RIP John Romulo Caresosa Garcia & 108th Rotary International Convention

Corporal John Romulo Caresosa Garcia had long wanted to go home but new assignments kept cropping up that eventually brought him to Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.

The 28-year-old member of the Philippine Marine Corps was finally home last Tuesday in his native San Miguel town, Bohol.

But it was a sad homecoming for the family who first learned about his death on Facebook.

John Romulo Caresosa Garcia of Bohol was 

among the 13 soldiers killed in Marawi on June 9, 2017. 

Contributed Photo

John had wanted to come home in March but he was ordered to provide security to the president of Vietnam who was attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, said his grandmother, Conrada Relampagos-Caresosa, 76.

He was not also able to come home after the summit meeting because he was told to go to Marawi City to augment the troops fighting against the Maute group.

His family’s worst fears came true.

John was one of the 13 Marines who were killed on June 9 in a 16-hour firefight against an undetermined number of Maute group members in Barangay Lilod Madaya that started around 3:30 a.m. on Friday.

His 19-year-old sister, Princess, said they were browsing Facebook when they noticed that John’s page was filled with condolences from his friends.

They were shocked.

“Many had posted on Facebook that he had died. But we, his family, didn’t know about it. When we learned about it, we were very shocked,” she added.

Princess said they could not believe that he was really gone until John’s commanding officer called their parents to inform them about what happened.

Their parents, Sylvia and Romulo, flew to Metro Manila on Saturday to retrieve their son’s body.

And on Tuesday, June 13, John was finally home.

His remains arrived on board a C-130 cargo plane of the Philippine Air Force at the Tagbilaran airport at 4:20 p.m.

Soldiers carried the casket bearing his remains as John was given full military honors by his comrades from the 47th Infantry Battalion led by 1st Lt. Michael Bumatay.

No local official was in the airport to condole with Sylvia and Romulo.

Bumatay told the family that it was a fitting tribute for a brave Boholano who gave his life for peace in Mindanao.

After the arrival honors, his remains were later brought to his house in Barangay Kagawasan, San Miguel, where his four siblings, relatives and friends waited for him.

John, the eldest among five siblings, had been in the Philippine Marines for four years and had graduated from Central Visayas State College of Agriculture Forestry and Technology, now called the Bohol Island State University.

His family was against his plan to join the Philippine Marines but his love for the country prevailed.

Romulo and Sylvia said they could not accept the death of their eldest child, saying he was too young to die.

Romulo said it hurt to lose a son who was kind and generous.

He said they had received financial assistance from the government but no amount could compensate for the life of his son.

“Until now, I still cannot believe what happened to him. We don’t know how to recover from the pain,” he said.

John was given a posthumous military merit award for his gallantry in action.

The medal with a bronze spearhead was traditionally pinned on the left chest of the awardee.

In the case of John, his medal was placed on the left side of the glass covering of his casket.

Caresosa said it was painful and difficult to accept the death of her eldest grandchild.

“The only thing I could say was my grandson was a good man who was gone too soon,” she said.

***

Benjie and Joan Oliva attend

Rotary’s confab in Georgia, USA

Boholano couple Benjie and Joan Oliva had attended the 108th Rotary International Convention, organized by Rotary International, was held at Georgia  World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on June 10-14, 2017.

For Benjie, erstwhile National Youth Commission (NYC) Visayas Commissioner and now Cooperative Development Authority Central Visayas administrator, said the confab was “one of the amazing international events” he attended.

Benjie and Joan Oliva attend the 108th 

Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Contributed Photo

Here is Benjie:

 There are at least 40,000 participating Rotarians from 160 countries all over the world who attended the 108th Rotary International Convention.

  In this event, I tagged along with me my wife Joan to experience herself the very purpose of the founders of Rotary Club organization.

I became involved in the Rotary way back in 2010 when I was chosen as one of the members of the Group Study Exchange (GSE) Program sent to North Carolina, USA for two months on a goodwill exchange by Rotary International District 3810 and the Rotary Foundation.

In said convention, the Philippine delegation composed of ten Rotary districts has registered as the 4th largest contingent. It only shows that the Filipinos has been in the forefront of Rotary Club movement in the world. Not to mention being the first to organized a Rotary Club in Asia way back in 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila. At present Rotary Club Manila is under District 3810 composed of Manila, Pasay, Cavite and Occidental Mindoro.

The Rotary International Convention is an annual gathering of civic and and business community leaders across the globe to exchange ideas on how to improve lives and bring positive, lasting change to communities around the world.

The convention aims to renew friendship, find inspirations, promote camaraderie and goodwill, build linkages among rotary clubs and Rotarians in pursuit of service to humanity and doing good in the world.

The highlight of this year's convention is the centennial anniversary of Rotary Foundation. The Foundation's 100 years of existence has been instrumental in delivering programs and projects in many rural communities worldwide with specific area of focus such as Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy and Economic and Community Development.

The notable speakers for this year's convention includes billionaire businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates, actor Ashton Kutcher, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, Indian philanthropist Rajashree Birla, golf icon Jack Nicklaus, WWE Superstar, actor, and Rotary polio ambassador John Cena, among others.

This year's convention has reached a total pledges of 1.2 Billion US Dollars in the cause to End Polio in the next three years with Bill Gates as the leading donor with a contribution of 450Million US Dollars under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Atlanta convention brings good memories and experiences that Joan and I can't forget for the rest of lives. Our dedication to be of service to our fellowmen and communities has been raised to a higher degree of commitment to make a difference even in our own little ways.

In July of this year, Joan and I will join the Rotary Club of Pasay Cyber City as a manifestation of our commitment to continue in doing good in the world. Rotary indeed is true to its motto of 'Service Above Self'.

***

Thanks for your letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow leoudtohanINQ at Twitter /Facebook.