Tado’s death ‘will of God’

Jose Jimenez, the father of comedian Arvin “Tado” Jimenez, does not feel any anger toward the driver of the bus that fell into a ravine in Mountain Province, leaving his son and 13 others dead.

In fact, the devout Catholic said he had accepted his son’s death as the will of God and an event beyond any person’s control.

“We don’t have a hold on what happens in our lives. It’s God who decides when and how to take us away. If it was God’s will for him to die at that age and that way, then there’s nothing I can do,” Jose told the Inquirer in an interview Monday at the actor’s boutique in Barangay (village) San Roque, Marikina City.

Even with that prevailing feeling of acceptance, the 62-year-old pedicab driver and former house painter admitted that he sometimes found himself asking God if he could have traded places with his son. After all, at the time he was taken away, Tado had “his whole life ahead of him,” he said.

“Me, I can’t do a lot of things anymore. But my son, he was young and he could have done many other things,” Jose explained, adding that his son was always “very generous” to others.

He said Tado would often give money to the needy, sometimes coursing it through his children. At one time, he even helped out financially one of his employees who had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

“He was that kind of person. He was not selfish,” Jose added.

Sole breadwinner in family

According to Jose, his son—who was married with four children—was just as generous to him and his wife, Asuncion, even though Tado was the sole breadwinner in his family.

In fact, Tado and his brother Juvy, an electrical engineer, were paying for the house in Leyte province where he and Asuncion were staying, he added.

“Tado really never forgot about us, even when he became famous,” Jose said.

He added that even at the time when the comedian had plenty of projects, he still made it a point to call or text his parents. “He was a good son. I can’t say anything bad about him,” Jose added.

Tado, he said, was not always cracking jokes, contrary to his image as a comedian, as he could be “as serious as anyone else.”

In fact, every time he had a “big problem,” he would reach out to his mother Asuncion and talk to her about it “in a serious manner.”

Tado, however, always maintained an optimistic attitude, as he believed that every problem, however complicated, had a solution.

As a father, Tado was the kind who would talk to his children if he saw them doing something wrong. He was not the type to hit his kids, Jose told the Inquirer.

If he were to have his way, Jose said he would have wanted to have spent more time with his son before he died.

The last time he saw the comedian was when Tado visited him and Asuncion in Leyte after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” struck the province.

He said his son was in the area to help those affected by the typhoon under ABS-CBN’s Sagip Kapamilya project.

“But he stayed for only an hour in the house because he was busy,” Jose recalled. Before that meeting, he said it had been around two years since he last saw his son.

“If I had known this was going to happen, I would have asked him to stay. I wish he could have been with us a little longer,” Jose said.

Tribute for another victim

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Monday expressed sadness over the tragic death of one of the artists who conceptualized the peace mural around Camp Aguinaldo, the military’s general headquarters in Quezon City.

Andrew David Sicam, 35, was among the 14 killed in Friday’s accident involving a GV Florida Transport Inc. bus in Bontoc, Mt. Province.

In recognition of Sicam’s contributions to its community relations projects, the military allowed his wake to be held at the multipurpose hall of the AFP Civil Relations Service (CRS) at Camp Aguinaldo.

“This is our simple way of thanking him for sharing his exceptional talent with the Armed Forces. He served well as an instrument of peace,” said CRS commander Brig. Gen. Rolando Jungco.

“He could have made a lot of significant contributions to his field. For the military, he would be forever remembered as one of the lead artists behind the peace-themed street murals of the AFP,” he added in a statement.

Jungco said the AFP and the artists who painted the 4-kilometer mural would gather on Thursday to pay tribute to the fallen artist.

Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, 7th Civil Relations Group commander, said Sicam, his wife and their two children were on their way to Bontoc along with 11 of their friends to celebrate the birthday of his youngest son when they met an accident.

Besides Sicam, Tado and two other companions were also killed.

Sicam’s wife suffered serious injuries but was reported to be in stable condition. Their two children survived the crash unscathed.

According to Cabunoc, the peace mural around Camp Aguinaldo was considered  the “world’s largest.”

“We wanted to honor David who is one of those who created the images of peace that can be found on the walls of the AFP headquarters,” he said.

“This is our simple way of recognizing the lasting contributions that he had rendered to our organization through our peace advocacy,” he added. With a report from Marlon Ramos