There are nice people in this world who would not allow me to die. One of them, Mr. Generoso R. del Castillo Jr., or Jun for short, is a former chief accountant at General Headquarters, Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The late Father Erasmo Ramirez, OP, or Father Sonny to many, one of the few iconic Catholic figures in the Philippines, was a close friend of Jun’s.

Jun has a very high spirituality. He taught me how to pray and how to get the best out of my prayers. So far so good. The best prayer I learned from him is the 15 St. Bridget Prayers. This is the most powerful prayer I ever got. St. Bridget for a long time wanted to know the number of blows Our Lord received during his Passion.

One day, He appeared to her and said: “I received 5,480 blows on My body. If you wish to honor them in some way, say 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following prayers for a whole year. You will have honored each one of my wounds.”

The reward for praying the 15 St. Bridget prayers is the 16th promise of God: “He will obtain all he asks for from God and the Blessed Virgin.”

Generoso del Castillo has won all his cases in court, three of them worth multi-million pesos. It must be because of his prayers. My family is gaining a lot from the prayers that Jun taught me.

So far, Jun has given me 75 of these Pieta prayer booklets. I gave 15 booklets to Daily Tribune, five to friends in the NBI, some to state auditors, accountants, taxi drivers, and close friends.

Another good man who would not allow me to die because I have no regular pension is President-Mayor Erap.

When I asked Mayor Erap to buy my grammar book, Write it Right, he called his vice mayor, Isko Moreno, to buy 500 copies, telling him that the book would be helpful to city hall employees. Isko said it would be very useful to the city councilors and their staff.

The youngest Cabinet member of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Jonathan A. de la Cruz, ABAKADA Representative, during the 16th Congress filed House Bill 3948, An Act Granting Monthly Pensions to Government Retirees under RA 1616 who had reached the age of 70, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes.

Section 1. Declaration of Policy — The Constitution provides that the State shall, from time to time, review to upgrade the pension and other benefits due to retirees of both the government and private sectors. As far as possible, it should provide those who have less in life the opportunity to earn a living so that they can play a more active role in social life, especially in the economic and political spheres; the State must create conditions that are necessary to realize the right of all citizens, particularly the underprivileged, the equal opportunity. To this end, the State shall grant a monthly pension to government retirees who had availed of retirement under Republic Act 1616.

Cong. Jonat, as Representative Jonathan dela Cruz is known to many of us, is perhaps the most generous and helpful of God’s creations. The first time I met him, he invited me to hear the six o’clock Saturday evening anticipated Holy Mass.

Ever since, it became a habit for me to greet him, Joyous Saturday Congressman Jonat. That is a signal for him to tell his bagman to send me money for Chickenjoy and spaghetti. Isn’t that great? Thank you Jonat!

(To be continued)