Photo by Michael Estupigan.
After the Letran Knight Jerrick Balanza’s successful brain tumor operation, the Letran Alumni Association seeks to fund his post-operation expenses.
In a dinner at the Greenhills Uno Seafood Palace, the LAA personally turned over the P115,500 worth of financial pledges from the alumni of the Colegio.
LAA President Rosalie Montemayor-Cruz and LAA Sports Committee Director Alex Wang formally presented the cash donations to Balanza.
LAA secretary Angelo Mendoza in his speech during the dinner narrated how the fundraising event came into reality.
“Upon knowing the news, tinawagan ko agad si Alex [Wang], tapos nagusap kami sa Viber ni [Rosalie Montemayor-Cruz],” Mendoza narrated.
Upon their conversation, Montemayor-Cruz presented the initial donation followed by Wang which became the seed of the fundraising event for Balanza organized by the alumni body.
“Everything was transparent, nilagay naming lahat sa Facebook, sa iba’t ibang sites ng Letran at direkta naming binibigay kay Jerrick,” he added.
He further explained that the board has decided to directly give the financial aid to Balanza to help the Letran Knight in his post-operation expenses.
The financial pledges presented to Balanza were from a fundraising lunch buffet organized by LAA last September 16, at Vikings SM Jazz. In which, the association collected a total of P109,500 for Balanza from 229 Letran alumni.
It was also revealed to The LANCE in an earlier interview that from the LAA board alone, they have collected a total of P80,000.
After the pledges were presented to the Letran Knight, first of the list for him to thank is the man above.
“Nag papasalamat po ako kay God. Ginabayan niya po ako sa lahat ng pinagdaanan ko,” Balanza humbly said.
He also thanked God for giving him people who supported him in his fight.
“Sobrang blessed ko pong mabuhay sa mundong ito dahil hinarap ko ang pinakamalaking problema ko na hindi lang ako mag-isa – na andyan kayo [Letran Alumni], he said.
To Balanza being a Letranite is a blessing to his life.
“Isa pa po na lagi kong pinagpapasalamat kay God, sobrang saya na naging Letranista ako. Sobrang blessed ko na ako’y naging Letranista at andyan kayo,” he said.
Balanza also shared how he could pay all the help forward.
“Ang maibabalik ko lang sainyo is yung prayers ko para po sa kalusugan ninyong lahat,” he told the Letran alumni.