What I Remember of my Father

My father is Agaton Francia y Angeles. He worked as a capataz for the Bureau of Public Highways, the only one then in his family to have a government position. He usually left for work on his bicycle.

He used to bring home the “payroll” of camineros (road workers) under him and prepare it at home. I fancied how he signed his name.

He wore a kind of helmet known as bastipol. His uniform was khaki. People say that when I was young, I was a likeness of Tatang. Tatang chewed betel nuts and betel leaves-- bunga and ikmo.

Tatang had a .22 caliber rifle and he used to go hunting and bring home birds for meat. Tatang gambled and liked to play cards called kuajo.

Whenever there was a special event in town like a circus, sarsuelas, or moro-moro, he would buy tickets for all of us and take us all to enjoy such events.

Tatang was a very strict disciplinarian and he would not hesitate to use his leather belt on Fabian and me. Many times we cried out loud and suffered from welts caused by the belt.

Whenever anyone of us got sick, he would bring home fruits like kahel, sunkist oranges, apples, bananas, and other sweets.

His favorite among his children was, of course, the youngest – Adela.

He saw to it that we went to school. For that matter, he took pride that he was able to send Ateng to the Philippine Normal College – then known as the Philippine Normal School in Manila.

Tatang could speak Ilocano, Pangasinense, Pampango, a little Spanish, and passing English relevant to his position. He was very proud when he passed a Civil Service Examination.

Tatang never had time to play with us or chat with us lengthily or to have us help him in housework. Maybe we were very young then to be of help to him. I used to watch him repair his bicycle at home.

Father was very versatile in dealing with people. For what he earned, he managed to provide us with a home, food, and clothing. Though we were poor, we never went hungry.

Father was the favorite of his relatives. His sister, Kakang Polonia; brothers: Kakang Filo, Kakang Facio and their children took pride in Tatang because perhaps he was the only one with a government position, although only as a capataz.

I don’t remember Tatang getting sick except when he suffered an injury in the sole of his right foot which got infected and was attended to by a doctor. Tatang was hospitalized and died on 20 June 1940.

They said Tatang had stepped on a piece of pointed and rusty iron or some kind of thorn while taking a bath in a beach in Manila during a visit to Ateng while she was schooling at the Philippine Normal School. What happened after that, they said, was Tatang never minded the injury and still wore his shoes. When he reached Cabanatuan after that trip to Manila, he could hardly walk. He stayed home for treatment. Unfortunately, there were no antibiotics then.

When he was hospitalized at the Nueva Ecija Provincial Hospital, Inang took care of him, but he did not improve and was brought home.

During his final days, he could not recall our faces or names and the only person he responded to was Inang. When he died on the night of June 20, we all cried. Ateng came home from Manila for the burial.

He was buried in the lot for “Veteranos de la Revolucion” as he was a member of the Katipuneros. Maybe he was nearly 58 years when he died, or maybe younger.