Thanks to the Inquirer

First and foremost, I am expressing my deepest and wholehearted gratitude to all the officials and employees of the Inquirer.

On March 19, 2013 (“Ex-teacher battling prostate cancer, diabetes” by Santiago R. Alcantara), the Inquirer ran a short notice about my condition and need for help. Beyond my expectation, many kind-hearted Filipinos responded to that piece by extending financial assistance. One of them was Orlando Magdaraog, chief of the records section, DBP, Malacañang, Manila.

If not for the Inquirer, I could not have raised enough money to pay for surgery to remove my prostate cancer.

After my story appeared in the Inquirer, many people got in touch with us for various reasons. Some of them tried to make me understand my sickness. One lady told me to take boiled “luyang dilaw” regularly, which I did. Now I am on the road to recovery though suffering from diabetes and needing to take insulin every day.

My main purpose in writing this letter is to express my endless gratitude to the Inquirer, to senior editor Juan V. Sarmiento Jr. and to Alcantara (my provincemates from Catanduanes), and to all the officials and employees of the Inquirer.

—JUAN VALEZA MENDOZA,
Barangay Molino, Bacoor City, Cavite