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Drop Us a LineThe Ride of My Life “Once upon a time in Basdako” by: Angel T. Redoble
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I was 23 then, working as a technical support in an internet service provider in cebu. Life was good, I loved my job, had a company car and was relatively satisfied with my salary.
Moalboal has always been a destination of choice everytime there is a chance to get out the city, and basdako was always the favorite hangout to have a whole day alcohol drinking spree. What more can you ask, when feeling drunk, just take a dive and a few minutes swim then you are back on the table with a glass full of your favorite alcohol drink and a lighted marlboro stick on one hand puffing and blowing the smoke away.
This one particular day in Basdako was a different one. I was with the usual moalboal friends and an ex-gf Amor and her friend Rina. At first it was the usual thing for us, drinking, smoking, talking , laughing and all..then just before sundown, somebody was screaming from a distance, screaming for help and sounded so desperate. As normal human beings, we all rushed to where everyone was going and finally reached the shoreline…there before my eyes floating were 3 bodies of children with ages not less than 5 and not more than 13, unconscious. Without hesitation I rushed into the water and grabbed the first kid I could reach and took him back to the shoreline, then went back and helped brought out of the water the other two.
Then the ride of my life began…..
I hurriedly went to the first unconscious kid and gave him CPR. I didn’t know what has gotten into me but I felt I was so sure of what I was doing…few year back when I was in manila doing a review class for the BSEE board exam, I bumped into a HS friend in sampaloc manila and few times he invited me to their apartment to have few beers..and yeah instead of doing my review class I was with my friend drinking beers the whole day. His brother in-law was a nurse assigned in an ambulance and in one of our drinking sessions, this guy played the training video on how to do proper CPR…and while I was doing CPR on the first kid, I could remember so clearly what was said to do a proper CPR. I was so focused, I didn’t panic and didn’t have doubts at all…one blow of air through mouth to mouth and 4 pumps on the chest, the body must be in a straight and level position, you must be kneeling over the left side of the body with your right knee touching the left shoulder of the body…then put your left hand over your right hand and pump the chest with the force coming from your upper body. Thats what I did…and after few repetitions the boy started breathing…
Then I went to the next kid, this time I wasn’t able to do the CPR at once because one guy, who believes that the boy was sort of taken by supernatural beings living under the sea performed some rituals to drive out the bad spirits out the boy’s body..and I was so angry I was screaming at him telling him the boy will die and he was so persistent that I needed to push him away from the boy so I could start the CPR..and doing the same procedure the boy started breathing.
Then the third one, a girl, 12 to 13 yrs old….she was the hardest to revive among the 3. Before I could get to her, out of panic and desperation, her family held her by the ankles, turned her upside down and shook her really badly hoping the sea water inside her will come out and revive her. But the sea water went up to her head instead, her eyes were red, probably due to the sea water.
Then I finally convinced them to put down the girl so I can do CPR. And when I was about to do the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the mother obviously worried about her daughter wouldnt allow me to do it and it took a little while before she finally agreed. And then, she was revived after a few air and pumps on her chest.
So, I thought everything is finally ok, we can go back to our area and go on with our drinking session. But I was wrong, the 3 kids were not breathing normally, they needed oxygen so badly, so people started to panic again and everyone was looking for a car to take them to the town and then again without hesitation I said “naa koy sakyanan…adto ta na ta sa hospital!!!!”..pinasyagit pa. I took my car and picked up the 3 dying kids and 4 Adults (parents probably). Imagine driving a cyclone mitsubishi lancer with 4 hysterical adults and 3 dying kids. So I drove with haste, overtaking every tricycle, jeepney, kabayo, kalabaw ug kanding…that road used to be very rough and ugly but that time I didn’t care, I just drove and didn’t feel the LUBAK..kung sa cebuano pa “NANGLIKAY ANG LUBAK”. Befil was in his old jeep with a siren making sure no one blocks the way, but his jeep was so slow and I needed to drive faster because I could hear the parents at the back saying “dong ayaw ug katug dong, ayaw ipiyong imong mata dong” with matching hilak ug agulo. So I drove past the jeep of Befil and finally we reached the clinic of one doctor in moalboal…brought the kids inside, the doctor took a look at them and said “kinahanglan ni sila ug oxygen, unya wa na koy oxygen..in 10 minutes kung di ni sila mahatagan ug oxygen mamatay ni sila”….again everybody panicked..where to get oxygen..the nearest hospital is badian, surely there is oxygen in badian, but that’s 15 minutes drive at least…but still I told the parents to get in the car and we drove to badian…driving with haste would be an understatement, I was driving not for my life but for the lives of the 3 kids. We reached badian hospital in less than 10 minutes, the parents brought the chldren inside and I followed. One of the nurses or doctor (im not sure) came to me and extended his hand and told me “maayo na ang mga bata, kung wa pa to mada diri ug dali-dali, patay na unta sila”, only then I was able to breath normally, adrenalin dried down and my body suddenly felt really weak…then I noticed that I didn’t have a shirt on, I had no wallet and I had no slippers…but the show of gratitude, the thank yous, the handshakes and the pat on my shoulders from strangers who witnessed what I did made it all worth it.
So, the ride of my life has ended and as I was driving slowly going back to Basdako, people flagged me down just to shake my hands, strangers in their cars waved at me and thanked me….it was a very very very good feeling…not that I was famous during that moment, having been able to extend a helping hand to others…WITHOUT HESITATION
That was the ride of my life…share yours 
angel, i don’t know whether or not i met or seen you in person just like some of your brothers. but that doesn’t matter, i just want to say you’re a hero and truly an angel! you deserve the name that you are baptized with. keep it up, kid!
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Thank God there’s an angel!
This is a rare reaction, according to the textbooks(helping others when there are many people watching). This is the very reason why witnesses of a crime won’t help or speak out because all of them would think that there’s someone in the crowd who’s braver enough to do it. And most of the time there’s no one.
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wa jud ka nahatagan ug citation atong imu gihimo well in fact si noy Pede man siguro to ang mayor ato … hehe … makamaayo jud ang inom .. makaisog .. hehe ..
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bwahahaha pareho ra ni sa ¨it wasnt me, it was the alcohol who did all those heroic acts¨ bwahahahahaha
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I never thought of myself as such…its BIG WORD for a small guy like me.
Lets all keep it up.
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Hats off to that, Angel. And who will ever forget what you did to Herschel and Demi during the July 16, 1990 Dagupan Earthquake. You went home from LC looking for an afternoon snack of Bahaw….I think you have to narrate what you did to those two girls to save them……
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an awesome story!you were blessed enough to have been presented with an opportunity to face a challenge like that. and doing it magnificently well is equally grand.there’s enough heroics there to last anyone three lifetimes.why, if it was me,i would probably have fainted at the sight of those children floating in the water ( with the bottle of beer still in my hand).or maybe not.maybe i would perform just as bravely as you did.one thing for sure: i don’t wish something like that happening when i’m around.i don’t want to know how i would react to emergencies like that…… or maybe i do.just so i’ll find out how much courage and self worth i possess. hmmm….. time for another beer. these things usually help me decide.
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hello cidersip…like you said..lisud ang mabutang sa sitwasyon nga involving life and death…ug ako sad di na ko ganahan mabutang sa ato nga sitwasyon usab…hahahahaha
nice of you to dropby here
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hey,
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taga moalboal sad imo mga kaliwat, cidersip?
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good evening fr. jok and to all as well
my uncle was employed by comelec in the late sixties to the middle seventies in the town of badian. he set up residence in the neighboring community of balabagor and not long after, my father joined him in the hopes of gaining employment.they stayed on for well over two years. during that time they befriended several people, among them the tabanaws and gakos and the redobles of moalboal. every so often, while i was growing up, there always was a mention of their antics in that locale.one in particular was about the whole group stealing some farmer’s chicken in the middle of the night after a bout of drinking.my father swears to this day that the chicken barely touched the fire they were cooking it in when everybody started eating it.and eating it fast.they didn’t mind eating it raw as much as they worry about getting caught if the farmer wakes up.gave a new meaning to the phrase ” eat and run”.those were happy times,they’d both say, slapping their knees in laughter.although i’m sure the farmer would just as gladly put them boys in a headlock when he found that out that one of his chickens came missing the following day.or that incident about them serenading a local beauty. I’m sure their intentions were good but somehow the girl’s mother didn’t take it that way. she was so angry that she let loose the dogs.at this point in time,everyone started running away leaving my uncle behind.so he thought to himself” i have two choices: run fast or run faster”.but with the guitar dangling around his neck,both options were not available.so he took the strap off his neck and dropped the guitar. no problem. speed is my middle name, he boasts.but there was a problem. it wasn’t his guitar.it took a long time for him and the guitar’s owner to be on speaking terms again.
my dad remembered those days with fondness.and he talked about the good people whom he met and had good clean fun with.now, i haven’t come across the tabanaws and the gakos in my travels, but i’m sure glad i stumbled upon the redobles.if nothing else, i would like to believe that these are the same redoble bloodline my father came into association with years ago.
our last name is azores. i was told we came from bohol originally and came to settle in argau for a spell and kept moving on from there.we’re the traveling kind.there’s a bit of gypsy blood in us, i guess.
so, i hope that answers your question, fr.jok.it’s a long story really but i won’t complain telling it as long as somebody cares to listen.
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You are right, cider. We tell our stories, and we don’t care a damn if somebody’s listening .. hehe .. your story is quiet amusing and I can even say that I can relate to it with similar experiences .. I and my barkadas used to raid the poultry of our parish priest in Ipil (Zamboanga del sur, now Sibuga; we used to live there) during the night and have a good sumsuman after during our drinking spree… If your uncle and father stayed in Balabagon (which year is it?)he should be rubbing elbows with the tabanao’s, tabanag’s,Faunillan’s, redoble’s, etc .. these are all related to our family. Do you have FaceBook account? this is mine, Jok Redoble. Good to hear you again. keep posting.
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Good Morning everyone!!!! Ako lang i congratz si Manong Lolo Angel =) congratz to you and to your wife… unsa man ang baby? boy or girl? Best regards…… Ingat always and God bless you all!!!! =) hmmmwaaaah!!! =)
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uy manang rhina..daghan kaayong salamat…boy ang akong baby boy bwahahahahaha
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best wishes angel,
i thank rhina for her post of your good fortune otherwise i would have been very late in learning about it. i know you’re taking care of mama and baby real well so i won’t say anything more about the matter.all the three of you need right now is rest, and lots of it.in the next few days you’ll be inundated with tons of well wishers, relatives and friends inquiring about the baby and that could become difficult to handle and stressful. what with christmas fast approaching,that would even make it more so.get your rest when you can, while you can.fatherhood. now there’s a hard word. fatherhood = commitment + responsibility.now it even gets harder ( are you scared yet? ha ha ha ). I’m just kidding you. but joking aside, this is not something you can’t handle. you are surrounded with relatives who love you and forever ready to provide you with help and good advice in your time of need. just do what comes naturally and you’re well on your way to becoming a good parent. besides, us pilipinos make good fathers. or at least we never stop trying ( wink, wink. ha ha).
in the coming days, you’ll be so busy around the house and you won’t have time for anything else. that being said, allow me to wish you in advance a merry christmas and a happy holidays. we all look forward to having a good year 2010, God willing. pass on my greetings to fr. jok and the rest of the family. and rhina. she’s a breath of fresh air and a delight to hear from.i have used up enough of your time already so i’ll leave it at that.you all take care.
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Hi cidersip!! Hello to you!!! =) so… unsa man pud akong itawag nimo? Manong nalang din?. hehehe.. si manong lolo angel sege ra gud na sya ug manang nako and i dont like it, coz im not manang.. hehehe… pero sege nalang.. magkita ra gud me ana niya bah.. hahaha.. so, is that your real name? cidersip? wala lang.. just asking… kindah cool! =)
Advance Merry Christmas to… and to all!!! Sege ra ko ug greet ani diri ug Merry Christmas, wala goy nireply ug merry christmass too.. hahahaha… Happy turkey day na nga lang… Take care always sa lahat!!!! =)
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Hello cider…daghan kaayong salamat bai..ug sa imong words of wisdom…
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Good morning everyone!!! =)
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hello rhina
i didn’t mean to be rude by not having responded to your last post but i haven’t had much time to sit in front of the computer in the last few days. i’m home for the holidays and it’s nice to get that much deserved rest, so to speak.
hey, somebody was telling me that you are in your sixties, is that true? you must have grandkids of your own by now.how’s the life of retirement? you should tell me all about it sometime when you get the chance.
aah, christmas. i haven’t done any of my shopping yet. the longer i put it off, the bigger it’s becoming to be a problem. i should put a move on it here pretty quick. i haven’t formally wished you a merry christmas and i’m doing so now. best wishes to you and yours.it’s gonna be hectic come christmas day thru the new year’s, but we’ll survive this one yet. we always do all through these years. don’t drink too much new year’s eve and for heaven’s sake, stay clear from under the mistletoe. we’re too old for that sort of thing. ha ha ha ha.and by the way, you can call me “bai”. everyone does.that’s it for now
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haaaaay!!!! Dunno where to start.. Ok, Hello to all!! hello uncle bai or lolo bai or manong bai???or lullabai? hehehehe… Well, are you as old as manong lolo angel? =) (hahahaha) or as young as Fr. Jok? =)??? Oh by the way, somebody’s telling you that im 60…. hmmmmm…. grandkids… hmmm!, retirement…. hmm! TSE!!! yoooookoooo naaaaaaah… pinagtutulungan nyo ako dito.. I guess i know whose that person you’re talking to.. Tabaaaaaang!!!!!!! =(
Anyway, since its Christmas, and for young people like me =) i dont wanna ruin this holiday season and so I forgive you and that “somebody” =) Merry Christmas too, Merry Christmas again to all!!! I am thinking about where to hide this Christmas, i have like 35 plus inaanak and 75 percent of them muanha gud sa balay.. hahaha.. I dont think my 13th month pay will enough for all and for me.. huhuhu.. =( But sabi nga, be generous… Unsa kaha akong i wrap? maybe i will just wrap myself so no one could see me.. hahaha… haaaay makalingaw ang pinoy jud!!! Sana before daghan pud ko ug ninong ug ninang.., sad to say, i have zero ninong and i have only one ninang.. And thats lola panyang (lolo perfe’s sister) and i havent seen her for so many years narin. =( Last week nanganak among neighbor, and medyo marunong na akong mangilatis ng smile pag gusto kang kunin na ninang.. And i have that strong feeling that im right.. pero wala pa namang sinasabi. Pero sa tan-aw palang murag usa gud ko sa target nila!!! Haaaay.. unsaon kaha paglikay… murag bug-at bug-at napud ni nga task.. Mura pud ko ug naa sa PBB ba. Hahaha! Pastilan, lisod baya maging role model sa kinugos ug being a generous ninang. Dili lalim uy. Ngano gud nauso ang ingon ani bah.. hahaha. Pastilan!! grrrrr…. =)
Fr. Jok, bunyagi ko usab bi and tanang members in this site akong idungag sa akong ninang ug ninong… Waaahahahaha!!! =) Kalingaw jud!!!
Well, well, well… Bisan unsaon dili na jud mapugngan ang Christmas. So, sa tanan, saang lupalop man ng bansa kayo naroon… MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! HMMMMWAAAAAAAH!!! =) Thanks manong bai!!!! Take care there and God Bless!!!
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manag rhina..kadako ba sa imong prblema..maayo mi iri way hatagan nga mga kinugos hahahahaha
merry christmas diha..
60 yrs old na diay ka? hahahah
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hello insi rhina,
thirty five godchildren! my god, how did you get that popular? i’m in the same boat myself, but not 35!that’s about the size of the vatican army, the last time i checked. but you know what? they’re not as hard to please if they’re mostly small children. what you do is stuff a variety of candies into smaller bags and some loose change to go along for good measure. much like what you’d do with grab bags for trick or treaters on halloween.make sure you slip in some candy CANES.( get it? old woman = cane. ha ha ha ha )
seriously though, with thirty five you still need to go on a tight budget. worse yet, if these kids are a litle older they expect something more than candies. try a pair of reeboks for 150.00 a pop. now we’re talking stress. or a retro pair of jeans. they’re not cheap either. but we do the best we can and i hope you’ll come up with some better ideas. tell me later on how that’s working out
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Good Morning to all!! Manong Angel Lolo Angel and manong bai!! =) Maayo pa mo dinha walay hatagan nga mga kinugos.. =) Ay naku manong angel every christmas daghan jud muanha sa balay.. unya ang uban nako nga kinugos, dad-on pud ang mga siblings.. hahahaha!!! Pastilan!!
Kumusta na po si baby? Lalong gumagwapo for sure. =) Gwapo sya huh! kamukha ng mommy… =) at medyo konti sa daddy. =)
60 ka dyan!!! napakagandang 60 ko naman!! at sooo batang 60 in my generation, hahahahaha!!! =)
@Manong bai, yes last christmas i prepared assorted candies and yes makatabang jud… =) Coz alot of my inaanak pag muanha gani sa balay they also bring their younger siblings. hahaha!! Other dont accept candies anymore coz they’re big already naraw and so i end up buying some items for them worth 150 to 200. Hahaha. But right now, i haven’t started shopping anything.. taman ra sa windowshop.. hehehe. Bitaw, busy man gud ko karon.. sunod sunod man gud ang event namo diri sa work.
Haaaaay.. pero you know the feelings when those kids have their gifts na and they’re all smiling and excited to open it? Na eexcite din ako.. =) Common! =) hahaha!!! Sarap talaga maging bata.
Anyway, salamat sa inyong comment!!! Good day and Godspeed!!! =)
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mura ug super excited na man kaayo ka para pasko..hehehe
meery christmas na lang diha sa imo manang rhina ug sa imong pamilya.
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Good day to all!!! hay naku manong lolo angel, ana gud nang mga bata, sege ra ug excited… =) hehehe.. energetic kaayo. well, i understand your situation, ana man sab ng mga medyo (sabi nga ni manong bai..) retirement level… hahaha…
Nagsimbang gabi kami kanina, as usual maraming tao and im glad nakaupo pa kami.. Ang among parish priest, sermon to the max.. Nadugangan jud ang wrinkles ni Fr. ganiha. hehehe. Ako lang i share, kay naa may nangumunyon baka first time nya, mura lang sya ug nangayo ug candy.. nakataas one hand, wala pa mutubag ug amen.. =( Meron namang family nagsimba, with their kids tapos yung bata may dalang doll.. crying doll, unya in the middle of the homily ni Fr, napindot siguro ang button, nihilak ang doll na sobrang lakas, hindi sya namamatay ang tagal.. binaba ng nanay sa sahig ang doll, iyang gitumban hindi parin tumitigil sa kakaiyak ang pasaway na doll. then kinurot nya yung anak nya, ang result, syempre dalawa na ang umiiyak.. common!!!! hehehe… Nakakalokah, Thats my first day of simbang gabi kanina.. hehehe..
Manong Angel, Merry Christmas din poh sa inyong lahat dyan!!! Take care always… hug and kiss sa baby… =)
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hello,good day to you..i’m susan tabanag,taga bukidnon ko,nia ko karon sa abu dhabi uae…my lolo is from moalboal jud,sundalo sa world war 2.daghan kau me sa bukidnon,mga tabanao ug faunillan pud..hope nga magkitaay unta ta soon…pede pud ta mag chating.tabanagsusan@yahoo.com akong ym ug fs…u can view me sa akong fs.
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hello,gud pm 2 u…nag search ko sa mga tabanag,mao nkita naku ni imong name diri.susan tabanag akong name taga bukidnon ko,but now nia ko sa abu dhabi nag work.bsin one of this days mka suroy ko diha sa inyong lugar.,anyway naka anha naku ug moalboal,sa mga matilos diha sa tunga.kay family friend namu na sila sa bukidnon.relatives jud ta kay taga diha man akong lolo,basin kaila imong lolo sa akong lolo,si roman tabanag,alyas roman tipak..si lolo atyong pud faunillan.
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