Illness didn’t stop Jun “Bote” Bautista from writing

A fan kisses Augurio Camu Jr., or Jun “Bote” Bautista (right).  CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – His fingers trembling but 73-year-old Augurio Camu Jr., or Jun “Bote” Bautista to his friends in the media, tried all his might to do what he loved most and that is to write even while he was in hospital bed.

“Bote” was so in love with his job that he had attempted to go to the Senate even if that would mean bringing along an oxygen unit with him.

“Sobrang love nya ang trabaho nya (He really loved his work). Nagpaplano pa nga syang pumunta sa Senate kahit magdala na lang sya ng oxygen pero hindi sya pinayagan (He was planning to visit the Senate even if it would mean bringing along an oxygen unit but he was not allowed to do leave),” Bote’s third sibling, Lourdes, said in an interview over the phone.

When he was last brought to the Makati Medical Center sometime early September, Lourdes said her father even asked a relative to bring his laptop so he could write his column for Abante, a tabloid newspaper.

“Nanginginig ang kamay nya habang nagsusulat (His hands were unsteady while typing,” she said.

But “Bote” will no longer be able to write stories after he succumbed to cardiac arrest Tuesday morning.

He had been suffering from emphysema for the past five years but continued smoking even while inside a hospital, her daughter admitted.

“Heavy smoker talaga kahit nasa ospital sya (He still smoked even he was confined in hospital),” Lourdes said.

It was around 7:30 am, she said, when her other sibling found her father gasping for breath inside his room in their house so they decided to bring him to the hospital.

The doctors tried to revive “Bote” but at around 9 a.m., he was declared dead.