I chose Mercy

The one assigned to clean the rooms took two days off. Maid LW cleaned our rooms instead. When I entered my bathroom, she was still there sweeping the porcelain tiles floor.

LW——–“Mam, matatapos na po ako”.
Omb——“Okay lang”.
Omb——“Kumusta ang asawa mo?”

She started crying. Oh oh, why on earth did I ask about her husband? Bad mistake.

Omb——“Oh, kahit anong sakit, tanggapin mo na lang, kalimutan mo na sya”.

Humirit na naman ako. I was just guessing that she hated him.

LW——-“Pasensya na mam, kahit matagal na, pag naaalala ko pa rin hindi ko maiwasan na maluha”. “Ayokong malaman nya na umiiyak pa ako, baka isipin hindi pa ako maka- move on.

Omb——“Natural lang yun. Bakit ano’ng nangyari?”

Another mistake of mine. I opened a can of worms. She needed someone to listen to her sama ng loob.

What her husband did was something we’ve heard of many times, a situation we’ve seen on tv many times. Same life story, same plot, different characters.

Here’s her story:

She was introduced by her neighbor to this dashing guy also in his 20s.
Their boyfriend- girlfriend relationship was on and off. Then finally afer four years, they decided it’s about time that they live together, set-up a house and bumuo ng pamilya like a true married couple but without a marriage contract.

They loved each other and her husband was very caring to her and to their two children. He decided to work abroad to earn more money to sustain their two children’s education.

Month after month, he sent money enough for his family’s needs. Like a loving and dutiful husband and father, he never failed to call them on the phone, to check how they’re doing, send letters, pictures, taped messages. He was always professing his love for his family and his words were always re-assuring that he’s working for their best interest. He and his common-law wife dream of seeing their children finish college, build a nice house, and grow old together.

After two years, his letters stopped coming. The money he sent regularly became lesser in amount and irregularly. He stopped calling his family on the phone. She felt the big change but she ignored this and focused on rearing her two children.
She was only able to speak to him on the phone if she’s the one calling. He never called her unlike he used to. And whenever she speaks to him, he’s so different. He has become so brash and indifferent. He’s full of alibis as to why he only sent P3,000, why he didn’t send money last month, etc. Kesyo meron daw ka-trabaho who borrowed money from him. His employer reduced his salary, he lost his wallet, he got sick for a long time so his absences were deducted from his pay, etcetera etcetera.

She knew in her heart that he’s lying. Still, she absorbed all the pain and blocked her suspicions, and just focused on the welfare of her children.

One day, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or OWWA officers invited the spouses of the OFW’s in their hometown to a meeting. OWWA is the government institution that protects and promotes the welfare of member OFWs. Their constitutional mandate is to guarantee the protection of the rights of OFWs and the promotion of their interests and well being.

She gladly attended the meeting. Among the hundreds who attended, she was the only one whose husband worked for four straight years without coming home for a visit. Because according to him, sayang ang pamasahe. Instead of buying a plane ticket, he would just send the money to his family.

The data gathered by OWWA says differently. They have a record of her husband leaving Dubai for a short visit to Taiwan. More news came, from the wives of his co-workers. The husband went to Taiwan to be with a Filipina domestic helper he met on Facebook. She is married and her husband lives in Taguig. But the husband is not aware of her romantic relationship with the husband of LW.

LW was in utter shock. Although she already had an inkling, the confirmation that he indeed is involved with another woman was devastating.

She immediately called him. Confronted by her discovery, the only thing he could say was “Napakatanga mo naman”. “Ang tanga-tanga mo talaga para maniwala ka dyan sa OWWA”. His parting words were “Ang tanga mo talaga, Gaga!”.

LW told him she has no reason to doubt OWWA’s record of him going to Taiwan.

The only thing she asked from him was to continue supporting their two children so they could finish college. That was the last time she heard from him.

Until one day, He called. He said he’s back and he’s in Manila. He asked her to come see him. They checked in at a hotel for three nights. On the third day, the hotel phone rang, when LW answered the phone, it was a woman looking for her husband. LW sensed this could be Mercy, the other woman. She asked her “Ano ba talaga ang pakay mo sa asawa ko, eh meron kang sarili mong asawa?”. Mercy angrily answered “Bakit hindi mo tanungin yang asawa mo!” Then she hang up the phone. LW tried to compose herself but she was tormented. Again, she kept telling herself to absorb the pain for the sake of her children. Like a mantra, she kept repeating in her mind “para sa mga anak ko na lang. para sa kanila, para sa kanila”.

They checked out of the hotel. She and her husband took a cab going to the airport, NAIA I. Just before her husband entered the airport gate, he said to her “Pinipili ko si Mercy (I chose Mercy)”. After saying that, her husband left. LW was shattered. She couldn’t believe what he just said. The days and nights that followed were all a blur. She cried for months. What made things even more torturous was being pregnant to their third child. Her 3 days honeymoon with him bore them a child. Now, she has three children to feed and care for.
Her two older kids are in school in the province and are taken cared of by her sister. Her youngest is with her other sister. The latest news she heard about him was that he still works abroad. His relationship with Mercy was cut short because her husband discovered about the relationship. He is now married to a widow with five children.