A word of caution, don’t read the book at bed time; you won’t be able to put it down.

Manoling was once a consultant of Unilab. His innate marketing acumen help put together a more professional marketing research group when he planted into our offices George Burwell, the pioneer of political polling in the country. In that first survey George predicted the election of Arsenio Lacson as mayor of Manila in the early sixties.

Manoling impressed me as someone always slightly pregnant (hehe!). But unlike one of his daughters who have 9 children, he is always giving birth to ludicrous ideas that work. His over active imagination can conjure concepts one wouldn’t think possible. Tipong sira, walang wawa ang sinasabi pero pagnabuo ang concept bibilib ka. “Pinoy Pilgrim” is like that, a cacophony of challenging thoughts, tidbits of history that can be gleaned only from a man who experienced history while it is happening, lessons of love and laughter that leave an imprint in your mind, but above all a literature that runs along the lines of Dr. Jose Rizal’s powerful novels Noli Me tangere and El Filibustorismo.

Manoling is in love with everything Pinoy and proud of it. He was an overseas contract worker before the concept was romanticized to mean the new Filipino heroes, the savior of Philippine economy. He sees himself in the image of the original Visayan overseas worker named Enrique who navigated the western seas through the Iberian Peninsula with the world traveler Ferdinand Magellan. Enrique made possible the easy acceptance of Magellan by the Cebuanos as he translated kastila into bisaya and bisaya to kastila. (A footnote in Philippine history from F. Sionil Jose’s, “Viajero”)

I guess we will always be part of Spanish history because even the Spaniard once upon a time roamed Europe looking for work. This was the period in their history when Spain was so devastated there was no food to feed its people. And like them we will also have our chance in time when our people will come back to enjoy the result of their sacrifices as they help put the country back on its feet.

I really got to know Manoling when I was about to leave Unilab. After spending 34 years servicing the medical community he helped me transition into the intellectual life where the questioning mind of Socrates became my guide. We have a mutual friend, Fr. Joe Cremadis a man curved in the image of St. Josemaria of Opus Dei, our spiritual director and friend.

A final note on “Pinoy Pilgrim”.

The book has many lessons but the one the young can benefit the most are his thoughts on drug abuse. Again Manoling writes with authority because this scourge once upon a time invaded his family. Let me quote directly how they won the battle: “If the addicted person can get the best of both worlds – sustain his fantasy and pleasures – then the addiction is not curable. The addict will go back to it again and again. The solution is to convince him that he is sick, and unless he gets well, he will be useless in this world. If the person is intelligent and smart, he will realize that he cannot continue living life this way and, therefore, decide to kick it off. Once he does make this personal decision, he gets all the help he needs to recover the normal life that he wants.

This is the secret: acceptance, patience, prayer, and helping by not helping. This last point is the most difficult, because what it means is that once the addict decides to go for rehab, he has to be convinced that he will not get any help from his family or his friends until he gets cured, and that if he suffers a relapse, he will be on his own. He is the only one who can really help himself. Period.”

Manoling, the unlikely pilgrim.