King of hope

On June 15, 1991, the sleeping giant Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales lost its temper, spewing ash and sand continuously for nine hours. Among those whose lives were almost buried by a deadly combination of fear and fiery lava was then toddler Norman King, an Aeta who lived on the slopes of the volcano.

“Before Mt. Pinatubo erupted, this place blessed us with abundance,” recalls Norman, now 29, the first Aeta to have graduated from the University of the Philippines. “This is also the place where I was born. According to my parents, as well as my grandparents, during their time, they almost never had to leave the forest to fetch supplies in the plains.”

“Our lives as natives were simple before Mt. Pinatubo erupted. We lived off whatever we could forage in the forest. We did not have any ambitions nor did we have any dreams of anything. We just wanted to eat and raise our children,” recalls Norman of the Aetas’ way of life.

“When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, it brought a great struggle for us natives. We were transferred to an evacuation center. But the life of a native is rooted in the soil. A native still needs to plant and plow the soil. So we still chose to return,” adds Norman. We asked him how he got his Christian name, and he said with obvious pride that an American soldier surnamed “King” gave Norman’s grandfather, the tribe’s leader then, his surname.

Norman King, in Jun Escario, receives his Resorts World ‘Lucky Person of the Year’ award from Resorts World Manila president Kingson Sian (left) and Philippine Ambassador to the US Babe Romualdez. Photo by Joey Viduya

The soldier, according to Norman, said that his grandfather deserved to be called “King” because he was a beneficent leader.

Apparently, the apple, or shall we say the guava, doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Resorts World Manila and PeopleAsia magazine recently named Norman their “Lucky Person of the Year.”

“Lucky,” not only because he wasn’t buried alive by the pyroclastic mud flow that raced down Pinatubo’s slopes 27 years ago, killing several of the members of his tribe. “Lucky” because he climbed his own steep mountain after that and became the first Aeta to graduate from the University of the Philippines.

In a way, he used what could have been their downfall as a springboard to attain a better life for his people. The struggle after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption was fire in his belly to achieve more in life.

“You have to work hard to create your own luck,” says Kingson Sian, president and CEO of Resorts World Manila.

Explaining why Resorts World Manila chose Norman to be its “Lucky Person of the Year,” Kingson elaborates, “The award was created to celebrate individuals who had the audacity, the vision and the determination to seize opportunities and overcome obstacles to reach their goals, change their lives, and become as people would say, swerte.”

Indeed, if we look around, a lot of the people we call swerte (whether they are born in the Year of the Dragon, have a mole in their palad or have an 888 plate number), are actually people who did their time in the barracks of hard work.

“To myself, the reason why I really wanted to study is to continue the work my father had already done for the community. In our lives as natives, our lack is education.”

Fortunate to have been given an opportunity to stay in a Korean orphanage and study at the Cornerstone Mission, Norman knew he was receiving “a gift from God.”

At the Korean orphanage, he was with other children “who were not of my blood.”

“It had a big effect on me while I was growing up because I became accustomed to mingle with other people.”

In 2004, Norman graduated from high school and his father Roman decided to send him to Manila to work for his friend in Bangkal, Makati as a delivery boy.

“After one year, I became a working student. So while I was working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., I studied from 6 to 10 p.m.”

He got a chance to study at the University of the Philippines and he didn’t waste it. A chance ceases to be just a chance when you seize it.

“It was one big opportunity that we can say I did not waste,” says Norman.

“In the five years I studied at the university, I always put in mind that I was not studying just to earn a diploma or have a good life and eventually have a good job.”

“I was studying for my race.”

The proud family of Norman King: (from left) Benjun King Jr., Moises, Warlita and Roman King during the People of the Year awards night. Photo by Joey Mendoza

***

He did return to his roots in the forests of Zambales despite the lure of city life. He is now an active community leader, helping preserve their ancestral lands. His father was grateful, saying, “You can see the problem. You can better understand what is written than us because you have an education.”

The barangay captain in Norman’s village in Zambales is just as appreciative that the UP graduate did not forget his people.

“I am very thankful because Norman’s achievement became significant here in our place particularly in our barangay because this is where he was raised, this is where he was born, where we saw that his achievement is a part of our dreams as natives.”

His professors told RWM, “When we were in the field, when we were meeting his relatives only then did we understand that Norman was not just a student, he is also a son, and a member of the community.”

“It is clear in my mind what I want to do in my life, what I want to achieve and what I have to fight for. It is not only for myself. I always glance back at the members of my race who cannot fight or stand up for their rights. That is the reason why I returned to my community  and chose to continue my father’s fight to care for and protect the land of our forefathers because no one else will protect it but ourselves.”

What gives him inspiration?

“I am Norman King, Filipino and the first Aeta who graduated from the University of the Philippines,” he says simply.

And so when he received his award at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza from Kingson Sian and Philippine Ambassador to the US Babe Romualdez, amid the other People of the Year awardees of PeopleAsia — including a former President — Norman stood out.

Not just because he was wearing a Jun Escario, but also because he was wearing his people’s struggles and aspirations. On his sleeve, for all to see.

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)