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Family Tragedy

In 1970, a very tragic event happened when their youngest son Ismael passed away. Ismael was riding on his scooter on Arlegue road in Manila when a woman suddenly crossed the street. Mily (Ismael’s nickname) swerved to avoid hitting the woman but hit her anyway – although slightly. The scooter crashed and Mily hit his unprotected head on the pavement. He hastily got up and hailed a taxi and brought the woman to the hospital for treatment. Mily had a throbbing headache but paid no attention to it since he had no sign of a head wound or a bruise. On days that followed, he would take aspirin pills for his headache but totally underestimated the gravity of his condition.

A week after the accident, while washing his face in the sink he fell to the floor unconscious. He was rushed to Manila Sanitarium Hospital, but it was too late. He succumbed to severe hemorrhage. It was so painful for the entire family, especially to the parents Nicanor and Petra. They tried to console themselves by going to Baguio for a vacation but to no avail. They finally found consolation and peace through their faith in God and in their belief that there would be a final reunion with Ismael in heaven with the other loved ones who had gone before him.

Nicanor passed away on January 10, 1970, four months short of 80 years of age. His body lied for viewing in their home in Inicbulan for four days while waiting for the grand daughter Ludivine to arrive from America to attend the funeral. A service was held at their church before bringing his body to Bauan town hall.

The town council eulogized him and showered him with honor and praises for his many years of service to the municipality of Bauan. Many people came from all over to pay their respects. His coffin was draped with the Philippine flag and his hearse was slowly driven to the municipal cemetery accompanied by thousands of relatives, friends, and sympathizers. The funeral stretched so long that one could not see from one end to the other. His body was finally laid to rest amidst honors and tears. They even named the street to Inicbulan as Nicanor C. Marasigan Street.

It was Mayor Ciriaco Ingco, who was his close friend, who enticed Nicanor to run for council during the election of November 1949. He did run and won by the largest margin over the second-place councilor. He was always number one in the ballot since and remained number one in the hearts of many. In the council, he became a strong fiscalizer and exponent of balancing the municipal budget. He paid attention to bringing progress to remote barrios long neglected by the past administration. One of his pet projects was to provide electricity to the barrios including Inicbulan, Rizal and Durungao.

When the electric lights finally illuminated those barrios, those lights became symbolic of Nicanor’s dream coming true – to have improved the barrios and have a school that would continue to brighten the minds of the people he loved to serve.

By: Petra E. Marasigan (written in Tagalog, translated into English by Eliodoro M. Marasigan, Jr.)

Sept. 19, 1982  – San Leandro, California, USA

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Postscripts:

1. Petra Marasigan passed away on September 24, 1984 – two years after she finished writing the Nicanor Marasigan’s biography.
2. Eliodoro E. Marasigan, Sr. passed away on August 2, 1998 – almost a year after the death of his wife Rosario Marquez Marasigan who passed away on August 21, 1997.
3. In 1995, Ludivine Marasigan Gamo, eldest daughter of Eliodoro, donated to the school the piece of land she inherited from her grand uncle Jose Marasigan on which the present high school basketball court exists.
4. In 2003 the children of Eliodoro established the EEMF, Inc. (Eliodoro E. Marasigan Foundation, Inc.) for the following purposes:

1. To perpetuate the legacy of Nicanor C. Marasigan and son Eliodoro E. Marasigan, who in their lifetime served the people of Inicbulan with unsurpassed dedication to help those in need.
2. To remind the people of Inicbulan who Nicanor C. Marasigan and son Eliodoro E. Marasigan were; how they lived their lives; and how this foundation will perpetuate that legacy starting with humanitarian programs to the extent of broader public services to the people of Inicbulan.