I first met Lando in 1989 when I transferred to Cebu because of work. I took a job as a research assistant for the Cebu office of the Center for Research and Communication. Lando was more than 6 months ahead of me in the office. He finished high school that year in Our Lady Academy in Ronda, and CRC took him in as messenger/utility person. Since I was new in Cebu, he taught me the jeepney routes, never mind if I had a street map with the jeepney routes, among other things. Nothing beats experience. Lando loved to sing, and Saturday afternoons, while he cleaned the office, he would sing-along karaoke-style.

The following year, I joined CITE, but I still had some contact with him. After a couple of years, he left for Davao, to work for an NGO there in a PCSO-funded project. The NGO ran the Apo Study Center, an apostolic undertaking of Opus Dei. Lando served as caretaker of the center (up to the day he died!).

When the project ended, he was set to come back to Cebu, but Boyet asked him to stay on and work for him. In that way, he can still serve as caretaker of the center, which we could only manage to use for a few days every fortnight (trips from Cebu had to be made as the work in Davao was not stable enough to spend more days).

In 1998, I started coming over to Davao to help in the activities of the center. Lando was a big help. When Boyet and Elaine gave the center a microwave oven, I started to experiment on cooking. Lando would join me for lunch, whenever he could. Whenever he had the time (as he was still working for Boyet), and not whenever he could stand my cooking. Lando would cook too so we usually had a shared experience -- his fish sinigang was exceptional. He had married by then, blessed with three children.

In 2002, we were celebrating the centenary of the birth of Opus Dei founder Josemaria Escriva. We put up an exhibit in March at the Gaisano Mall. Lando gave a testimony of how Opus Dei helped him spiritually and personally during the opening of that exhibit (the picture in this blog was taken during his testimony). He told me that was his first speech ever, but it meant a lot to him.

I last saw him in September 2004 in Davao, but communication lines were always open, SMS and phone calls.

Some months back, he was diagnosed with leukemia. His doctor said it was an easy case and he should proceed with chemotherapy. With that and a lot of prayers, Lando came through with the chemo. Except for some infection that was cured with antibiotics, the prognosis was very good. Another bone marrow test showed very few cancer cells left, as expected.

He went through a second batch of chemo sessions in the first week of December. On the afternoon of December 4, he even phoned me and we spoke for almost 6 minutes. He was his usual self, although he had just finished his chemo for that day. I told him I was probably going to Davao in April next year and that I definitely will see him by then (I would have gone in September this year, but plans fell through). I was wrong. I won't see him in April.

At past 8pm on December 15, I received a message from his brother Rey who works with us in CITE, that Lando had passed away. He had some bleeding earlier, nothing extraordinary really as it was expected, but apparently, the hospital made some blunders when he was brought to hospital. If the hospital wronged him, I am sure Lando forgave them. Who would want to be delayed going to Heaven?

A good man Lando was. But very young to be recalled by God. But such is God's ways.

I could hear our Lord telling him that Friday: Lan, clima na*. Claim the seat reserved for you in Heaven.

*As I am not Bisdak, I did not understand Lando at first as he told me during my first day in CRC, when I asked him to buy rice as I usually brought viand from home and took my lunch in the office: Sir Pet, clima na imong rice.