Feature:

Tatay Julio:
A brief description of a hero

By Pepin

What does it takes to become a hero? Is it a grandiose street parade or an overwhelming proclamation? Or is it billions of cash at hand or a death for the country? For the less fortunate in life, neither of these matters the most. They don’t even consider the word “heroic” to be synonymous with their everyday dedication to work and their family.

Just like Tatay Julio, a 57-year old porter at Iloilo Port. His rough job of more than twelve hours a day isn’t paying him enough sum of money to raise his family and procure the things he is craving for himself. The half-day exposure at work is causing his feeble body more aches and constant worries. Not to mention, the dozens of sacrifices that he is oblige to do to save his family from starvation; and this includes skipping one or two of his three meals per day.

But for this steadfast man, the forty-four years of work at the port may be causing him physiological pain, but giving up was never his option. He made a promise to himself that family should come first, and his commitment to his wife as a husband and to his ten children as their father should under no circumstances fade.

On his charge and his challenge

The work of a porter may seem uncomplicated for travellers arriving and departing from the seaport. But for Tatay Julio, it is always a long row to hoe. “You always need to show a full blast of your confidence and personality for people to trust you,” he added. Travellers will not always trust porters with their baggage, even if it is already too bulky for them to carry. As a result, porters will usually lose potential customers and then their income.

“You can’t blame people who will not trust you, because they are also playing safe,” Tatay Julio shared. And this situation is ascribed to how Filipinos perceived safety and security over their personal belongings. That is why, for Tatay Julio, it is always a challenge to approach people decently and present to them an honest self, so that they will not feel browbeaten or aggravated.

What’s worse in his situation is that he cannot insist on a predetermined amount for his service. He always relies for a good customer to give him a good pay of at least 100 pesos. But from an infuriated client, 20 pesos or pieces of silver coins is handed over to a porter in an uncouth manner just to ward him off of the way. “It is a common picture everyday, but I am always trying to barter my respect to these types of clients. After all he is only paying for my service and my respect is always free for all regardless of the amount they give to us,” Tatay Julio added.

At the end of the day, the income generated is allocated proportionally for the expenses of his children at school, budget for food, and payments for public utilities consumed at home. As for this hard worker, there is always something to be thankful everyday, especially seeing his family financially secured for their daily needs and expenses.

Being a man of faith

Like millions of Filipinos, Tatay Julio stand firm on his faith as a Catholic. He sees to it that God has a special place for him and his family. The heavy weight of the luggage and boxes he is carrying upon his shoulders defines his dedication to the task that heaven asked for him here on earth, and his persistence for work for the greater glory of God.

“God wanted me to do this, and I am accepting his offer,” he exclaimed. The scorching heat of the sun, the deceitful competition among porters, the minimal pay, and the rude complaints of some of people coming in and out of the seaport never neither made him hate God nor cursed heaven. Instead, he is looking at these upsetting experiences as springboards for a stronger faith.

That is the very reason why despite the long hours spent at work, he never failed to say a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. He even celebrates special days of Jesus, like Christmas, as if he is not living below poverty line. As what he shared, there is always food on their table to celebrate the birthday of the saviour.

However, like any person at crisis, there is always a bigger room in every prayer for a special request. And for Tatay Julio, it is as simple as asking God to sustain his strength the way he had blessed him since 1966 when he first started to work as a porter. “My family needs me, especially my ten children. I want to become their source of strength and inspiration,” he emotionally said.

A hero in his own right

Tatay Julio was never as gallant as those heroes on horses with their sharp-edge swords raised high to call for battle, but he is ahead of the curve being a sincere and committed man as he simply is. It was never that he was not given a chance to front a brigade or shout his estimations of democracy at freedom parks, but it is his choice to inaudibly perform his responsibilities as a Filipino labourer, a Filipino father, and most especially, a true-blooded Filipino.

There are no criteria to becoming a hero, not even an overexposed act of bravery. In his case, Tatay Julio is a hero because he embodies the quality that makes him stand out in a sea of indolence and mediocrity. Moreover, he is proficient of doing demanding tasks whole-heartedly, and be grateful at the end of the day even if there were obstacles that try to impede his dreams and aspirations for his self and his family.

To appreciate life to the fullest is what most Filipinos fail to recognize nowadays because they are starting to become less of a hopeful. But for Tatay Julio, being deprived in life is not a reason to break into pieces, because at the end of the day, one’s hope for tomorrow and faith to God will fashion a person to become whole.

So what does it takes to become a hero? It is always a pure heart to live life in a meaningful way, even if it just to carry heavy-loaded baggages and spending twelve hours at work to sustain ten little heads back home.