Remembering My Honest Ilonggo Friend Nestor
(By DinggolAranetaDivinagracia- IlonggoNationMovement)
"Remembering my very good friend Nestor Ortiz Sulpico. A tribute to his honesty that made our OFWs proud being Filipinos." --dinggol.d~~~
Honest Filipino cabbie inspires, even after death
By Nestor P. Burgos Jr. (Philippine Daily Inquirer - Posted date: May 05, 2008)
ILOILO CITY – Thrust into international fame four years ago, Nestor Sulpico then said: “I could not ask for more. And even if I die, I feel that I have become a role model for the younger generations.”The Filipino migrant, who was hailed as “New York’s most honest taxi driver,” was laid to rest on Saturday at the Iloilo Memorial Park in Jaro District with tributes coming from family and friends both here and in the Big Apple.
In July 2004, the unassuming cabbie made headlines and was even featured on the widely popular “Oprah” television show after he returned $75,000 worth of black pearls left by a passenger in his taxi.
Sulpico, 51, died of cancer of the colon on April 24, four months after returning quietly to the Philippines and four months away from finishing his studies at the Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing in New York.
Elder sister Eva Sulpico-Navarro said her brother remained “an inspiring example” of the values taught them by their parents. She recalled that Nestor had always explained his noble deed in NYC by simply saying: “I was raised to be honest.”
Eva said she hoped that her brother’s “guiding words” would somehow touch many others, “especially [those] in public service.”
Sulpico’s friends and classmates at Phillips Beth sent flowers and words of comfort to the grieving family.
In an e-mail to the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net), Luanne Kwon, one of Sulpico’s closest friends at the school, said:
“We are in a highly competitive nursing program, and tensions always run high. But Nestor was one of the few who could lighten up any situation. He could make you laugh at a drop of a hat, and he was wise when you least expected it.”
Humble hero
His fame never went to his head, Kwon noted. “Nestor was so humble about being a hero. He didn’t broadcast it for everyone to know.
“He was given a special certificate by [New York City] Mayor Michael Bloomberg and even guest-starred on Oprah-that doesn’t happen to just anyone! But Nestor was so low-key about it. I think he thought of himself as just an ordinary guy who did the right thing.”
For another classmate, Mario Alvarado, “[Nestor] may not have been the youngest in school but he had a young-at-heart way of living his life.” “
Nestor in my eyes was a young man with the experiences, ethics, and caring of an adult we can all look up to. He will be missed and will be remembered for a lifetime,” Alvarado said.
Sulpico enrolled in the nursing school shortly after gaining fame for his honesty. He received a scholarship but continued to drive a taxi courtesy of a franchise given to him by Mayor Bloomberg.
Known for being quite secretive, Sulpico apparently kept his affliction from most of his family, friends, and classmates. Eva said only their 88-year-old mother Elena was aware of the gravity of his condition.
“He always kept silent about his problems because he didn’t want to be a bother to anyone,” Eva said.
Childhood friend Larry Ang said Sulpico had always given him a call from the United States to announce his homecoming. But this time around, Ang said, he and their other friends were unaware that Nestor arrived in December last year and was therefore shocked to learn about his death.
Another close buddy, Jing Espinosa, said he later found out that Sulpico had asked his family not to tell his friends about his return.
Separated from his wife, Sulpico had plans to take his 20-year-old daughter Angel with him to the United States once he became a nurse, the Inquirer learned.
“He knew the seriousness of his condition and he came home to die beside his family and especially his daughter,” Ang said.
“He always talked and worried about his daughter and wanted a bright future for her.”
Kwon said that just before Sulpico went home, the latter was behaving differently but those close to him could not figure out why.
“To know that he was burdened by the knowledge that he had cancer and that he kept it to himself, telling no one, deeply saddens me to the core,” Kwon further wrote, adding:
“I don’t care what anyone says, he was not ready to go. It wasn’t his time to go, period.
“We studied a lot together, and I know how damn hard he worked. Being a nurse was his dream. So, I can’t be consoled by telling myself he’s in a better place, because he will never see the achievement of all his hard work.”
Leganes native
Sulpico’s family originally hailed from Cagamutan village in Leganes town, 11 kilometers north of Iloilo City. His late father Loreto Sr. was a former municipal councilor.
The sixth of seven siblings, Nestor finished his elementary education at the Cagamutan Elementary School in Leganes and his high school at the Central Philippine University.
He took up Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and later transferred to the Western Institute of Technology in Iloilo City where he earned a degree in business administration.
He left for the United States in 1990 and initially took on various contractual jobs from installing computer networks to hauling boxes at United Parcel Service.
Sulpico had barely logged in a month driving an NYC taxicab when fate took him on an unexpected ride: On July 15, 2004, he found a backpack containing black pearls left in the vehicle by hedge-fund manager Lawrence Policastro.
Integrity award
The driver was able to contact Policastro on the mobile phone that was also found in the backpack.
In deep gratitude, the business executive raised at least $5,000 to help the Filipino driver finish his nursing studies. Mayor Bloomberg also gave Sulpico an “integrity award” and a symbolic key to the city.
In August 2004, Sulpico returned to a hero’s welcome in Iloilo. The Senate passed a resolution commending his honesty, while Malacañang awarded him P100,000 in cash and a citation from President Macapagal-Arroyo.
In an interview then, Sulpico said returning the pearls was one of the easiest decisions he had ever made in his life. “I believe that honesty is the most important virtue which serves as a foundation of all other virtues.”
Sulpico admitted, though, that he entertained thoughts of how his life could easily change had he kept the precious find to himself, considering that he started out in New York “roaming [the city], shivering in the snow, desperately looking for a job.”
In seeing her beloved son buried on Saturday, Elena was certain Nestor had no regrets whatsoever.
“He lived and died with the virtues that I taught them since they were children. Nothing changed him even after he became famous,” Elena said.
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