One thing that I noticed about the works of Jerry Gracio, Rene Villanueva, Ma.

Cristina

Pantoja-Hidalgo, and Gutierrez Mangansakan II are how each author narrates personal stories

drawn from their memories. These memoirs offer a glimpse of who they are and what they have

been through, reflecting their identities, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. The way they

narrate their stories shares a notable similarity in that they are written with meticulous attention

to detail. Each author vividly describes seemingly small moments, which not only enrich the

narrative but also lend greater emotional depth and color to their experiences. These subtle

details help the readers immerse themselves in the authors' worlds, transforming personal

memories into something universally relatable.

Before delving deeper into my overall reflection on the essays, I would like to discuss my

realizations and learnings first, as well as provide a brief background for each of the essays. First

is Ma. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo work entitled “Para Akong Namatayan”. Upon reading the title,

it seems that the storyline will be about something tragic that would make Cristina feel like

someone close to her died. The story thus proves this when she shares a moment in her life

where she was awoken by the tragic news that their FC had caught on fire. At first, I was

confused as to what FC is, as it was not mentioned anywhere in the essay. But with some context

clues, it would seem like it is a college or university building in UP. Moreover, the essay shows

how devastated Cristina was because of the tragedy. She reminisced and recalled the items which

she had lost due to the fire. Her office was depicted as a precious room filled with a lot of

memories given by special people in her life. She described these items as priceless. Because of

this, she felt that someone important had died. I resonate with Cristina’s story as losing things

that hold significant memories that will never be replaced again is difficult especially since there
will come a time when you will forget those memories because there is nothing to remember

them with.

Next is Rene Villanueva’s “Radyo”. This memoir revolves around an object that signifies

a lot about Rene’s childhood, which is the radio. He depicted the radio as an important thing that

keeps their life going. This made them show their neighbors that they were not struggling

financially. Because owning a radio at that time was like owning a high-end cell phone.

However, this didn’t successfully hide the fact that they didn’t have any more money. He was

then asked by his mother to bring the radio to the pawn shop in exchange for 50 pesos so they

could have food to eat. In the first paragraph of the essay, he mentioned the impressions that

were told to him by other people as rude and unfriendly and that, in reality, he is actually shy and

not confident with himself. This was actually shown when he was about to pawn the radio. He

was embarrassed as he would be seen by their neighbors pawning their radio, which they value

the most. The story also shows the typical Filipino neighborhood where there are a lot of marites

and how gossips travel fast in a community.

In Jerry Gracio’s “Kuwento” and “Pitbull”, he shares the essence of stories in molding a

relationship. He also shares their own story of how he fell in love with Pitbull. In “Kuwento”, he

emphasized that with the stories of another person, you will learn more about them and

eventually fall in love with them. He also shared that he fell in love with Pitbull because of his

story, where he escaped from an abusive household. Unfortunate as it may seem, this is a sad

reality for some Filipinos, where when children don’t listen to their parents, they resort to

violence. Jerry felt hurt and empathized with the tragic upbringing of Pitbull’s story. However,
by the end of the “Kuwento,” I was perplexed with how Pitbull handled Jerry when they had an

argument, and it seemed like he was gaslighting him with his story just to not make him leave.

This is also another power a story holds. It makes us feel guilty of doing something bad to

another person when we hear that they had a hard time before in their life. Continuing in his

other work, “Pitbull”, he shares the background of their love story. He mentioned that Pitbull or

Reymond Bernabe Rena was not a handsome man and that his mother and sibling did not

approve of him. However, this did not hold him from fighting for him. He also shared that at the

beginning of their relationship, Pitbull was very clingy to him which made him change his

lifestyle where he no longer goes out and goes home late. He felt guilty of having Pitbull wait for

him just to eat and fall asleep. This situation of theirs made his friend annoyed at Pitbull, so he

depicted Pitbull as a dog—always waiting for his owner and always on guard—hence the name

Pitbull. He also shared some situations where they had an argument, Pitbull would always get

drunk and there was also a time where they had a heated argument where Jerry accidentally

called him Pitbull. This made Pitbull run away from him but not long he came back and made

amends with Jerry eventually accepting his name Pitbull. For me, reading this made me realize

how a red flag of a person Pitbull is because of how he treats Jerry. But knowing his story of how

he was abused by his family, it was made clear where this personality comes from.

Lastly, in “Salam! Motherland” by Guiterrez Mangansakan II, the author talked about his

childhood memories in Pagalungan, Maguindanao. He shared the memories he had in his

motherland, which helped shape who he is today. The story also depicts their family’s

nationalism and eagerness to help the Moro people, sharing their wealth with other people. He

also shared their culture and beliefs in Maguindanao. After becoming a journalist and filmmaker,
he returned to his homeland. He was enveloped by the nostalgic smell, sound, and scenery,

which made him uncomfortable as he was not used to it anymore. However, by visiting and

talking to his grandmother he then realized that he was indeed back home. His journey of

reminiscing in his homeland didn’t end with just a nostalgic experience but an all-out war by the

president against MILF. His family helped their people in evacuating to their red house. He then

took footage of the war to preserve these as memories. This essay represents the Filipinos who

are currently experiencing war due to cultural differences and beliefs. It shows the reality that

most Filipinos ignore. It shows that even with cultural differences, they are still human, they are

still Filipinos.

Among the four essays, I would mostly relate to Cristina’s “Para Akong Namatayan”

because, as someone who places immense sentimental value on personal belongings, the essay

resonated deeply with me. Like Pantoja-Hidalgo’s sense of loss, I often find it difficult to let go

of items that carry personal significance. When these items are lost, especially through a tragic

accident or theft, it feels like more than just the loss of an object—it feels as though a piece of

my past, or even a connection to someone important, has been taken away. This reflection

extends to a broader understanding of how we cope with loss and how memories are sometimes

more painful to lose than the items themselves. Our attachments to things might seem trivial to

others, but they serve as anchors to our past, helping us remember the people, experiences, and

places that have made us who we are.