Aetas make long trip for ‘Da King’
(December 22, 2004)
Members of an Aeta community in Pampanga passed the hat among themselves so they could send a delegation to the wake of Fernando Poe Jr. in Quezon City on Tuesday.
Jun Handuli, a resident of Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, said the members raised P8,000, which they used to rent buses and buy food.
“We spent P6,000 to rent buses and P2,000 to buy food,” Handuli said. “Some 600 of us will return tonight [Tuesday night].”
The first batch of 31 Aetas arrived at the Santo Domingo Church 11 a.m.
Unlike other supporters and fans of Poe who queued up for one and a half hours just to view their idol, the Aetas were put in front of the line.
“We have to go home immediately because the bus rental will increase if we stay longer,” Handuli said.
He said the Aetas couldn’t resist paying their last respects to Poe, who they said had been good to them.
The community received relief goods from Poe during the onslaught of lahar that followed the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. “He [Poe] even went personally to help us,” Handuli said.
Poe even hired some of them to play bit roles in his movie, Ayos na ang Kasunod, in 2000.
Some 1,500 members of the Muslim groups Assalam and MUST-FPJ, based in Marawi City and Basilan, also paid their last respects to Poe, whom they supported in the May presidential election.
A 2,100-strong group from Iloilo, Davao and Bacolod who took the 20-hour sea voyage also arrived Tuesday to view Poe.
Poe will be buried at the Manila North Cemetery Wednesday morning.
One admirer, Felomena Sadullo, 70, from Poe’s home province of Pangasinan, clutched a worn-out scrapbook of the actor’s pictures and magazine clippings, titled in English “You Are my World.”
“So many storms have passed, but each time a storm comes this is the first thing I save,” she said. - Ronnie E. Calumpita, Reporter