Boarding House Diet

When the emcee called his name to receive his coveted diploma, he was nowhere to be found. In his stead were his parents Sonny and Rochel who held close to her chest, a wooden frame of picture of Mark Andrew Pitajen Gribialde with his precious smile, in his snappy white gala which he just bought in school a few weeks before graduation from the College of Maritime Studies at Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation in Legazpi City. Pipong, to his family and friends, at 22, died on April 27 at dawn, of acute pancreatitis at the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) after a bout of pancreatic attacks that brought him excruciating pain and nausea for weeks on end.

The commencement exercises on June 27 was the 39th at MPCF, held at the JCJ Gym named after the Mariners’ Founder, Commodore Jaime Chavez Jimenez, at the MBS, or Mariners by the Sea, across the Main School, overlooking the vast expanse of the Legazpi Gulf in Albay.

The young Marine Transportation student dreamed of being a successful Marinero. At his hospital bed, he asked his mother to pay his remaining tuition fees and for his graduation uniform, as he looked forward to walking up the stage. He never made it. As the parents walked up the stage, Pipong’s batchmates collectively called out “SIM-Bagsik,” stood up, gave a snappy salute, and a rousing round of applause. Pipong must be looking down below, smiling.

From where I was seated on the stage, I saw the couple wearily walk up. I stood up, and at an instant, I felt a strong urge to hold Rochel in my arms, to hug her as if I had known her from way back. It was mother’s instinct.

The parents, who came from Catanduanes, were still in grief, their eyes puffy and tired, as they received the diploma and a plaque. What happened, what went wrong? How did this all end this tragic way? The middle class sent Pipong to a boarding house far from home, yet one that was comfortable and safe. He received his regular allowance, and on weekends, he would come home from Mariners. Each time, they remember, he would go home. Pipong’s favorite greeting was a happy “ay salamat, makakakan ako ng lutong bahay!”

Pipong had stayed in a boarding house all these years. Rochel knew he had missed the hot meals and foods at home, but she never realized, until the doctors confirmed it, that bad food was the culprit for his constant stomach pains that grew increasingly frequent up to his fourth year. At first, they had thought it was just acid reflux or excessive stomach acid due to missed meals. At the boarding house and among his friends, they discovered that his diet had consisted mainly of instant noodles, instant coffee, and assorted canned goods. They reheated frozen foods sold at a popular grocery store around the corner.

When they left the stage, I immediately asked security to look for them. We met at the air-conditioned second floor of the OBT building just beside the gym. I offered them simple snacks to enjoy before their departure back home to Catanduanes. During our brief encounter, I felt the urge to ask more, why this happened. She remembers how her son would complain of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting that became more frequent as the years passed by. He had gone to the doctor before, but the diagnosis was never serious. What she and her husband now realize is that their son was missing their home-cooked meals during all these years. He was consuming a boarding house diet that did his body significant harm. Before they left, Sony, the father, suggested that schools like Mariners should require blood chemistry tests on students regularly to determine their state of health in advance, aside from conducting internal campaigns about nutrition. Taking blood chem is a practice in his workplace, he said—a valid suggestion.

Instant junk foods. What about junk foods? As part of the school administration, I recognize the significant challenge of encouraging students to avoid unhealthy foods. Why do young people lean towards junk food? First, they are accessible and convenient. It’s easier to grab a quick meal than to prepare nutritious foods. There is a strong marketing influence promoting delicious but unhealthy options, entrenching a perception that these foods are desirable and fashionable. Students often have limited exposure to information about nutrition, lack proper education on healthy eating habits, and their importance for long-term well-being. The lifestyle choices associated with their social environments can further encourage unhealthy eating behaviors. To address this trend, schools should step in with clear nutritional education and initiatives that promote healthy eating habits, as well as he importance of good dietary choices for their overall well-being.

The pancreas is a large gland that plays a crucial role in digestion and blood sugar regulation. Chronic pancreatitis that hit Pipong is a disease of damaged and inflamed pancreas which affects the vulnerable young and old alike who eat much fatty and spicy foods, sodas like soft drinks, alcohol, high-sugar foods like desserts, candies, pastries, energy drinks, processed, spicy meats, and canned goods which are more palatable to the taste buds of young people. This diet, when consumed for long periods, is devastating and fatal. I have always advised everyone to go for balanced foods and stay hydrated by drinking more water, and avoid eating large meals – nothing to lose, everything to gain.