RODNEY SANTIAGO

April 3, 2019

When Malou Mallari-Panelo found out that I was needing medical attention, she contacted her nephew in-law, Rodney Santiago. She called to say that the husband of her pamangkin is the head of a scanning department in one of the hospitals in London. She gave me the name, RODNEY SANTIAGO, including his phone number. Pupuntahan daw ako after he gets out of work, past 7 pm. Nahiya naman ako kasi he is in the suburbs, a little over an hour by car. It would be a large imposition eh nakakahiya. I told her okay na ako, I went for xray na.

At past 8 pm, i received a call from the receptionist, my relative daw was calling, but when I said hello, there was a continuous busy tone. After a few minutes, Rodney messaged me saying he was in the hotel lobby. Naku, naabala ko pa sya.

Rodney pala is also from Binangonan. He’s been living in the UK for more than 12 years now. His wife is Malou’s niece.

I showed him the results of my xray. He said kung sya daw tatanungin ko, ika-cast nya ako.

Nagkwentuhan na lang kami. He thought one night at Victory House is 50 pounds. I wish, but Oyen  paid $700 for the 3 nights stay. Not expensive by London standards. We’ve booked our hotel for this weekend in another hotel and it was $350/night. We’ve stayed before at the Conrad Hotel which was more stiff, double the price, walang mura sa London.

Rodney said next time we visit, to just stay in his house. He just moved-in into a brand new 4 bedroom, 3 bath big home and he is happy to accommodate us. He showed me photos of his house, yard, kitchen, it’s big nga. The UK government loans 100k at zero interst for 5 years. After that, you can have it refinanced for another 20 – 30 years  para maliit lang daw ang monthly payments. Rodney said his monthly mortgage equals what they used to pay for rent. Ngayon, hindi na sya umuupa. Yung pang rent ay panghulog na nya sa bagong bahay nya. I could imagine his happiness every time he comes home to his house, “ahhh this is life”.

Naku yung makitulog sa ibang bahay is something that is difficult to do. Ayaw namin maka abala. We would rather stay in a hotel. I told Rodney we’ve paid our hotel stays in advance so we will just visit his beautiful house next time we come to London, which is very soon. Ayain ko si Aileen, Bong, and Edmund, sama ko rin si Marife.

I could see the happiness and pride in Rodney’s eyes while he talked about his accomplishments. Aside from his house, he recently  bought two brand new cars daw. I am so happy for him. I am proud of every Filipino who makes it good in another country. Masipag, madiskarte, maabilidad, yan si Rodney. Maawain at matulungin din sya.

Congratulations Rodney. Wishing you many more successes.

And thank you for going out of your way to check on me. Thank you for your concern. Salamat din sa tita Malou mo.