Farewell, Tito Sibing!

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Lunch with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing at Mall of Asia (2015)


Before I migrated to California, I used to spend some time with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing every once in a while. We used to watch movies in the cinema, eat in restaurants, and go on Maundy Thursday visita iglesia. I have fond memories of going with them to the different churches; both of them wanting to give me directions while I drove (which led to a lot of confusion for me and bickering for them) to the churches we were visiting. They also took me along to Monte Maria (with Lola Bats) to see the spot in Batangas City that a popular priest claimed to be holy. On one of their wedding anniversaries, they brought me to the house where they first met (during a fiesta), which is located in Taal, Batangas and we always made a pit stop at Our Lady of Caysasay Parish. 

Aside from going to different churches, we also had a great time eating out. The stories flowed continuously from lunch to dinner to desserts (normally at Starbucks), with Tito Sibing serving words of wisdom as we ate the yummy food. 

Alas, time started catching up with Tito Sibing. At first, it was just him walking ever so slowly with an unbalanced gait. Then, he started using a cane. Eventually, he couldn't leave the house anymore without being seated in a wheelchair. We had to make space provisions for his wheelchair when we carpooled... or I had to use a bigger car that has generous trunk space. Our last long drive together was a round trip drive to Baguio City in 2017 for errands (yes, I drove to Baguio with them for business, not pleasure). We had to walk for quite a distance because the parking spaces are few and far in between (we found a vacant parking spot in a church parking lot). Tito Sibing opted to stay inside the church, sitting on one of the wooden pews, while the rest of us proceeded to do our errands. Note that just a month before the Baguio trip, he gamely went with us to Angeles City (also another long roundtrip); he was a lot stronger back then despite sitting in a wheelchair when we got out of the car.

And then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Tito Sibing's children couldn't fly home to visit him last year, despite knowing that he's in bad shape, because countries have closed their borders in an effort to contain or to limit the spread of the virus. When his condition turned for the worse, Tita Ising couldn't even be by his side in the hospital because of COVID-19-related restrictions. Only two private nurses were watching over him round-the-clock. 

He passed away without his family near him, just like the thousands of people who died during this pandemic. On the day of his passing, I remember him telling us about the different types of happiness. Now, he knows firsthand what it's like to go from ephemeral to ethereal happiness.

May you continue to be a gentle presence to your children and to your grandchild, Tito Sibing! 

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