Meliton Garcia, Unsung U.P. Hero

It's stories like those of Meliton Garcia, the retired University of the Philippines janitor who received only 92 centavos for his retirement pay after 40 years of service that makes my day.

Nikko Dizon's front-page story in today's issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer was based on an email account of Mike Rivera, a UP graduate whose future was made possible by the heroism of men like Mang Meliton. It was heartbreaking to read how the UP HR Department had been so insensitive of his request for an explanation of the 501 days of sick leave he had allegedly incurred over his 41 years of service at the U.P. Mang Meliton whose years of dedicated service to the university had earned him 12 commendation letters says that he had also written the Civil Service Commission to ask for assistance but got none from that agency either. So sad and frustrating!

When you think about it, it's people like Mang Meliton who make the lives of students and teachers better on campus. And now, even as a retiree, Mang Meliton continues to tend his little herb garden on the UP Campus, sans compensation. What an inspiring story, a shining example of what has been written in the Bible -- "Work as unto the Lord." And perhaps, owing to space constraints, the PDI article failed to include the portion in the email that wrote about how Mang Meliton continues to help make ends meet. I reprint portions of Rivera's email here...

A few weeks ago, a friend and UP Professor, Daki, told me that Mang Mel recently recorded an album which he sells to supplement his meager retirement pay, I asked another friend, Blaise, who's taking his Master's degree at UP to find out how we could contact Mang Mel...

Mang Mel is not asking for a dole out, though I know he will be thankful for any assistance you can give. So I ask those of you who also benefited from Mang Meliton's goodness or for those who simply wish to share your blessings, please do visit Mang Mel and buy his CD (P350 only) at No. 16-A, Block 1, Pook Ricarte, U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City (behind UP International House) or contact his daughter Kit V. Zamora at 0916-4058104.

In addition to getting his sick leaves finally properly accounted for, it would be wonderful if everyone whose lives Mang Meliton has touched - UP students, faculty members, his co-workers -- would help him by supporting his musical pursuits in this, the twilight of his life.