My Old Man....the Original Pabling

There are numerous ways of calling one own's father... depending on where you live. Here, fathers may be called Papa, Daddy, Dad, Tatay, Itay, Tatang, 'Tang, Ama, Erpat, etc. I call my father Daddy or 'De, for short... that was how my mom & dad want him to be called and that was what i first heard him called.

'De was born on May 17, 1927... although we grew up celebrating his birthday on the 29th of May... because as far as he can recall, he had celebrated his birthday on this date. It was only in the 70's that he realized his birthday was on the 17th... after he obtained his birth certificate from the town registrar for his application for a passport to go abroad...and the 29th was his day of baptism! (Good thing 'De doesn't believe in the zodiac signs, otherwise it would've been very complicated!!!)

'De grew up as the third and youngest child of Jose Tiangco L. and Eulalia Roman L., after sister Rosario and brother Primitivo or Kakang Chayong and Kakang Tibong, as we fondly called them, respectively.

He grew up in the town of Pilar, Bataan and took elementary studies at the town's elementary school. His high school studies were at Balanga, Bataan... the provincial capital, located just next to Pilar. As a teen-ager during the Second World War, my dad's family evacuated by boat to a nearby province, Pampanga, when the Japanese troops took over Bataan. They stayed in a school which was converted into an evacuation center and stayed there until the war ended. Since there were no universities or colleges in Bataan at that time, 'De had to take his university studies at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. While studying, he stayed in Caloocan City at the home of a niece from his stepbrother, the son of my grandfather from a previous marriage. Daddy graduated from UST with the degree Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 1952.

Shortly thereafter, he started his career in the government; first, as clerk at the Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC), then as administrative officer at the National Coordinating Center for the Study and Development of Filipino Children and Youth (NCCSDFCY), and lastly, at the National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC), now known as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), where he retired as Director in 1990. After retirement, he joined my mom and sister and my elder brother & his family in the US. In 1998, Daddy and Mommy came home and they are now living back in Quezon City.

Daddy, as i knew him has always been in love with books and writing. He imparted to me the love for books and reading ....in one of my earlier birthdays he and mommy gifted me with a 13-volume, double back-to-back set of the classics by Grolier Books (including the Aesop's Fables, The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick, The Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales, Gulliver's Travels, Alice in Wonderland, etc. which I read over and over again!) . Early on, he moonlighted as the speech writer of the then congressman of Bataan, Jose R. Nuguid. He took masteral courses at UST but failed to finish it because he hadn't had time to write his masteral thesis since he was busy with his work. He's taken and passed at least 7 government examinations including that of interpreter. I remember that sometime in the 70's, he was offered an opportunity to go to the US and work as an interpreter. He turned down the offer and opted to stay here and be with his wife and his growing children.

Like his father before him, 'De is deeply religious and goes to church everyday. He's been a member and eventually the head of several parish organizations ...he has even served as President of our Parish Council in Quezon City. Unfortunately, 'De suffered a stroke in 2000 and developed pneumonia for which he was hospitalized in intensive care for 3 weeks. Now, he's strong and healthy with some side-effects of his illness, but he's still active at our church.

As a child and a young man...and even when he's already married to my mommy, my Daddy has always been Pabling... because that is his nickname... his name is Pablo Roman L.!!!