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 Pinoy
Pilgrim
by Fr. Roy Cimagala
THAT’S the title of a book written by a friend of mine.
It’s subtitled, “In search of Filipino identity,”
and is a personal testimony of what he thinks is our national
character and the rich potentials that character possesses.
He believes this national character
ought to be developed further, purifying
it of some negative traits while highlighting
the many positive elements it contains.
He is convinced ours is a true
blessing from God, endowed with a special
mission.
The testimony is based on the
author’s insights and the many lessons
he learned from his family, his
priceless work experiences, travels,
encounters with people high and
low. He’s a product of the school of
hard knocks.
He says all these in an anecdotal
style, homey, funny, engaging, much
like how the writer is in real life. He’s
now in his 70s, at least a generation
ahead of me, kind of retired but still
available to serve anyone who wants
to take him. Actually, the book also left
me teary eyed in some delicate moments.
first met Manoling de Leon
when I started my first job after college
in Manila. In my early 20s, I was
selling condominiums which at the
height of the Martial Law years in
the mid-70s were selling like hot
cakes.
I remember we finished
selling our project along
Roxas Boulevard in Manila,
a 100-unit affair, in one
month. And there was no
building yet. We were only
showing drawings to our
customers. That’s was my
first time to join a killing.
Those were dangerously
intoxicating days
for a young man like me
at that time, but I managed,
with the help of my
guardian angels, to remain
sober and focused.
I thank God I survived. I
managed to sift out the
poison that usually went
with the perks of a successful
business.
Manoling struck me as
a very likeable uncle,
friendly, cheerful and all. He
was not a regular staff of
the office, but rather a consultant
to our president, or
as he likes to say, an intellectual
entrepreneur, paid
only to think and advise.
At that time, I did not
know what he contributed
to our office. He was
so unassuming that it is
only now after reading
his book that I realize he
brought a real wealth of
experience and expertise
to our young outfit.
He was the
groundbreaker of the condominium
business that
caused a sea change of the
economy at that time.
That’s what he is good at—
creating very sellable innovative
ideas, making money
almost out of nowhere.
But he is much more
than this. He was a construction
and gas station
manager, advertising and
marketing executive, and
consultant to tycoons
and Philippine Presidents.
Even without a
college degree, he gave
lectures to MBA students.
The story of his life is
very inspiring, to say the
least. The 9th of 15 children,
he had to struggle for
survival early in life. Good
Catholics, his parents instilled
sense and virtues to
the children in spite of tremendous
difficulties they
had.
Manoling learned
quickly how to fend for
himself and to care for
the whole family. At age
16, after the war, when
things were difficult, he
went to work in Guam, a
young OFW, his baptism
of fire. In the process, he
knew what his strengths
and weaknesses were.
One day, his mother
asked him to sell “maruya”
in school to augment the
family income. He could not
sell a single “maruya” to his
classmates, but he managed
to dispose the product
by selling to a rich
neighbor with a large family.
Lesson: he was bad at
direct selling, but good at
bulk sales.
From then on, he was
always trying to know
more about himself, and
to observe very keenly
the things around him.
He also read, studied and
prayed. That’s the secret
of his fertile mind.
The title of the book,
Pinoy pilgrim, refers to his
belief that each man’s life
here on earth is a journey
toward our definitive homeland
in heaven. Whether
we are aware of it or not,
we have a relation with
God. Would that we be
more aware of it so as to
actively develop it!
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