Last August 31, we bade farewell to such an everyday hero, my father, Melito Concha Salazar, who had lived a full life of 90 years. He served as municipal treasurer of Free Murcia in the war years after fleeing Bacolod City when the Japanese caught one of the members of their guerrilla spy network. After the liberation, he worked in the city government of Bacolod with Mayor Alfredo Montelibano and later joined him in his many business ventures, specifically in the Rural Bank of Bacolod, Manila Electric Company and finally Southern Negros Development Corporation, where he retired. He never told us of the other companies where he was involved. We would just discover them, from people who were on the board with him or from off the cuff remarks, like when he called my attention to a tank carrying liquefied carbon and told me he was on that company’s board. Outside his professional work, he was an active member of the Rotary Club of Bacolod, president of a credit union, a leader of the Villamonte barangay and together with Mom, instrumental in the construction of the village church. Moving to Metro Manila, he became president of the village association, joined the Lions Club of Marikina Valley (Host), upon invitation of the Ilonggo members and became president. I used to kid my fellow Rotarians that in Marikina, the Lions club was for the older folks while the Rotary club was for the younger generation and Dad belonged with the seniors’ team.

While he had helped so many in his lifetime and inspired others in his dedication to his work, Dad’s legacy lives in the core values of his children and grandchildren. My sister Lanniene & Romy, their children, Lian, Rowan & Raphy; my brother Marti & Pam and their daughter Mariella; Amy & I and our children, Maileen, Marco & wife Tina and Mike are proud heirs to Dad’s legacy. His greatest accomplishment was the strong influence he had on the family by just being himself, a simple man who loved others more than himself. As his children we learned more from what he did rather than what he said because he rarely lectured to us. The power of his decisions and actions was greater than any pronouncements.

I remember the times when Agurang Peding Montelibano entrusted him with substantial funds for the political campaigns. After the elections, he would submit an accounting of those funds and returned what was left. Others in the same situation like him had new cars or renovated houses, obviously from the unspent campaign funds, while we still had our old car and house. Dad believed that it was his obligation to ensure that the funds were spent well for the uses specified and not a single peso for himself or his family. He made us realise by his actions that more important than wealth was the trust of our fellowmen.

Many relatives thought he was wealthy because he was always there to help: In the education of their children, in hospitalization needs and even in funds for immigrating. What they did not know was that the monies came from a shallow pocket of a man who would give up spending for himself in order to help others. We learned from Dad that the needs of others who had less in life were more important than our own wants.

Dad would always be ready to provide more than adequate allowance for school but for other expenses, we had to earn them. Either you cut the grass or you help him in the bookkeeping of the many accounts he held of small and medium businesses in Bacolod. We never got to smoke because he told us that we could only do so from our own earnings. Having worked so hard to have extra money, it seemed a great waste to just let it go up in smoke. He himself began smoking at a young age of 10 from his earnings of delivering water to households. But at the age of 50, when his doctor told him it was bad for his health, he stopped smoking on the same day. He showed the discipline and self control so needed in Philippine society today.

As he lay in the coffin with the smile and serenity of eternal peace, many of his friends commented that they were reminded of how he was in life. Always the center of calm in any storm, his quiet yet persuasive demeanour made others more tolerant and accepting of differences. When one of them would badmouth another, he would just listen but never encourage them to go further. He had no enemies because he believed totally in the inherent goodness of men. When they strayed, he was confident that they would eventually return to the right path.

To us, his greatest gift was his unconditional love for Mommy. We used to kid him that he spoiled Mom but he would just smile and express his feelings by calling Mom, his "palangga" (beloved). He drove her wherever she wanted to go, ask for her dish preferences in a restaurant, wear the clothes in the style and color she chose and defer to her in many ways. We saw that his greatest satisfaction was to make Mom happy.

With Dad in the hospital on August 21, a topic of conversation was how the veterans of EDSA 1 and the youth of today may have forgotten Ninoy Aquino and what he died for. At the farewell Mass celebrating Dad’s reunion with the Lord, I promised, "Dad will forever be in our hearts." I believe that my Dad like Ninoy Aquino will be forever with us in our minds and hearts, if we practice daily the core values of honesty, integrity, hard work and service to others that they exemplified by their lives.

In today’s world, Dad may seem an anachronism, an oddity with his commitment to old fashioned values. Yet, it is everyday heroes like him that should inspire us.

Many Thanks. Our period of bereavement was greatly eased by the fervent prayers, flowers, kind words and sharing of relatives, friends, Lions and Rotarians, classmates from La Salle and UP, colleagues and business associates in many organizations especially the Manila Bulletin. The wake and burial were fitting farewells for Dad because of the personal attention of Raffy and Marichi Jose. We are greatly indebted to the La Salle Brothers for providing us a serene place for Dad’s wake and the excellent support given by their administrative staff. Maraming Salamat!