Seniors Hope Expo 2022: A Sunny Day at Paraiso

To all our remarkable friends and family, thank you for making the first-in-the world Seniors Hope Expo last October 1 at Paraiso Village Farm magical and miraculous. The first miracle was the perfect sunny weather after weeks of heavy rain. Many eggs and prayers were offered - lots of eggs, San Jose being the egg basket of the Philippines.

The magic was the infectious joy and awe that captivated over a thousand Seniors - rich and poor alike - who enjoyed the best in Filipino culture and cuisine. They feasted on kurobota steak from Lipa, Balayan lechon and lechon baka from Sta Teresita, Ibaan lomi, Tanauan sinaing na tulingan and San Jose's sotanghon pancit. They drank to their heart's content Ralph's wine and corona beer. It was a unique experience for the less privileged elderly who never drank Corona beer or wine in their life. And extremely generous of Ralph Joseph to have an open bar for everyone with his expensive drinks.

Ateneo College '71 came early and positioned themselves in the grazing table tent next to the bar with their own brand of drinks and a wide array of pulutan. This band of men for others were particularly gratified to see that this program they supported on their Golden Jubilee year has grown wings.

Rotary Club of Manila, Rotary Club of Pasig and Rotary Club of Muntinlupa came in full force and interacted with many other guests they knew or newly met. The Muntinlupa team was busy all day giving away 300 reading glasses to those in need. Many stayed for the Ball and danced with abandon to the music of Spirit of '67 and Heart and Soul bands as they did years ago when their limbs and back were stronger. Star power was added with Senator Tito Sotto, Cory Quirino, Christoper de Leon and Melissa de Leon Joseph who made our Seniors happy with their inspiring messages and songs. And graciously posing for the endless selfies.

Two were recognised that night as the Most Inspiring Batangueños of the Year. Governor Dodo Mandanas for being the most Outstanding Senior in Public Service, who at 78 years old, has spent the last 18 years of his life significantly in the service of his province.

Antero Javier was recognised as a Most Inspiring Batangueño in Family and Business, being a pioneer in the bread business in a town that is known as the home of the bakers of the Philippines. A spright 84 years old and a devoted husband for 60 years, he raised seven children with college degrees and now has vast property holdings in his hometown in Cuenca and Manila. Despite his means, he has not left Cuenca as his home.

The highlight of the evening was the Bobby Joseph Award given to the Most Outstanding Town with the best sustainable programs for the Senior Citizens as shown by their exhibits and the testimony of their members. Eighteen Batangas towns and cities enthusiastically participated, twelve of them showcased the best products of their Senior Citizens. The booths were truly amazing in their creativity and the labor of love that went into it. The Seniors of Sta Teresita took three days of daily painstaking toil to create the bahay kubo display of the kaong products of their Seniors. The Talisay team brought 500 fruit bearing calamansi pots which were all sold out. Taal had a display of their handcrafted jusi and did a demo of how they made their balisong. But a winner had to be chosen by a team of unbiased judges. And Bauan won first place with a P50,000 prize. It was a tight race as many others were equally deserving.

There was no lull moment during the entire day for the crowd that had many choices of competitions, games or business and beauty sessions to participate, attend or watch. The talent competition in dancing, singing and cultural presentation kept the big crowd enthralled as only the best was sent from their towns. It was the same for the cooking competition- the culinary judges had their fill of the best caldereta, sinaing, bulalo and lomi. The forum on Seniors in Business conducted by Airspeed, Women's Business Council of the Philippines and DTI was well attended and appreciated. The make-over session in the Ageless Beauty Forum showed how Seniors can look 20 years younger with the proper make-up and attire. And the games brought out the youth in the elderly - excitedly searching for eggs among the trees or shrieking girlishly while playing human bingo. The men had fun at the TomaKing competition which tested their ability to guess their drinks - coke, beer, wine, brandy, whiskey and gin. There was also a noisy bunch at the Malagkit Queen competition to determine who could guess the right suman or malagkit dessert.

It was truly a day of grace. There was overflowing generosity from our host town San Jose and host province Batangas. Mayor Ben Patron came with his entire council and Governor Dodo Mandanas who was in LA instructed his office to provide all the necessary help for this unique first in the world event for Seniors.

There was overflowing kindness from everyone. People shared food and table with new acquaintances and rekindled ties with old friends. The smile on everyone's face added to the sunny atmosphere. And it was a day of miracles. Our army of heroic volunteers endured and persevered to the end. The kinks along the way seemed petty when one is part of God's marvelous spectacle. And they were still around to wash the dishes and collect all the trash after everyone had left.

There was a sad note that came to us that morning from Judy Tan. Yet it did not dampen our spirit believing that God will spare her from harm. A passionate supporter of the Expo, she was excitedly on her way with friends to Paraiso to celebrate her birthday when her driver suddenly suffered a heart attack and lost control of the van along Star tollway. It miraculously skidded to the side without being hit by other speeding vehicles and went down on the ditch. They three ladies were spared but they lost Patrick, her devoted driver for 18 years. We offered the Mass at the Expo for the repose of his soul and for the healing of Judy and her friends from the trauma of the accident.

As I thank all our volunteers, benefactors, participants, speakers and guests for making the Seniors Hope Expo truly a celebration of joy, I also want to apologise for our shortcomings. Everything was done out of love, and God did the rest. In closing, I want to thank you all for your prayers for my quick recovery from extreme fatigue and the onset of pneumonia. I was spared from hospitalization when I tested negative for Covid. Moving forward, the next big event for Seniors Faith Club is December 8. It will be the SENIORS FAITH EXPO at Batangas Lakelands in the rolling hills of Balete.