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I am a bit emotional as I write these lines. I have just returned
from Villamor Air Base. Emmy and I drove our daughters there where
they boarded a Philippine Air Force plane bound for Romblon. Both
are divers. When the call came asking for volunteers for the
rescue/retrieval operations for the M/V Princess of the Star which
overturned this June 22, they were quick to respond.
Vanessa was among the first divers to go down
and inspect the wreck of the SuperFerry 14 bombing on February 27,
2004, when terrorists sank it on route from Manila for Cagayan de
Oro City. This time, her sister Alexandra insisted on going with her
elder sister.
Last night, my wife Emmy told me that she
strongly felt like dissuading them from going because of possible
dangers, but she didn’t do so.
“Both are grown women,” I told her. Vanessa,
28, is the director of our Golden Values School and a Lt. Commander
in the Philippine Coast Guard
Auxiliaries. Alexandra, 23, a psychologist and
deputy director of Nazareth Formation House, is an Ensign in the
same organization of volunteers that actively supports the
Philippine Coast Guard.
Still, our children remain our children, even
when they are grown up. Our kids are always kids, grown kids if you
like, even when they are making their own way through life.
We never cease to worry about them. Their safety
and happiness remain our primary concern. Nothing is more important.
So it was with a tinge of fear that I watched them board the
aircraft, the only women in a group of military officers.
I told Emmy that they felt they needed to do
this. It was part of their meaning in life. A couple of years ago,
Vanessa rescued a mother and her four children when their boat sank
at Taal Lake.
Now they were going to be a part of a rescue
operation. I told them that the retrieval of bodies would be a
grisly process that would surely disturb them. Still, they were
undeterred.
I understand that there was no way that we
could, in conscience, stand in their way. Their mission was a noble
one, their intentions sincere. Despite the inherent dangers, we had
no right to stand in their way and we didn’t.
When I embraced them, I whispered, “You make
us proud.” There was a lump in my throat as I watched the aircraft
taxi away from the tarmac.
It is all part of parents letting go of their
children and allowing them to make their own way through life. It
isn’t easy, but necessary if we truly love our kids.
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If you have problems about drugs, alcohol and
behavior/attitude call my office at 8206107 or 8251771 or e-mail me
at gvcbuenca@vasia.com or write me at P.O. Box 2099 MCPO, Makati
City.
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