Sylvia, more known as Betit, was the baby of the family for some years. She was quite frail even until her high school days. However, she was able to go through the farm work of the rural high school and the rigorous curriculum of the Philippine Normal School.
Sylvia and Oscar begun their married life in the "garahe" - the lot beside the Beltrans where they built their starter home and where the commuter mini-bus would park overnight. Thus the term "garahe". They, together with their 3 children - Oscar Jr, Rela and Ria - eventually moved into the ancestral house.
Oscar had been in the transportation business since he began to drive. He had a 20-passenger capacity mini-bus with “Six Brothers” on the headboard and run the Santa Fe trip. At times, he would also go on hired trips out-of-town. The mini-bus would eventually give way to the long jeepney ala-Sarao although there never was one made by those makers.
There were probably a total of 3 jeepneys that were bought then resold because other people would offer to buy them. Written on their headboards - one of them had Baugo for the name of the mountain where the Benguet Mines were working on; another had OPJ-Rela-Ria. The children fondly remember having to take their dad's lunch box to the station or along the highway upon hearing the Let's Go horn sequence - toot-toot, toot-toot-toot, toot-toot-toot-toot, toot-toot! When the children had finished college, the jeep was sold and a van aptly named “Whitie” was purchased for family use as well as for contact trips.
Many say that driving was really Oscar's passion. However, his children think that it is actually the interaction with people that he liked most. Many years after Father and Mother's political careers, interest in politics was revived with the candidacy of Oscar for Councilor. His meetings were made lively with the songs and dance of his children. He won and served as a member of the Sangguniang Bayan under Mayor Juan C. Peralta from 1972 to 1986. As a politician, he had to be with people and therefore more often he was not at home, leaving Sylvia alone in the big house, but Sylvia was used to being alone.
Meanwhile, Sylvia was well known as a dedicated teacher and was assigned to various schools throughout her career. At one point, she was the head teacher of the Nagbunga Elementary School outside of town. When she got her Master’s degree of Education, she was offered a promotion which she declined. She preferred to be in the classroom, particularly as a master science teacher.
When when the population of Pili grew to support the Benguet Mines operation, she headed there together with a couple of the better teachers because the pay and benefits were better there. Sylvia's income as a teacher and Oscar's income from the transport contract with Benguet Mines PLUS driving the Pili/WLAC routes AND from the farm enabled them to send their 3 children to college. Of course, it helped that they enjoyed some scholarship, too.
Aside from the calamansi, camote, saluyot and malunggay in the yard that grew without too much care, Sylvia and Oscar experimented with other crops too. Sylvia literally experimented with mushrooms for her Master's degree. Randomized combinations and ANOVA analysis (by hand!) were used but for the children, it was just the delicious mushroom produce that mattered.
Oscar also tried out planting sandia (watermelon) for crop rotation purposes in the San Rafael farmlands. Everyone in the family got to learn how to select a ripe sandia by looking at the stem area and by listening to the sound of knocking. Whenever the harvest was taken to the market, they were rapidly sold out!
When the 3 children went to college, Oscar and Sylvia made frequent visits to Manila. Oscar Jr., OPJ or Oca to friends and Rela took up Metallurgical Engineering while Ria became a pharmacist. All of them graduated from the University of the Philippines. OPJ and Rela passed their Professional Examinations with high scores and get good jobs immediately. Ria went on to get a Master’s Degree in Pharmacy and was eventually employed by a Astra, multinational pharmaceutical company.
A noteworthy shift in career which was not entirely unexpected was made when OPJ gave up his job to involve himself more in music, his true love. In college, he was an active member of the U.P. Madrigals- and joined tours and concerts of the group. Much later he was in the circle of Filipino music - great composers, conductors, singers and producers. He worked with the Performing Arts groups of the San Miguel Corporation, co-producing widely acclaimed performances. He now focuses his work on church choirs producing “Music for the soul”,
Rela and husband, Al Manigsaca both worked at Intel Philippines and had a home in Greenwoods, Dasmarinas, Cavite. They immigrated to the US in 2003 and transferred to another company in Boise, Idaho. They have since relocated to Austin, TX and working with another semiconductor company there.
Ria got married to Teody Figueroa and soon after marriage migrated to Canada and joined the relatives ahead of them in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are blessed with two sons: Matthew Genesis and Timothy Titus.
Of the immediate family members, Sylvia was the last to leave the ancestral home. When she retired in 1998, the San Marcelino Elementary School lost a model demonstration teacher. After that, she and Oscar preferred to stay in San Marcelino, visiting their children on some weekends in Manila.
After Betit’s retirement, she and Oscar went on their dream tour of U.S and Canada, visiting relatives and friends. They wrote and sent pictures of their reunion with close relatives who had long left the country. About the middle of their tour when they were in Ohio, Oscar was diagnosed for leukemia (CML) which made physicians advise them to return home immediately.
Oscar had been in the transportation business since he began to drive. He had a 20-passenger capacity mini-bus with “Six Brothers” on the headboard and run the Santa Fe trip. At times, he would also go on hired trips out-of-town. The mini-bus would eventually give way to the long jeepney ala-Sarao although there never was one made by those makers.
There were probably a total of 3 jeepneys that were bought then resold because other people would offer to buy them. Written on their headboards - one of them had Baugo for the name of the mountain where the Benguet Mines were working on; another had OPJ-Rela-Ria. The children fondly remember having to take their dad's lunch box to the station or along the highway upon hearing the Let's Go horn sequence - toot-toot, toot-toot-toot, toot-toot-toot-toot, toot-toot! When the children had finished college, the jeep was sold and a van aptly named “Whitie” was purchased for family use as well as for contact trips.
Many say that driving was really Oscar's passion. However, his children think that it is actually the interaction with people that he liked most. Many years after Father and Mother's political careers, interest in politics was revived with the candidacy of Oscar for Councilor. His meetings were made lively with the songs and dance of his children. He won and served as a member of the Sangguniang Bayan under Mayor Juan C. Peralta from 1972 to 1986. As a politician, he had to be with people and therefore more often he was not at home, leaving Sylvia alone in the big house, but Sylvia was used to being alone.
Meanwhile, Sylvia was well known as a dedicated teacher and was assigned to various schools throughout her career. At one point, she was the head teacher of the Nagbunga Elementary School outside of town. When she got her Master’s degree of Education, she was offered a promotion which she declined. She preferred to be in the classroom, particularly as a master science teacher.
When when the population of Pili grew to support the Benguet Mines operation, she headed there together with a couple of the better teachers because the pay and benefits were better there. Sylvia's income as a teacher and Oscar's income from the transport contract with Benguet Mines PLUS driving the Pili/WLAC routes AND from the farm enabled them to send their 3 children to college. Of course, it helped that they enjoyed some scholarship, too.
Aside from the calamansi, camote, saluyot and malunggay in the yard that grew without too much care, Sylvia and Oscar experimented with other crops too. Sylvia literally experimented with mushrooms for her Master's degree. Randomized combinations and ANOVA analysis (by hand!) were used but for the children, it was just the delicious mushroom produce that mattered.
Oscar also tried out planting sandia (watermelon) for crop rotation purposes in the San Rafael farmlands. Everyone in the family got to learn how to select a ripe sandia by looking at the stem area and by listening to the sound of knocking. Whenever the harvest was taken to the market, they were rapidly sold out!
When the 3 children went to college, Oscar and Sylvia made frequent visits to Manila. Oscar Jr., OPJ or Oca to friends and Rela took up Metallurgical Engineering while Ria became a pharmacist. All of them graduated from the University of the Philippines. OPJ and Rela passed their Professional Examinations with high scores and get good jobs immediately. Ria went on to get a Master’s Degree in Pharmacy and was eventually employed by a Astra, multinational pharmaceutical company.
A noteworthy shift in career which was not entirely unexpected was made when OPJ gave up his job to involve himself more in music, his true love. In college, he was an active member of the U.P. Madrigals- and joined tours and concerts of the group. Much later he was in the circle of Filipino music - great composers, conductors, singers and producers. He worked with the Performing Arts groups of the San Miguel Corporation, co-producing widely acclaimed performances. He now focuses his work on church choirs producing “Music for the soul”,
Rela and husband, Al Manigsaca both worked at Intel Philippines and had a home in Greenwoods, Dasmarinas, Cavite. They immigrated to the US in 2003 and transferred to another company in Boise, Idaho. They have since relocated to Austin, TX and working with another semiconductor company there.
Ria got married to Teody Figueroa and soon after marriage migrated to Canada and joined the relatives ahead of them in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are blessed with two sons: Matthew Genesis and Timothy Titus.
Of the immediate family members, Sylvia was the last to leave the ancestral home. When she retired in 1998, the San Marcelino Elementary School lost a model demonstration teacher. After that, she and Oscar preferred to stay in San Marcelino, visiting their children on some weekends in Manila.
After Betit’s retirement, she and Oscar went on their dream tour of U.S and Canada, visiting relatives and friends. They wrote and sent pictures of their reunion with close relatives who had long left the country. About the middle of their tour when they were in Ohio, Oscar was diagnosed for leukemia (CML) which made physicians advise them to return home immediately.
Their travel was cut short and upon arrival Oscar was hospitalized at the Philippine General Hospital. He struggled bravely, even gathering strength to visit the hometown while he could. He lost his fight 16 days after his 61st birthday.
A couple of years after, Sylvia determined to go on tour alone saying “I want to continue our tour, go to all places we planned to see (US, Canada and Australia), visit with all the people we planned to be with.” She realized an obsession and surely the protective guiding spirit of her beloved was with her all the time. She joined Oscar three years, both now peacefully resting near our dear parents in San Marcelino, Zambales. She passed away in December 2003.
A couple of years after, Sylvia determined to go on tour alone saying “I want to continue our tour, go to all places we planned to see (US, Canada and Australia), visit with all the people we planned to be with.” She realized an obsession and surely the protective guiding spirit of her beloved was with her all the time. She joined Oscar three years, both now peacefully resting near our dear parents in San Marcelino, Zambales. She passed away in December 2003.
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