TULUNAN, COTABATO PROVINCE — Ipoy or Ryan Moralidad was born with no legs (congenital amputation) but it didn’t stop him to fend for his family as a good son.
Ipoy, 21, of Purok 3, Barangay Sibsib, Tulunan Town, Cotabato Province, was overwhelmed with emotion as he recalled the difficult decision he had to make “to stop coming to school after grade one owing to horrible bullying among his classmates that even his teacher failed to stop.”
Bullying, humiliation and other forms of human abuse prompted him to stay at home and concentrate on helping his mother to take care of the rice field she inherited.
In an interview with Newsline on Sunday June 13, 2021, Epoy told us he never regretted being what he is, “Primero namangkot ko, ngaa wala koy tiil pero siling ni nanay inborn, nadawat ko na. . . pero sakit nga gina-bully ko, gina -sunlog ko sa eskwelahan kumpol. kumpol, ginaaway ko wala sang naga laban sa ako, amo to pagtapos sa Grade 1 wala na ko nag eskwela”.
(At first I asked, why don’t I have feet but my mother told me its inborn, I accepted it. But it was painful. In school, I was hurt and it was painful they bully me–feetless-feetless, they teased me because I don’t have feet, they shouted at me and they even imitate the way I walk no one defended me nor protected me from bullying, after I finished grade 1, 1 stopped schooling.)
Ipoy lost his father in 2018 and he is now looking after his 54-year-old mother Salvacion and other siblings being the eldest in the second family of his mother.
Despite the physical challenge Ipoy helps his family prepare the rice field from clearing the weeds to impounding water until the harvest season.
In the morning , he prepares his own coffee and food for his mother and other siblings as he wakes up early.
He makes a regular leaving by making charcoal out of the dead trees in their backyard, earning at least P350 per sack.
He takes care of a carabao rented from their neighbor and attend to it as his real buddy.
In his free time, Ipoy enjoys watching the youtube and social media post.
Like any other men, Ipoy also wants a girlfriend and try a relationship with the opposite sex.
He smiled when this reporter asked, “Have you found the girl of your dream?” he gamely answered ,”Waay pa (not yet).”
He dreams about getting his own home, which he can share with his mother. He currently shares a home with his mother and other siblings.-Editha Z. Caduaya
