Outstanding Pinoy

Cheers to the Philippine Sportswriters Association for selecting Arnold Balais as Disabled Athlete of the Year. The young man, whose right leg was amputated above the knee many years ago, when he was just a teenager, after getting hurt in a scrimmage in a basketball game in Olongapo City, deserves the acknowledgment and accolade. For the fellow is a fighter, one who never gives up. Yes, ever since he lost his leg, Arnold, who comes from a poor family, never gave up in his quest to become self-reliant.

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I first met Arnold some 15 years ago at the University of Santo Tomas Medical Rehabilitation where he was training to become a manufacturer of leg braces and artificial arms and legs, under the tutelage of the noted medical rehab doctor, Dr. Ofelia L. Reyes. Arnold, together with Audie Sto. Domingo, was assigned by Dra. Reyes to manufacture or repair my own leg braces. Since that time, Arnold has been constantly taking care of that task.

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Sometimes, I would wonder with amazement how Arnold, without a right leg and using only a cane, was able to commute in the public utility vehicles in Metro Manila. He would appear in my office, carrying my repaired leg brace, while hobbling with his own physical disability. And how glad I was when I learned that Dra. Reyes had chosen Arnold to be one of the trainees in Los Angeles, California, USA, in one of the best prosthesis-manufacturers in the world.

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After he returned from the United States, Arnold was a frequent visitor to my office, lending a helping had to the Good Samaritan Foundation. One day, he told me that he had been chosen by his sports organization involved in body-building, arm-wrestling and weightlifting to represent the Philippines in global paralympic games in Atlanta, USA. And there in Atlanta, he notched a notable performance that won raves from appreciative audiences.

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I did not know that while working at UST. Arnold, who had been forced to drop out from school when he lost his leg during his teenage years, was going to night school to pursue his secondary education. Apparently, he knew the value of education. At that time, I did not also know that La Salle Greenhills was offering these special high school courses at nighttime to indigents persons. How proud Arnold must have been when he finally received his high school diploma – from De La Salle at that.

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There came a time in Arnold’s youthful life when he felt he was being called by God to serve as His minister. Soon, he resigned from the UST medical rehab center and entered a religious seminary near my office at Sta. Mesa, Quezon City. While working to become a minister. Arnold never failed to take care of my leg braces whenever these needed to be repaired. He was, indeed, a thoughtful fellow, ever solicitous of other’s needs.

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As sometimes happens, there comes a deviation from the original career path chosen. I eventually found out that Arnold was in Cebu City, working with a manufacturer of high-tech, robotic-like leg braces, the Orthopedic Frey Far East Inc. But whenever he was in Metro Manila, he always paid me a call, not only to inform me of the happy happenings in his life – like his growing participation in foreign sports competitions for disabled people – but also to find out how my leg braces were doing.

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About two years ago, when I conducted a dialogue in Cebu City with corporate executives and top employers at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, I invited Arnold to be a featured guest, to show off what he can do and to prove to the business world that disabled people like Arnold can be productive, perhaps even more productive than people without disabilities. And as Arnold entered the room, displaying his high-tech artificial leg, there were "ohs" and "ahs"from the gathered guests.

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Early this year, Arnold told me he was going to have a marathon swim in the murky waters of Cebu. He was going to swim solo, the first time a disabled person without one leg was going to perform such a feat. The event was intended by Arnold to raise funds for the disabled sector in Cebu City. And swim Arnold did, reaching his destination after a few hours, Arnold’s marathon swim received front-page treatment in the newspapers in Cebu.

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On January, 11, Arnold will receive the Outstanding Disabled Athlete of the Year award from the Philippine Sportswriter Association – a recognition of his excellence in sports. He has already proven that he also excels in the manufacture of braces and other mobility devices. And he also excels in overcoming a physical disability that normally would discourage others in the same situation to give up. On top of it all, he excels in helping others scale the highest mountains and most trying obstacles. Isn’t Balais a role model for all people with disabilities?

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Former Ambassador Rodolfo A. Arizala, a diplomat and a historian, oftentimes shares with us vignettes from history by reminding today’s generation of events that transpired eons ago. For instance, he recently took up the trade between Manila and Macao during pre-colonial days, Those were the days prior to Ferdinand Magellan and his men losing their way to the Space Islands and stumbling upon one to the islands belonging to what we call now "The Republic of the Philippines."

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Based on historical records, Arizala said, the Manila-Macao trade consisted of exports of the Philippines to China such as rice, "zibi" (dried shrimps), "salingones" nests, shark fins, "nervios de vano", ebony, mother of pearls, gold dusts, etc. From China, we imported jars of garlic, salted raddish, Chinese oil, anis, chestnuts, tea, hams, dried apples, sweet oranges, "sutanju" (sotanghon), 11,600 bamboo "sipit" (chopsticks). pieces of toothbrush, and artifacts for cleaning ears.

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The goods traded between the Philippines and China showed the eating habits and style of life or culture of the inhabitants of Manila. If we imported during the pre-colonial period thousands of "bamboo sipit" (chopsticks), then our ancestors did not only eat with their bare hands but also used chopsticks. So, instead of merely having a "Kamayan Restaurant" in Metro Manila these days, Arizala suggests we should have also a Sipit Restaurant (with which to enjoy our noodles – "pansit" and "sotanjon").

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Aside from the good and porcelain found on a sunken junk between China and the Philippines, there were other artifacts such as those for dental and hearing hygiene. Cleaning ears, in air-conditioned barbershops in Metro Manila is still one of the services rendered today, aside from haircut, shave (ahit), manicure and pedicure. Thus, in today’s barbershops, it is still a common sight to see white-uniformed female assistants with instruments of an oculist or dentist cleaning the ears of customers after having their haircut, massage, shave (ahit), manicure and pedicure.

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Arizala poses this interesting question: Aside from our changing life styles, if "we are what we eat", then are we Chinese as a being, Spanish in heart or religion, and "Norte Americanos" in brains or outlook? The envoy-historian noted that the economic data recovered from a Chinese sunken vessel loaded with porcelain, artifacts and evidence of goods being traded between China and the Philippines during those early periods are not "stale economic data" but one as "fresh and cool as a cucumber." While a dead man tells no tales, sunken artifacts do tell interesting historical details. And one detail told is that we have evolved from porcelain culture to one of plastic in the name of globalization.

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Thoughts For Today:

When we feel the stress of the storm,
we learn the strength of the anchor.
Trust God.
He is the greatest anchor of all storms.

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God can hear each falling tear.
He sees the heart that needs a cheer.
He knows the path that’s hard and full of fear.
Don’t ever give up, for He is near.

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My e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]