GENERAL SANTOS CITY ? The matriarch of the large Dapidran clan in General Santos City is gone.
Aleng Cristina Dapidran, grandmother of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao and whose union with the late Florencio produced eight siblings, including the eight-division world champion?s mother Dionesia, passed away passed away last Wednesday, February 18,at her ancestral home in Acharon Labangal here.
Aleng Cristina, succumbed after a long bout with pneumonia at age 92 (she would have turned 93 on July 31).
Before her demise, Lola Cristina was one of the few oldest denizens of the city.
Known as a kind-hearted and helpful lady by relatives and by those whose lives she touched when she was alive, it was from Aleng Cristina that the young Pacquiao inherited and learned those traits.
?Napakabait ng Lola namin, maawain, matulungin at napaka-madasalin,? attested Meren Dapidran-Endrena, the boxer?s cousin and one of Aleng Cristina?s some 70 grandchildren who took care of her Lola since the latter contacted her sickness.
?Sa kanya namana ni Manny ang kanyang kabaitan, pagka-matulungin sa kapuwa at pagka-madasalin,? Meren told this writer during a conversation at the St. Peter Memorial Homes where her remains lie in state.
?Not that she was playing favorite, pero tingin namin ibang mga apo nya, mas malapit si Manny sa kanya,? Meren, 46, added. ?Si manny kasi ang madalas pangaralan ni Lola na maging mabait, masunurin sa matatanda at laging magdasal, lalo ng kung may dinaranas na problema.?
?Of course, lahat naman ng mga anak at apo nya lagi niyang pinangangaralan, pero sa Manny mas madalas na kausapin tungkol sa magagandang ugaling dapat maging panuntunan sa buhay,? Meren said.
Kaya si Manny lumaki at namuhay na hindi marunong tumatanggi sa mga hiling sa kanya na kahit na sino,? she remarked. ?Kahit na nga alam niyang niloloko na siya, okay pa rin sa kanya.?
Besides Dionesia (?Mommy D?) Aleng Cristina is survived by by her other children Diosdado, Roseta Dapindran-Mantalaba, Agustin, Pacito, Bernardito and Leonila Dapindran-Baylosis.
Interment will be announced later.
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