Photos by Jenny Sumalpong
SAN PEDRO CITY—The plight of a family in Laguna, whose sole breadwinner was forced to sell banana cakes for months to raise funds for the organ transplant of his child, has inspired a youth volunteer program in the province to raise awareness on child and health care services.
Laguna Rep. Ruth Hernandez is set to deliver an “exploratory” speech on the state of health services, particularly for children battling serious illnesses, in the House of Representatives on Monday, her office said on Thursday.
This was after the death of Aquiro Jazz “Baby Aki” Detablan, whose father, Antonio, moved netizens when his photo showing him selling banana cakes in the streets to fund the operation went viral in March.
“Baby Aki and how his father struggled to sell banana cakes were an inspiration to the Kabataang May Sipag at Malasakit (KSM) … an organization that gives the youth a space to show their love for children with medical issues,” Hernandez said.
In March, KSM helped drum up Aki’s cause in Laguna by selling the family’s banana cakes and raising around P35,000, launching school visits and organizing biking events.
More children
While sufficient funds were raised for Aki, the family had to go abroad for the operation. Hernandez said this said a lot about the country’s available resources for medical procedures needed by children like Aki.
Hernandez’s staff said there were at least two more children from the second district of Laguna who needed expensive medical procedures.
Aki was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare liver disease, in 2018 that drove Antonio, a 34-year-old baker from Calamba City, to sell homemade banana cakes at P120 apiece to raise P1.6 million for the operation.
Gratitude
The family was able to raise the amount, though in large part through private donations that eventually poured in, and went to Apollo Hospital in India in June for the procedure.
But 17 days after the operation, Aki passed away on July 22. His mother, Jabee, was the organ donor.
On Thursday, Jabee thanked those who had helped them but declined to discuss the operation. The family was scheduled to return from India also on Thursday.
They planned to hold the wake in Laguna before proceeding to their home province of Sorsogon for the funeral.
“To those who may have had their pictures taken with Aki, those are enough for me. No more condolences or ‘rest in peace’ [messages] as I want Aki to be happy,” Jabee told the Inquirer.