When I was in elementary, like all good Catholic boys, I put to memory the Guardian Angel’s prayer: “Angel of God, our guardian dear…” From time to time, I would reflexively recite it, especially in moments when I would be in risky situations such as driving at night through a storm, or walking alone in a dark street and similar situations. Do I believe in such invisible beings that look after our welfare on a daily basis? Why not? What do I have to lose?
This is a story I got from my good friend Lito P. It’s about a man and the sequence of incidents, or should I say co-incidents in his life that, he swears, really happened. Here’s his testimony:
My name is Antonio “Tony” Agustin. I am happily married to Nina. Nina is the daughter of Eliseo and Concepcion Asistio. Eliseo and my Dad were very close friends who lived in the same community.
In 1969, I fell in love with Nina and soon we got engaged.
Being in love inspired me to work harder at PNR where I was employed, following in the footsteps of my father, who was employed there until retirement.
There were days that I was requested by the manager to work overtime but at that time, overtime pay was not allowed due to company restrictions.
So, internally, within the department, it was agreed that I could accumulate OT hours and in lieu take equivalent amount of vacation leave.
On January 31, 1973, Nina and I decided to get married, using my accumulated vacation leave. One of the sponsors was my manager in PNR.
Unfortunately, after a week of our marriage, someone reported that I was dishonest as I collected my salary during the day of my marriage, although there was an internal agreement regarding the use of accumulated leaves.
To my dismay, my manager did not support me. Maybe he was caught in a bind since legally there was no defense against my action because it went against written company policy.
So I got terminated, left without a job during the early days of my marriage.
That’s when I experienced what real poverty means. My poor wife and I subsisted on rice only and sometimes salt as the main dish.
I was compelled to look for a job fast but I was not successful. I persevered, in spite of my hopes being dashed time and again.
One day, I managed to reach the final interview stage for an accounting clerk position with RFM (Republic Flour Mills) in Boni Avenue.
That day, I left the house with 2 pieces of pandesal and just enough fare for me to be able to go to the interview and then back home.
There were 3 of us in the final interview—a lady and 2 gents (including me).
Unfortunately, it wasn’t my day. The lady applicant was hired. But while waiting for the verdict, I and other male applicant started chatting for a while and getting more acquainted. He said his name was “Benny Cabalsa.” He was good looking, around 5’11 tall, fair brown complexion, curly hair and a moustache.
I shared one of my pandesal with him during our brief conversation. Just for my personal file, I managed to get him to jot down his name and home address. There were no cell phones then.
As we started to go our separate ways, I told him I would be walking towards Edsa where I would take a bus to go back home in Caloocan. Then he said he would walk with me since he too was going towards Edsa. He mentioned that he had a pending application at PLDT on Reliance Street.
Benny rode the same bus I took. Then suddenly he said: “Why don’t you come with me, there’s a job opportunity in Meralco.”
I was tempted to go since this was another opportunity, but I replied that I couldn’t go with him. The reason, which I was too embarrassed to disclose, was that if I went with him to Meralco, I wouldn’t have any money left for the bus fare to Caloocan.
But I do not recall anymore what happened, I just found myself alighting from the bus with him when we reached Ortigas. We then walked to the Meralco head office and took the elevator up to the HR department at the 10th floor. But as luck would have it, the office was closed for lunch. Unlike today, offices ceased work during lunch breaks.
Benny apparently was familiar with the building so in a jiffy he took me down to the cafeteria located at the basement. Before I could utter anything, he assured me the lunch was on him.
After a hasty lunch, at almost 1:00 p.m., we went back to the HR at the 10th floor.
The clerk gave Benny an application form, and I was denied because they only entertained university graduate applicants. I started to argue with the clerk and my raised voice must have called the attention of the HR manager who came to see what the ruckus was all about.
I pleaded to the manager to give me a chance. Maybe he was moved by my plea, or just to silence me once and for all, the manager relented and directed the clerk to give me the preliminary test.
Happily, I passed the preliminary test so the clerk gave me the application form. As I started to fill up the application form, I happen to note that a 1×1 photo was required.
Overcoming my embarrassment, I disclosed to Benny that I would not be able to go through the application as I didn’t have money for the photo and that I had to walk home.
With no hesitation, he calmly told me to go with him without questions. We got into a taxi that took us to Ali Mall in Cubao in a few minutes. There I had my photo taken, and then we returned to Meralco HR, so I could complete and submit the application in time.
So I wouldn’t have to walk all the way back to Caloocan, Benny gave me money for the bus fare, to my profuse thanks and extreme embarrassment. Sagad ang tulong.
The following days, I passed a series of entrance exams and to cut the story short, I was hired, to my wife’s relief and joy.
But as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t share the happy news to my new found benefactor, because I did not see Benny again since the time he helped me. Remembering that I had his home address on a piece of paper, I looked at it again and the location was somewhere in Tayuman, Manila.
Hoping to surprise him, I excitedly went to that address in Tayuman. When I knocked on the door, an old woman opened it.
I asked, “Nandyan po ba si Benny?”
She replied, “Sinong Benny?”
Then I showed her the written address but she emphatically said that no one named Benny Cabalsa lived there. “Walang Benny na nakatira dito. Kung sino man ’yan hindi dito nakatira!”
As I was walking from that address, I was seized by the sudden realization: was Benny a real person? Was he a ghost? Or was he my guardian angel?
With indubitable certainty, I then chose to believe, which I hold even now, that what happened to me was the result of Divine Providence, working through my anghel de la guardia named Benny, short for Benedictus, or Blessed.
Since then, my life veered towards a more spiritual direction.
Yes, there is a being that is watching over each of us. We are loved and cared for.