Migrant's Focus Magazine: Issue #1     Profiles #4: Teachers, Too, Learn their Lessons When asked why she came to Hong Kong, "My only dream is for my sons to finish college," says Manang Vi. "Now I am ready to go home. But no, not in blessed inactivity but to continue serving the people and the church." Vilma Sanico-Villarete, mother, a friend, church worker and leader. These are what often come to mind if people talk about Manang Vi. Manang Vi, is the eldest of two daughters. She was born on October 10, 1941, in Tubod, Iligan City in Mindanao. Manang Vi, says that her birthplace got its name from a spring (tubod), which gushes out of the mountain side and widens into a river as its refreshing cold water rushes out to the sea. She almost lost her life in the hands of her father during the height of the Japanese occupation. They had by then evacuated to Paitan, a barrio of Iligan to evade the atrocities of the Japanese. One day, a runner warned the people a Japanese foot patrol was on the way to the barrio. The people scampered and a group ran to the rocky crevices at the edge of the barrio. She was in the arms of her father, who, her mother said, was ready to stifle her, had she cried and given them away. She would have been another innocent casualty of war. An uncle took her to Cabalian, Southern Leyte for her primary education but she transferred to Dansalan (now, the Islamic City of Marawi), Lanao del Sur, to be with her family. From Second Grade onwards she stayed there until she finished her Secondary Education. She graduated from High School in 1960 from the Dansalan Junior College, a school owned by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. She had among her classmates and good friends, Muslim Maranaos. Manang Vi went to Manila for her college education. She matriculated at the University of the East for her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, which she earned in 1964. She went back to Lanao del Sur and her first teaching assignment was at the Sultan Guro Central School, in Marantao, Lanao del Sur, a predominantly Muslim community On May 1966, she tied knots with Rufo Villarete a trader. She bore him two sons, Joy Franco (1967) Rey Robert (1971). In the late sixties and early seventies, the peace and order situation of the Philippines degenerated. President Marcos eventually declared Martial Law allegedly to save the republic from anarchy. Marawi became a hotbed. It was a center for the self-determination movement of Mindanao. The Philippine government's response to this eco-political crisis was massive militarization. Thus violence begat violence. Teachers, businesspeople, professionals and prominent people of Marawi were either kidnapped or executed. Manang Vi's position in Marantao became untenable. In August 1972, she decided with her family to transfer and seek refuge in Cabalian, Southern Leyte. Rufo went back to Marawi to attend to their business and visit his sisters' families in October that year. On October 22, 1972, her husband Rufo, was killed, one of the victims of the uprising in Lanao. The economic situation of the Philippines continued to deteriorate towards the end of the Marcos dictatorship. Life was hard and was harder still for a single mother with children to feed, clothe and educate. Thinking of the future of her children, she realized that she could never send her children to college on her teacher's salary. She then decided to come to HK t work as domestic helper. She arrived on December 16, 1983 in the middle of winter. For a first-timer, it was terribly cold. Her employers were kind to her, though. On her first day off, her employer went with her and bought her winter clothes. She had a ward, a boy of six years and she'd miss her own children. Life in Hong Kong demanded from her a lot of adjustments. She served under them for a contract. She found another employer. But in the course of her employment she developed nodules in the thyroid glands. Her employer told her to see a doctor and the doctor suggested the nodules have to be surgically removed. She did not want to be operated on here in HK. She decided to go back to the Philippines to seek second opinion and to have her operation there if need be. Her employers who were both working and have two young children in school (Grades 3 and 4) terminated her from their employ. She served that household for one year and six months. Her sickness caused her undue worries and her termination only heightened her concern for the education of her sons. She went back to the Philippines in May 1987 just when the two-week rule was being implemented. Before going home though, she found a prospective employer who was willing to hire her. She had her operation and recuperation in Manila and stayed there for four months. She came back to Hong Kong on 11 September 1987. She is serving this third employer since then. She paid 4,000 pesos cash up front when she first applied for HK. Another thousand was suddenly sprang on her a day before she left for Hong Kong. "Mabuti na lang at may pocket money ako, baka hindi ako natuloy," Manang Vi reminisces. It was her determination to get the job that made her argue with the agency interviewer who was about to "fail" her in the interview. The interviewer thought a teacher would hesitate to do domestic work. As she is passionately devoted to the Philippine Independent Church (PIC), she sought the Anglican Church in Hong Kong a church with which the PIC is in intercommunion. She came to St. John's Cathedral and eventually spent her Sunday mornings as Assistant Teacher in the Sunday school. The teacher in her would not just be crowded out by her work as a domestic helper. Her dynamism spells over to wider concerns. She and other Cabalianons in Hong Kong organized in 1991 the Cabalianon Overseas Association in HK (COA-HK). She has been its president since then. Initially it was just for self-help projects. Then the group attempted to touch base with their local government for a library - reflecting Manang Vi's high value for education - they will provide the books while the local government, the building or room. The LGU wanted them instead to build the room. Needless to say, the project did not materialize. With high hopes and initiative dashed, they wanted to focus their energy inwards. For the upliftment of their members, they encouraged their members to attend Know-Your-Rights-Seminars and the like. However as a migrant workers' organization, COA-HK cannot stand idly by as migrants' and national issues affect migrant workers' lives. COA-HK became an affiliate member of the United Filipinos in HK (UNIFIL-HK) in July 1991. Manang Vi was elected Secretary of the UNIFIL for a term. Her involvement with UNIFIL-HK made her realizes that a lot of things must be done to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers and their families. "One need not wait for government to act. Indeed," she muses, "if only there would just be concerted efforts, many things could be done." Manang Vi looks forward to going home for good. With her involvements she does not want to retire idly. She keeps her options open, but certainly to continue serving the people is an option that is non-negotiable. Or always the teacher, she looks forward to working as a teacher in a church-based day-care center or a kindergarten school. That's Manang Vi.     Search our site: advance search             Back to top           1995 - 2001 (c) copyright The Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers (HK) Society e-mail: mission@migrants.net website: http://www.migrants.net