STA. RITA, PAMPANGA ? A 99-year-old woman, probably the oldest person in this town, wishes to see her son, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, become senator before her centenary this November.

?I want to see him win. So be it,? Cecilia Ocampo said on Sunday.

Where she lives?amid the rice fields of Sitio Dampol in Barangay Sta. Monica?she has outlived her contemporaries.

In the village, she and her late husband Macario are not only admired for having raised 13 children through farming.

Some neighbors said they also think highly of the couple because two of their sons, Ocampo and younger brother Lito, fought the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

That courted risks for the rest of the family but Cecilia and Macario remained calm.

?In a raid on our old hut shortly after martial law was declared, the [Philippine Constabulary] came. They were looking for [Satur Ocampo]. I said, ?Go ahead and search for whatever you?re searching.? It was good my son was not there,? Cecilia recalled.

Macario, on the other hand, could not be duped even as PC men said it was best to surrender his son than have him hunted.

Cecilia, who was widowed in 1975, continued to be her son?s pillar of strength.

The mother and son met occasionally met while Ocampo was in prison for nine years until he escaped while attending an event at the National Press Club in Manila.

?He went through a lot of difficulties,? Cecilia said of her sixth child.

?Even when he was young, while he played or studied his lessons, we knew he had leadership traits,? she said. ?In high school, he built a hut on the branches of an acacia tree to be able to have more time for his studies.?

Then as now, she will not get in the way of her son?s plan because, she said, she is sure that what he does is always for the good of the poor.