A MAN IN BAGUIO STUDENTS LAW DISCOVERS THAT HIS STRAWBERRY JAM SELLER’S MOTHER IS NOT HIS REAL PARENT BUT A FORMER SYNDICATE WHO KIDNAPPED HIM AS A BABY TO SAVE HIM FROM A MASSACRE

The air in Baguio City is cold, especially at dawn, but Miguel’s palms are sweaty as he stares at a piece of paper in his hand.

He has lived on this earth for twenty-six years, and all that time, he has known himself as Miguel Dizon. He is the only son of Aling Rosing, a hardworking strawberry jam and taho vendor in the bustling La Trinidad market.

With the help of the small coins his mother earned from daily scrubbing, Miguel finished his law degree at a prestigious university and is now busy preparing for the upcoming Bar Examinations.

However, the official document from the Philippine Statistics Authority brings a hair-raising truth. It clearly states that no baby named Miguel Dizon was born on the exact date and place he was born.

With a very confused mind and a heavy chest, Miguel quickly returned to their small rented house near Session Road. He found Aling Rosing patiently boiling jars for her goods for tomorrow. When the old man saw his son’s serious face and the familiar paper in his hand, the color gradually drained from his face. He stopped what he was doing.

“Mom,” Miguel began, trying to suppress the tremor in his voice. “I got a copy of my birth certificate for my requirements at the Supreme Court. Why don’t I have a record anywhere? Who am I really and where am I from?”

Aling Rosing tried to look away. She made the excuse that maybe the municipality had made a mistake because she was born with the help of an old midwife in a faraway and very remote barangay. But as a wise law student, Miguel knew very well when a witness was lying.

He didn’t let his mother down. He bombarded her with questions. Finally, the old woman couldn’t bear the weight of the secret anymore. Aling Rosing fell to the floor, sobbing and repeatedly apologizing.

She slowly stood up, walked to the old cupboard, and took something from under the old chest—an old, yellowed, and faded newspaper dated twenty-six years ago. The large headline was written in black letters: “Family of a Famous Journalist, a Heartless Murderer in Pangasinan; A Child, Missing.”

“I am not your real mother, Miguel,” Aling Rosing sobbed as she knelt before the young man. “My real name is Rosa. I used to be a member of a large syndicate paid by politicians to do dirty work and murder.

Twenty-six years ago, a wealthy politician in Pangasinan, Don Vicente, ordered our group to exterminate his own son’s family. Your father was a brave journalist who had uncovered widespread corruption and murders directly funded by his own father. He was ready to make all the evidence public, so Don Vicente had him killed, along with your beautiful mother.”

Miguel gasped, almost unable to believe the horrific things he was hearing. His own grandfather was a monster who mercilessly killed his own blood and flesh just for power.

Rosing continued the dark story. “When we entered your big house, I saw you inside your crib. You were crying loudly. One of my companions was about to shoot you so that there would be no witnesses to the crime, but I couldn’t bear to see an angel die. Son, at that time, I only wanted my own baby to die because of the severe pain.

When I saw you, it was as if God had given me a second chance to be a mother. I shot my partner before he could even pull the trigger. I picked you up and ran away quickly. We hid here in Baguio, I changed our names, and I abandoned the syndicate to raise you properly.”

It was as if Miguel’s chest was being torn open over and over again. The woman in front of him was once an accomplice in the murder of his real parents, but she was also the only reason he was breathing and living today. This was the woman who burned her eyebrows making strawberry jam, sometimes didn’t eat just so she could have a school bag, and raised him with all her love.

Miguel faced the most difficult case of his entire life: judging the very mother who raised him.

Instead of calling the police to have her arrested, Miguel slowly knelt down and hugged Aling Rosing very tightly. He could feel the old man’s shoulders shaking violently.

“I forgive you, Mom,” Miguel whispered as tears fell one after another. “If it weren’t for your courage then, I wouldn’t be here today. But we must finish the fight that my real father started.”

Miguel used all his legal training to find other solid evidence against his grandfather who is still in office. With the help of the uncovered documents that Rosing had carefully hidden for many years, they filed a secret and strong case with the National Bureau of Investigation.

After several months of thorough investigation, Don Vicente and the other remaining members of the syndicate were successfully imprisoned. Miguel achieved justice for his real family, without sacrificing his love for the only mother who gave him a second life and hope.

—

The air inside the Sandiganbayan courtroom in Quezon City was hot and stuffy. It was a stark contrast to the quiet breeze of Baguio where Miguel grew up.

He now stood before the judge, not as the son of a reporter, but as a brave lawyer. Two years had passed since When he discovered the bloody truth about his real family, he successfully passed the Bar Examinations.

The first case he handled was the very fight that would destroy his character—the prosecution of his own grandfather, the influential and ruthless politician from Pangasinan, Don Vicente. On the other side, the old man sat, smiling with a sickening arrogance and seemingly without any fear in his eyes.

Next to Miguel sat quietly Aling Rosing, the female former member of the syndicate who had turned from evil to raise him with love. Miguel hoped that the trial would be in their favor since they had Rosing’s sworn statement in their hands.

But the smell of money in society was deceptive. Don Vicente’s chief lawyer stood up. In an instant, the opponent shamelessly turned the whole story upside down. They produced fake bank records and paid witnesses pointing to Rosing as the sole mastermind of the horrific massacre twenty-six years ago. ago.

“Your Honor,” Don Vicente’s lawyer loudly declared, “this woman is a terrible criminal. She herself killed my client’s son and daughter-in-law to extort money! When he couldn’t get the billions, he ran away Miguel to use as an ace against his grandfather!”

The crowd went wild. Miguel’s eyes widened when he saw a fake arrest warrant issued against Rosing in the middle of the trial. The guards were about to approach to handcuff Rosing, while Don Vicente was secretly laughing, thinking that he had bought justice.

Page: SAY – Story Around You | Original story

Miguel’s knees were weak. The justice he had worked so hard to build was slowly crumbling. He looked at Rosing who was crying but could do nothing but accept his fate.

However, before the iron could be placed in his mother’s hand, the courtroom door suddenly opened with great force. An old man in an old wheelchair was slowly pushed in. The man’s face was covered in deep scars.

As soon as Don Vicente saw the newcomer, the arrogance on his face disappeared. He stood up, trembling as if he had seen a ghost. Rosing also knew the man; he sniffed him and grabbed Miguel’s arm.

“Everyone stop!” the man shouted in a raspy voice. “I am Berting, Don Vicente’s former right-hand man! And Rosa was with me that terrible night!”

The entire court was shocked. According to Rosing’s story, he shot Berting in the chest to save Miguel. The world thought he was dead. But Berting miraculously survived and hid on an island in the Visayas for two decades to protect himself.

“Rosa shot me because I wanted to kill that baby, exactly as the devil sitting there ordered!” Berting pointed at the pale politician.

He took out a rusty but still working cassette tape from his pocket. “It has become my policy to record all the orders of greedy politicians as a guarantee of my life,” he added.

Everyone listened to the tape. Don Vicente’s voice rang out, mercilessly ordering the murder of his own son and openly demanding the head of his grandson. The hired lawyers did nothing. No fake document could deny the voice of truth that came directly from the mouth of the accused.

Don Vicente collapsed in his chair, suffering a heart attack from sheer fear. He was immediately taken to the hospital while the police guarded him. The judge dismissed all charges against Rosing.

Outside the court, Miguel hugged his mother tightly. The baby who almost died became the instrument to end his grandfather’s evil. Fate proved that no money can defeat justice brought about by courage, and the past will always be held accountable for its perpetrators.