by Telly G. Ocampo
Roger’s Journey to Eternal Life
Jan 7, 1940 – Nov. 5, 2021
Rogelio Valdivia Ocampo, my husband!
Where do I begin?
The first time I met Roger was in 1968, at the PLDT station of Pong Boiser. At that time, it was only at PLDT where we could make a long distance call through the operator. If you wanted to have your long distance call fast, you had to go to the booth at around lunch time or early in the afternoon when telephone traffic was low.
The “guy” I saw on February 13 of 1968
Here was this guy ahead of me, waiting for his turn to make the call. The seats we occupied at the PLDT station determined our slot/turn to make our call. And when I went to my seat, Sosing Castaño, the telephone operator, introduced me to that guy. Paghuman niya ug paila-ila nako ngadto sa “guy”, gipakapinan pa ni Sosing ug sulti, “Padalhi na siya ug social telegram ugma (Feb. 14) aron dili ma zero sa Valentine’s Day.
I was a bit irked by what Sosing said to the guy. Wala man gud uroy pud ko padalhi adtong “guy” ug social telegram kay wala man koy nadawat. The day after Valentine’s Day, I went to the Tagbilaran Airport (the old one), to meet my Oyong Ando who was coming in from Cebu after his eye check up at the Medalle Cinco Clinic. In fact, the main reason I went to the PLDT booth on Feb. 13, 1968 was to call Oyong Ando for the exact time of his return trip to Bohol (from Cebu) so I could meet him at the airport.
Lo and behold, at the old airport, I saw again the same “guy” whom I met at the PLDT station. I learned that this guy was taking a flight to Cebu. Wala gyud mi magtagdanay. Not a nod nor a “hi” at the airport from him to me and vice versa.
Why did he keep on travelling?
I learned, then, that this guy was a businessman, hence, he travelled very often. He was the branch manager of Granexport, a copra exporting company. Our first “encounter” was followed by more “encounters”. We met at the office of FIBC (First Insular Bank of Cebu) – Tagbilaran Branch. This was the first private commercial bank of the city specifically located near Julie’s bake shop at HNU. This is the place where the present “Alta Citta” is built.
Were we introduced to each other?
This guy, who was the manager of Granexport, became a good friend of Pablito Geulen who owned the bodega rented by Granexport. This bodega still stands until today along Visarra St., Tagbilaran City, although not anymore under the care of Granexport. My beautiful cousin, Luz Ho, was the girlfriend of Pablito and eventually became his wife. It was Luz who bridged the introduction between me and the “guy”. That started the frequent visit of the “guy” to our place in Baclayon, most often, in the company of Pabllito.
Who was this “guy”?
After the introduction, I came to know the real name of this guy, Rogelio Valdivia Ocampo. Roger, as he was popularly called, was born in Lamitan, Basilan, the 4th child of Felicisimo Guinto Ocampo and Maria Pamaran Valdivia. His family is one of the descendants of Datu Kalon, the chieftain of Lamitan.
How was our friendship/our relationship?
Our friendship with Roger blossomed into a beautiful relationship. But, I could not remember of a single time when we went out on a date by just the two of us. We always went out as a group: with Flor, Dalene, Alice, Nene Alico and Luz. Pablito’s presence became scarce as at that time, he was still in law school and would only come home to Baclayon on Saturdays. There was an ice cream place, The New Life Cafe, located adjacent to Farmacia Libertad. That place became our watering hole. In the group, it was Luz who was the naughty girl. She would often say, “Atong tawagon si Roger. Atong pa-anhion aron siya ang mobayad!” And the group would burst into laughter. There was another favourite place we had – Hi Time Restaurant. This eatery was really good with its siopao and pansit plus softdrinks. On rare occasions, we went to Bayview at the K of C.
When I met Roger, I was waiting for the results of the CPA board examinations that I took a few months earlier. He was already a CPA, then. He was 7 years my senior.
There were no regular visits done by Roger on the first few months of our relationship. It was Nang Balid who would eagerly wait for him. Adto gyud maghuwat si Nang Balid ni Roger sa ubos sa punuan sa kalachuchi duol sa gate sa balay namo. Nang Balid was my Oyang Tiva’s old reliable girl Friday. Kung hayag ang subang sa buwan sa kagabhion, akong makita kaniadto si Nang Balid nga magbuhot-buhot ug sigarilyo sa may kalachuchi. She had the key to the main door of the old house so it was not difficult for her to enter the house. Pinangga siya ni Roger. Hatagan man gani pud ni Roger si Nang Balid ug ONION nga sigarilyo nga popular niadtong panahona. Nang Balid liked Roger as my suitor. She gave him a “brand description” which was “manggahon ug aping.
Our relationship became deeper when I passed the board exams in October 27 of the same year. That was the day of the feast of St. Jude. We thought of getting married the following year in December of 1968. We were just planning but his mother arrived days before the New Year. Namalaye na sila.
Our wedding celebration
Our wedding was set on March 9, 1969. We could not have a big wedding in the Baclayon church since Roger was born a protestant. At that time the church was strict on mixed marriage. We got the bishop’s dispensation through the help of Mrs. Millare, the mother of Boy and Jo who are close friends of Roger. Fr. Gabriel Oppus (my uncle Tio Brely), opposed to the marriage since for him, there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. Wa gyud siya malipay. But when our children were born, letters started to come regularly from the monastery where he belonged – until his death.
Roger and I even visited him there. And he met my children in Tacloban when he attended the ordination of his fellow abbot who was from Tacloban. He spent days with us – meeting with my friends who are family to us. It was Nong Robin (Benito Oppus Manding) who officiated our marriage rites at the chapel of the bishop, Msgr. Manuel Mascarinas.
And now, Roger – my husband, is gone. He is on his journey to eternal life!