Some of you who follow me on Instagram may have found my mugshot post a bit too much. I thought long & hard before I overshared. But my desire to inspire strength, hope & courage that can only be obtained through the grace of Jesus Christ outweighed my indignity over having undertaken a horrific experience. Close your eyes & just imagine your own elderly parent going through the exact ordeal. That was how I felt, magnify it by 100 because it was so real & not just a figment of my imagination. In line with us getting their own mugshots were handcuffed prostitutes, thieves, murderers. We DID NOT belong to these group of people, most certainly not my 85 year old mother.

The ONLY FEMALE ASIAN in her medical residency program at Jamaica Hospital in New York, my mom constantly struggled to make the most of a difficult situation & always came out shining. She is truly a fighter & always diligent in all her undertakings. What she has now, she worked hard for. Nothing was ever handed to her on a silver platter.

A union of convenience & smokescreen for one, true love & hopeless devotion for the other. All her life, she was never dealt with a fair card. With her earnings abroad, she came home, partnered with my dad & they started building their empire. Together. So whatever she has, whatever she owns, she did not get by just sitting down & waiting for alms from my Dad. On the contrary, she always saved him from debt.

On November 20, 2015 mom suffered a massive stroke from all the stress that life has dealt her. Laboratory report identified it as an acute intracranial hemorrhage in the right occipital lobe extending into the right subarachnoid spaces. If you have been reading my blog for quite some time now, you may have followed my story on how she miraculously recovered the use of her legs through conscientious & tiring physical therapy session, even when the Doctors gave her a slim chance of recovery. Mom is really a survivor.

Widowed after 19 years of an unhappy & disruptive marriage, she rose above & made a life for us. On her own, with no help from anyone, least of all her in-laws.

Of course we had meetings. We sent you annual notices at the address you provided & as indicated in the GIS. It wasn’t our fault that you never showed up. And with our majority share, frankly put, we outrank you in any & every decision.

Just when I thought we could finally put everything behind us, by your own hands, you have proven my mother right. That you are not to be trusted.

Not only did you claim your share, but you also tricked us into giving you your sister’s share on the pretense that you had a Power of Attorney to act on her behalf.

You invited us to a Chinese restaurant in Binondo, paid the bill for dinner, then calmly had me re-write the check intended for your sister to encash without her knowledge & consent. Now I don’t know if this isn’t the lowest of the low. Are you really that hard up on cash? Your working 4 children -3 of them abroad, not sending you any? You have always been the most beautiful among the 5 sisters, this just shows anyone can be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

But in spite of everything, do you know what scares me the most? That your blood runs through my veins. That I share the same genes. That I could be the same exact monster. A monster who not only betrays her brother and her sister for money, but also exploits her niece & turns the wheel of truth, influencing even the Notary Public into saying we  forged his signature on all the documents. Now that’s what you call a #BAMF If I weren’t so distraught I’d actually admire you for your cunningness.

And what pains me the most is the fact kami na ang niloko, kami na yung naperwisyo, kami pa ang isinakripisyo. Where is justice in all this? Pera-pera nalang ba talaga sa mundo? My youngest daughter wants to be a lawyer. She doesn’t understand why her normally supportive mom is so against her career decision. It’s because I want to spare her the heartache & disappointment that the corrupt judicial system brings. Ours is not a fair world Bae. You are sure to be frustrated along the way because what is true, what is right, what is fair, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a guaranteed win. Justice DOES NOT always prevail. At least if you’re a medical doctor, your one & only intercessor is Jesus Christ who is just & fair. No corruption involved & you get to save lives, God willing. Please consider your options carefully.

As for our broker, you have proven that once the boat is sinking, it’s every man for himself. I understand. It’s just a bitter pill to swallow. All evidences of a fair transaction are here, done right in your own real estate office, notarized by your own team of accredited lawyers. But in spite of your Christian views & outlook -and being a church servant, you refuse to help a sister in Christ. You would rather let darkness win over light because you’d rather not get involved.

What sorcery is this? We never received any prior notices and here we are, a warrant of arrest has already been issued out of the blue and the FIRST HEARING set on April 5, 2017. To determine if we are guilty or not guilty. While our lawyer acted quickly & requested for a motion for investigation, it was denied forcefully by the presiding judge. Why? Why is this case even being given merit?

Perjury. You’re saying WE LIED. The big question: Were there actual board meetings? Yes. Who is to say there were or there weren’t except the people who were actually there. And we, the MAJORITY of the shareholders, say there were in fact meetings. And yet, we are being persecuted. A waste of taxpayers money, wouldn’t you agree? Shouldn’t the government concentrate on more trivial affairs?

Why persecute us? Because you were not contented with the money you received for the shares of stocks my dad ONLY put under your name for the sake of formality, while his children were still minors & couldn’t take seats in the board. Because you want more money, even going after personal properties under our name. You insist on getting a chunk of what is rightfully ours in spite of numerous explanations & evidences presented to you that the property is entirely separate from the corporation. It seems that you’re so hungry for it, did the money we give you run out already?

Forgiveness is a choice. You can be kind to yourself & choose peace over a lifetime of anger, or you can stay in the dark & let your vexation fester, giving the devil a foothold in your life. I choose to see the light in Jesus Christ. <3

Due to insistent public demand, my mugshot. 😛 Might as well, coz you can never put a good woman down. In a year, I’ll look back at this photo, laugh & shrug -maybe even make it my profile picture on Facebook hehe. Because I WILL rise above. In case you’re curious, I paid 6k/count for my 11 counts of Perjury, plus a non-refundable court fee of 500 pesos/count. Ganyan talaga ang buhay, you win some, you lose some. In fair, on fleek ang kilay ko diba? Saka taray ng blush-on!

On the bright side, Ate came home with pasalubong. She knows my language of love, lol. Nothing lifts my sagging spirit faster than a yummy food basket. Hooray for Ice cream & onion rings. And just like that, she has turned my frown upside down. Thank you my darling for guessing what I need before I even know it. These really hit the spot. And thank you too for your unwavering support & for always reminding me who to live for. #family

When you can’t forgive someone, pray for them. It may or may not change them, but it will always change YOU.