BACOLOD CITY—For the last 38 years, Fr. Felix Pasquin has been gathering the poorest of the poor every Dec. 23, hosting dinner for them with warm food and hearty laughter as his Christmas present for those in the city who could barely make ends meet.
The tragedy that befell the people of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan changed all that but opened up a rarely seen goodness in man that would have been obvious to Father Pasquin in all his years as a priest—those who have nothing material to give are all too willing to sacrifice for others.
Father Pasquin was to host dinner again for this city’s poorest—beggars, garbage collectors and drivers of contraptions called “trisikads”—to fulfill his yearly vow.
Dec. 23 went by without the dinner, which would have been Father Pasquin’s 39th gathering for the poor, but with so much hope that despite having close to nothing in life, those wallowing in poverty could still find generosity in their hearts.
Father Pasquin, rector of San Sebastian Cathedral here, said he gathers up to 150 of the city’s poorest every Dec. 23 but following the Mindanao tragedy, he met with a smaller group to relate to them what happened to the people of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, two cities that took the brunt of floods at the height of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”
Though not surprised, Father Pasquin said he was touched by the group’s decision to forego the annual dinner and instead donate the money that they would have spent on it to the victims of the storm.
Instead of the usual sumptuous dinner, the group that benefits from Father Pasquin’s annual dinner made do with porridge.
“It was very moving to see recipients of charity transformed into agents of charity,” said Father Pasquin. “Beggars, given the opportunity, can be generous to others, too.”
Generosity also flowed from the different local government units of Negros Occidental, which donated money for victims of Sendong.
This city’s officials passed a resolution that would allot P1.2 million for the storm victims.
Six towns and other cities in the province also decided to give a total of P940,000, according to Mayor David Lacson of EB Magalona town, head of Negros Association of Chief Executives.
The cities that gave money were Cadiz, Kabankalan, San Carlos, Sipalay, Silay and Escalante. The towns were EB Magalona, Manapla, Hinigaran, Pontevedra, Moises Padilla, Valladolid, Hinobaan and San Enrique.