Interview With Esterlita Timugan

Interviewee: Esterlita Timugan                    Interpreter: Marjorie Tsuchiya

Born: October 20, 1948

Interviewer: Kisho Tsuchiya                    Transcriber: Dominique J. Lucagbo

Date: March 3, 2020

Location: Valencia, Bukidnon

Language: Bisaya                                                                                                 

I am Esterlita Timugan, I was born on October 20, 1948 at Lanao Del Norte. My father was a butcher and my mother owned a small restaurant, they met at Ozamis Occidental but later moved to Lanao Del Norte where they had 7 children, me being the eldest. We lived in a simple house that was made out of wood, we had no TV or refrigerator and cooked our meals in a firewood stove, the closest thing to electronic entertainment we had was a radio. I was very close to both of my parents and often helped them in their jobs especially my mother. As a child, I’d play tag or house with my friends as all children do but most of the time, I would choose to help my parents instead of playing. Even though I lived Lanao which is a place usually filled with Muslims, we had none in our town only on the other towns, although I still had many Muslim friends in school. 

I believe that I did do well in school and even became a Valedictorian when I graduated Highschool. I moved to Cebu City to continue my studies and pursued a course in Medical Technology. It was around this time that I was forced to become a responsible individual because of the financial and social distractions in studies. Cebu was a bustling City compared to Lanao and everything was expensive and I had to adapt. Especially since my father had to be hospitalized because of an illness, we had to pay his hospital bills and medication. We were not a rich family so I had to do things in my little way to save up money like using my bathroom essentials for as long as possible. There were student activists as well opposing the Marcos administration, and although I didn’t get myself or my friends involved in their activities, we didn’t necessarily oppose them.  

Despite all that I still did well, out of 6 friends, I was the only one qualified to get an internship in Iligan City, a city that wasn’t as developed compared to Cebu, but was still more developed than Lanao. And, somewhat for lack of a better term, it was “dirty.” I would later on graduate my studies in Medical Technology, but unfortunately, I was unable to take my licensure exam due to financial reasons, at the time you could only take the licensure exam in Manila and my family didn’t have enough money to send me there. In the end I wasn’t able to practice the knowledge that I earned through my 4 years of hard work and sacrifices.

After sometime I got married to a man that was introduced to me by a common friend. We met because for a time I stayed with my aunt in Nasipit Agusan Del Norte and we were neighbors. He was kind and handsome, then later on we got married twice first at a Civil wedding in May 20, 1976 and then a church wedding in July 3 of the same year. I moved in with him in Nasipit Agusan Del Norte. It was a peaceful place. When we got married, I felt secured that he wouldn’t leave me anymore. He worked in a big Company in Nasipit called the Nasipit Lumber Company and I started a business of my own. I would acquire the products from Cagayan de Oro City or Cebu City and would sell them to the people in Nasipit. It was a great business because I had a big income, big enough to be able to buy land and build a house. This went until the year 1990 when I retired from my business because the people buying from me were moving out of Nasipit and I was losing profit. After I retired, I felt lonely, because, for how many years in enjoyed working, and all of a sudden, I had nothing to do.

Soon after we also moved out of Nasipit to Valencia Bukidnon because my husband and I had no income anymore and in Valencia, I had a sister who worked as a Head in the Department of Social Welfare and Development who was willing to help us. I had a mild stroke and couldn’t move like I used to. Right now, I have a mini store that I own and it reminds me of the joy I had when I had a proper business. 

Looking back in life the only thing that I regret is not having the opportunity to take that licensure exam. That is the biggest “what if” in my life. What would’ve happened if I had taken and passed that exam. But all I can do now is enjoy my life and remember the things that made me happy the most like me being married to my husband and not dwell on the things that would make me sad like not being able to take the licensure exam or even the time when I got a stroke.