I told you about what he did but you don’t know how he looks.
This is Mike Manlungat (thanks, Alex, for taking the photo), the one I wrote about in my op-ed column last week. Mike and his family were at our house last Sunday to pick up the old clothes we gathered for the typhoon victims. They live in the adjacent subdivision but we hadn’t seen each other for months. Well, unless you count the times that he and Speedy met for business-related matters.
Before I wrote the Mike and Ben column, I talked to Mike over the phone to get it from the horses’ mouth, so to speak. But there’s nothing like an unhurried talk to get all the details out. There were so many things that I wished I could have included in the column but was not able to because no one mentioned them. Until last Sunday.
Like what details? Let’s see…
1. The part about the two senior citizens. There were two elderly people who were near the school service when Mike went to pick up the stranded kids. They initially sought his help to get them to higher grounds, and Mike was going to, but when they saw how many youngsters Mike had to bring to safety, they told him to simply go ahead and save the kids.
“Matanda na kami, hijo, ‘yang mga bata na lang ang tulungan mo (We’re old, son, just help the kids).”
That really made my hackles rise. No one knows what happened to the two elderly people, if they ever made it to safety.
2. The part about the disgusting things floating in the water. During the difficult trek back from the stranded vehicle to Sta. Lucia Mall, they came across poop, dead rats and cockroaches. The water reached Mike’s chest and the kids were shorter than him so the surface of the water was much nearer the kids’ faces. They were screaming in disgust and that didn’t make the trek easier for everyone.
3. The part about spending the night at the top level of the parking lot of the mall and NOT inside the mall building because the guard wouldn’t let them in.
4. The part about searching for food the following morning and the long, long queues in front of the food stalls beside the building. And all cooked food getting bought up so fast.
5. The part about food vendors selling hard-boiled eggs at 25 pesos per piece and people were buying without objections because food was scarce.
We talked for more than two hours so you can imagine that there were more stories than those five. But those are the highlights.
I salute you Mr. Mike.
Sobra naman yong vendor na nag tinda ng egg di na naawa sa mga tao.
Medyo ok lang yong guard kc his just performing his duty…baka nga naman matangal siya sa work if papasukin niya sa loob ng mall mga tao.
you can’t really say.. hindi niya rin mailalaga yung itlog ng ganun kadali. think about whatever happened that day.
I think about the people who GAVE THE ORDERS not to let people in despite the situation.
way to go, mike. we salute people like you. thanks for sharing the story, sassy.
Hats of to Mike. All these stories are breaking my heart. Thanks for sharing Connie.
His face matches his good deeds! Mukha pa lang, mukhang mabait na si Mike! So here we can say, he is good, inside and outside.
On behalf of all that he had helped— a big thank you to Mike!
Mukha bang mabait? Naku, pag narinig nyo jokes nyan… naku LOL Hi Mike! hehehe
Hehehe— he is human, after all
You are our hero Mike…Thanks so much for your kind deed.
God bless!
Thanks to Mike for saving the kids.
I’m just wondering if we are relatives. Mike has the same family name as my mom, though hers is spelled Manlongat. But if Beth Manlongat (a former teenage actress in the 70s) is Mike’s relative, then we are, indeed, related.
Could you please find it out for me, Connie? The Manlongats (or Manlungats) are very rare breed. hehehe.
I will. Facebook muna ako hehehe
I have only one name to call that person who gave orders na wag papasukin mga stranded, and it shouldn’t be said here.
ordinary people doing extra ordinary things.
Galing mo talaga SB! Yabahhh!!!
Now this is a real hero! What makes Mike Manlungat truly inspiring is his humility and lack of attention whoring. We should give credit where it is deserved.
Kinda makes those grandstanding rich kids who Twittered and Facedbooked their “heroic deeds” up their asses look weak. So you mean to tell me, during the crisis, these conyo-kids actually had the time to take 500 pictures of the goods they bought, loading it in their cars, and giving it to the needy–and post it in Facebook! Sorry but I have to question their motives and I know a lot of people are too!
I KNOW exactly what you mean. And the stupidity of those falling for the ploy. My goodness. Re-tweeting unverified information is heroic? They didn’t even get their feet wet and they’re being made out as heroes? My foot.
Heroic save indeed. Really good thing that everyone survived. But just, what if, one of the kids drowned? Who will the kid’s parents blame?
I don’t see your logic in thinking that the parents are in any position to blame anyone except themselves for allowing their kids to go out despite the rains.
salamat kay mang mike…. isa siyang magandang halimbawa sa mga batang sinagip nyasa baha..
Bayani talaga yang si Kuya Mike.
I was actually there with him sa Sta Lucia when that happened. Uber-unselfish act talaga.
Hats off to Mike. May your tribe increase.