MANILA – Away from the eyes of the media, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III quietly dropped by the hospital room of a dying man to grant his wish to see him up close.
Surprising the cancer-stricken Danilo Alonso, Aquino with his cousin Rapa Lopa appeared at room 779 of the Makati Medical Center one Saturday afternoon without telling Alonso’s family that he was coming.
Bedridden for almost a week, Alonso was star-struck and even tried to sit up upon seeing Aquino.
His children and grandchildren cried upon seeing that "a very important person was in the room." Aquino and Lopa stayed for 30 minutes.
This was how Alonso’s granddaughter Joylyn recounted to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Aquino’s visit.
Alonso could no longer tell the story of how he met his "idol." He passed away at age 63 two days after the visit.
Alonso was a hardworking tanod (watchman) of Barangay Bagong Tanyag in Taguig City and an avid supporter of democracy icons Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino since the 1980s.
He was admitted to the Makati Medical Center in the last week of January because of liver and kidney failure. He was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer but the doctors could not tell how long he would live.
It was also around this time that Alonso expressed to his family his one wish: To meet Aquino and his siblings.
“Since then, I thought of nothing else but to fulfill that dream. Right away, I went to my computer shop and started a letter,” Joylyn told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Joylyn, a blogger and owner of a computer shop, is one of the 23 grandchildren of Alonso.
Although doubtful that Aquino would have time to visit her grandfather, she finished the letter and posted it on the Internet.
She wrote in www.joylynalonso.blogspotcom: “Reality bites. The least that we can do is to make him happy. He wanted to meet Noynoy in person. He wanted to see the Aquino family.”
“I know it cannot, in any way, heal or make his illness disappear. But all of us would be glad seeing him happy and contented that his wish was granted,” she added.
Joylyn did not know then that within four hours, a staff member of Senator Aquino had read the letter and was about to relay the request to him.
It came as a surprise when Aquino paid a visit.
Joylyn said the immense joy that his grandfather felt was “priceless.”
“My blog is a testimony that simple people like us are worthy of his attention and sympathy,” Joylyn said in her blog.
In the Inquirer interview, Joylyn showed a group picture of Aquino, Alonso, and his grandchildren. “Look, Tatay is smiling,” she said while pointing to Alonso in the picture.
She said that after the visit, Alonso managed to eat more than what he used to as he told them he wanted to campaign for Aquino.
He was convincing his family that he was already recovering very well. He also kept muttering “Laban” either referring to Aquino’s presidential run or his own fight against cancer.
Aquino has heeded supporters’ call for him to seek the presidency a month after his mother, Corazon Aquino, died on August 1, 2009. Although he was leading in poll surveys the past few months, his ratings have been dropping, resulting in a virtual tie with Nacionalista Party rival, Sen. Manny Villar.
Viel Aquino-Dee, the third child of Cory and Ninoy, also paid a visit to Alonso after the letter reached her and her three sisters.
Joylyn said that when Aquino-Dee came, she even apologized to the family because Senator Aquino could not come.
“She was also surprised to know that his brother had come earlier ... because she knew Noynoy had a busy schedule,” Joylyn said.
Aquino-Dee also visited the wake of Alonso at the family’s house in Bagong Tanyag, Taguig City.
“We really appreciate those simple actions. Imagine Viel coming all the way here without bodyguards,” Joylyn said.
Alonso’s wife Grace said their family’s admiration for the Aquinos began after Ninoy was shot dead at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983.
She said their whole family joined a big rally alon Ayala Ave. and Ninoy’s funeral procession up to the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City. All clad in yellow, they were also present during the EDSA revolution in 1986.
The story of the Aquinos has been an inspiration to them. “What was happening to the Aquinos, we felt, was also happening to us,” she added.
Grace said that like Cory and Ninoy, his husband had lived “a happy life.”
On Sunday, Alonso was laid to rest at the Loyola Memorial Parks and Gardens in Paranaque City.
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