Yesterday, the 19th of March, Archbishop Jose S. Palma was born 65 years ago, in Dingle, Iloilo under the Archdiocese of Jaro, Iloilo. There has been a debate on the issue of whether or not the Bible allows Christians, particularly, Catholics to commemorate their natal day. The Seventh Day Adventists prohibit this celebration mainly because of two very bad birthdays. The first was the birthday of Herod when John was beheaded upon the request of Herod's wife's daughter who danced for the celebrator. And second, the birthday of Job's eldest son, the day when he was attacked by Satan. The order is not chronological but on the level of significance.
Majority of Catholics however do not care what has been written against birthday celebrations. In fact, they would rather quote Joshua 4:1-7, where it was written that God commanded the Israelites to set up stones to remind them of their births and be always mindful of the life given to them by the Father. In fact, Job himself (Job1:4-5) commemorated all the birthdays of his children despite all the misfortunes that befell him. And so, these times, birthdays are celebrated by almost all, rich or poor Filipinos. Catholics are expected to hear mass on their natal day to thank the Father for the life gifted to them. I make sure I do to thank God and my patron saint, Saint Joseph.
Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the feast of St Joseph, the good husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus who took the infant to Egypt in the darkness of the night, in order to escape from the sword of Herod. Yesterday, also, contemporaneous with the birth of cardinal Jose S. Palma, on the same day, the same month and the same year, a bouncing eldest son was born to a young couple in the maternity house of Argao, Cebu, directly facing the old church of St Michael, the Archangel. That baby was the eldest of eighteen children born from the marriage of a young student from Argao, and her husband, a teacher from Dumanjug.
The family was poor. The father had to work as a part-time fisherman, and part-time farmer and the mother had to weave and sell mosquito nets and blankets. The boy grew up and decided on his own to work as a houseboy in his uncle's household, a storekeeper and a goatherd. He later worked as a school janitor in the high school library in Southwestern University, scrubbing floors, cleaning windows and sweeping the floors in rooms. Then he became an academic scholar and graduated with honors. Later he worked as a court interpreter, while studying law in UV. He graduated at the top of his class, Magna cum Laude.
The parish priest of Ronda, Cebu where the family resided, wanted the boy to become a priest. But he wanted to become a lawyer. And so, at the age of 24, he became a member of the Bar. The President appointed him as labor arbiter at the age of 26, the youngest ever to occupy that position, and the first Cebuano, too. Later, he became vice president of Pepsi Cola, after being a director of San Miguel Corporation and HR manager of Petron and PNOC. The boy who used to plow the family farm was later appointed Undersecretary of DOLE, the first and only Cebuano to be so designated. Then he was sent abroad as diplomat and labor attache in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Kuwait.
Exactly sixty-five years ago, that barefoot boy from the province celebrated his birthday yesterday. He has all the reasons to thank the Lord for the gift of life and family. Married for 37 years now, with three sons and two daughters, all successful, and happy, and with a bouncing grandson, who may become a bishop or a lawyer. That boy, modesty aside, is yours truly. And yesterday, on my birthday, I had all the reasons to thank God, and all the people who helped me. I cannot ask for more. Life is beautiful and birthdays are opportune time to celebrate it. I'm proud to be born the same day, month and year as Archbishop Jose S. Palma. Cebuanos are lucky to have such an excellent pillar of our faith.