Muelmar “Toto” Magallanes: A story of heroism

The touching story below was brought to our attention by Mr. Rogelio Mina aka "BW-Rogermoore," one of our readers. He writes:

"In Chess sacrifice or sacrifices are spectacular move to gain victory. In real there are heroes that sometimes go unnoticed when the one who did it is ordinary or common people. Like our Lord Jesus Christ he sacrifice His life for us to be saved. Here is a touching story of a young lad who lost his life for others to be saved."




The Young Carpenter Hero of Bagong Silangan
By: Francis Pasion and JD Buena
From the Brown Raise Movement website

Ondoy was not all flood, losses and deaths.

Ondoy (Ketsana) was also about life and heroism. The young 18-year old carpenter who braved the rampaging floods of Ondoy to save the lives of 32 people one at a time is a humbling story. And like all other news about Typhoon Ondoy, the name of this modern-day hero faded into oblivion as celebrities were given more segments in our local news broadcasts. Unknown to most of us, there are true heroes in our midst that make the Filipinos a noble race indeed.

The name of the young man is Muelmar “Toto” Magallanes.

His name came from “Samuel,” the name of his father and “Maria,” the name of his mother. The family lives in a place called Bagong Silangan near Batasan, Commonwealth. Being the fourth of the seven the Magallanes family, “Toto” as his family would call him, only finished 1st year High School and refused to continue because he wanted to help out in his family’s livelihood. At eight years old, he was already putting food on the table mainly through his tremendous help in his father’s livelihood. Like a Paciano to a Pepe, he also wanted to give his siblings a chance to have a better education. Instead of spending money on himself, he would spend it on his younger sister who wanted to become a doctor and the other siblings who have dreams of their own. The father, Mr. Samuel Magallanes is a construction worker while his mother Mrs. Maria Magallanes is a housewife.

When the team of Brown Raise went to the place where Muelmar’s remains were located in order to interview the family, we were so shocked to find out that the evacuation center where the people eat, drink and sleep and the coffins of the dead flood victims were all together under one covered basketball court . There were just three or four coffins when we arrived because according to our source, the other nine corpses have already been buried the other day. So you could just imagine how unthinkable it was if there were actually more coffins inside the already full-packed “evacuation center.” We know that this is a time of crisis and lack of decent conditions, but this should also be the best time to treat our fellow Filipinos with respect.

We first interviewed Muelmar’s mother.

His mother would say that as a young boy Muelmar never asked her for money that exceeded two pesos. At times the mother would push Muelmar to accept the money but he would refuse it, saying he still has enough. Later on, the mother would find out that every midnight, Muelmar would consistenly work an extra mile by transporting the neighbor’s pig to its new owner so that he could earn money of his own. He wanted to stand on his own two feet and be able to actively help the dire needs of their poor family. Even then, at a young age, he already had a high sense of dignity and hardwork.

People around him have noticed his uncanny ability to leave what he’s doing just to answer the needs of others. “May pagkapilyo, pero matulungin,” his mother would say. When his parents asked him to do something and he had a prior commitment to help a neighbor, he would prioritize the latter knowing that he is needed more by his neighbor than by his family.

The first time that the flood swept Bagong Silangan was in 2003. He saved many lives. Since he was an expert swimmer, his parents were at peace in seeing their son help other people. But little did they know that what would happen six years later would change their lives. From then on, Muelmar’s urge to help, gained more and more intensity in him as he found out that to help others without getting anything in return was really the best reward he could receive.

He was also a constant confidant to his siblings especially to the older ones. Even if Muelmar was younger, His Kuya Jufran would recount that Muelmar was an inspiration to him.

That fateful day of September 26, 2009 started like a normal rainy day. As people recount in Bagong Silangan, no one expected the rush of flood that would come sweeping the entire barangay without warning. Only fifteen minutes were needed and the flood with the murky mud it brought, paralyzed the entire barangay as many began to save their belongings in an ever increasing strong current. By 11:30 AM, the water already reached their windows. Muelmar seemed excited as his father asked his help to bring the family to safety.

As his mother was the last person in the family he carried to safety, Muelmar suddenly said, “Ma, dito muna ako.” Suddenly his father asked him to carry the Orocan container and some clothes to the roof. This he did with ease, but then he walked away. His father said, “Saan ka pupunta? Tulungan mo muna ako dito.” But he seemed to not hear his father’s question as he already heard a cry of help from the back of their house—from a neighbor who couldn’t go down anymore and was trapped on the roof between the raging rapids of the flood. There was a 7-month-old baby with the neighbor. He used styrofoam as a plank so that the baby and the mother could hold on to something. The current was too strong and the baby accidentally slipped and sunk in the flood. Muelmar immediately plunged into the depths so that the baby could be saved. That was his first rescue.

Muelmar, with his eldest brother Jufran tied some bamboos together and made it a raft so that they could rescue other neighbors needing help. Muelmar would always, if need be, plunge into the depths of the murky water and swim against the current just to carry the bamboo raft to the next roof where neighbors waited for rescue. His arms were full of bruises from the floating yero.

All in all he saved 7 families and a group of 18 children with their mothers trapped on the rooftops. It is safe to say that he saved even more than 30 people, contrary to the news reports. A young man, in the prime of his youth, already saving many lives!

Muelmar, in his young age never forgot the heroism he longed for in childhood, of sacrificing his own life to save his neighbors. Witnesses say that in extreme exhaustion, he rested for awhile on a rooftop unaware that a hollow-block wall taken by the strong current of the flood came smashing towards him. He went missing until the flood subsided and his body was found covered by thick mud.

He was a hero in the midst of the storm. Mrs. Magallanes and the family are so proud of Muelmar’s heroic deeds. But during our interview, one of the cries of his mother’s heart was “pero kahit hindi na sya itratong hero… basta bigyan lang ng normal at tamang libing.” Mrs. Magallanes shared with us in tears that her son will be buried in layers of boxes that the government provided, and her son will be on top. “Mahirap, sa taas pa, ang taas taas” she adds. It was still bearable but her next statement was really heart-breaking. Mrs. Magallenes said “at pagkatapos ngthree years, tatanggalin na duon yung kanyang bankay… hindi na namin alam kung saan ilalagay…” I was shocked and said to myself “WHAT!?” In the news ontelevision and newspapers, he is being hailed as a hero but here’s how we treat our heroes! It’s really hard to understand. Mr. Magallanes went to his crying wife and put his hands on her shoulders to calm her. He shared that on their own they can’t afford to buy a cemetery lot for their son, but he’s still hoping and looking for one so that his son can have a normal and simple burial. Muelmar’s mother is not asking for celebratory gunfire, many flowers or a grand hero’s burial… just a simple burial, just a normal burial.

Many would have cringed at losing their lives and houses, but Muelmar Magallanes courageously saved many without hesitation. It is a selfless act of a hero, so rare in our times in a person so young—18 years old—yet it shows what we Filipinos are truly really made of.

The flood may have washed away homes, dreams and hundreds of lives, but it revealed the real gems of our country, the simple people, the insignificants—true heroes who do not long for acclaim but let their hearts be exposed to the strong currents of the flood to save lives at the expense of their own.

Muellmar Magallanes, your name may not be remembered by many, but we shall remember you as a glowing firefly amidst the rushing flood bringing light not only to those you have saved but to millions of Filipinos here in the country and abroad. The place where you come from is a prophecy that a new hero for these times had been birthed for the coming generations to remember, in a place called Bagong Silangan– the new rising of a new day of more Brown Raise Filipinos.