.

Cpl. Muslih Mujib, who was also involved in the operations in Zamboanga, said they feel happy when visitors give them words of encouragement.

“She promised to pray for us and I thanked her. It boosted our morale,” he said.