Vantage Point

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. - Psalms 23

I woke up early not to watch the promulgation of verdict for former President Joseph Estrada, ngayon ang araw na inihatid namin si Lolo Itoy sa kanyang huling hantungan. Nung ni-request ni Nanay na i-cover ko ang funeral ni Lolo, I felt awkward, I don’t know how can I maintain focus on taking photographs of my Lolo being buried.

Ito na siguro ang pinakamahirap na assignment ko as a photographer, I’ve covered a lot of funerals, even before I learned photography, maraming assignment ko as videographer ay libing, but this one is different. Malaking emosyon ang involve dito, this is not “another day in the office” for me, there’s more to it.


Benito Garcia Lara, mas kilala sa amin bilang Lolo Itoy passed away last September 5, 2007 at the age of 89, exactly 4 years after Lola Ising left this world.

Sabi ni Nanay, I got Lolo’s looks, “Lara” daw talaga ang itsura ko, Lolo, despite being “a man of few words” is firm on whatever he said, taong may prinsipyo at hindi bumabali sa kanyang sinabi, siguro nga nakuha ko ang ugaling ito kay Lolo, kaya di na kayo dapat magtaka kung bakit matigas ang ulo ko.

Lolo served the country as a member of HUKBALAHAP during the second world war, he serve our country well, despite being married with 3 children to feed, he opted to fight the Japanese occupation. Kapapanganak pa lang ni Nanay noong pumutok ang digmaan, this was never a consideration for him to serve the country. Isang kahanga-hangang katangian at dapat kong ipagmalaki bilang apo.

I will always remember Lolo Itoy as a smiling, quiet gentleman, isang maginoo, isang bayani, isang huwarang ama at mapagmahal na Lolo sa aming lahat. Paalam Lolo Itoy…

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