The last time I saw Bogs was five years ago at the Tunis Carthage International Airport. He was eight years old then when we took him, his mother, and several other kababayan on a grueling 12-hour journey by land from Tripoli. They were among the more than 300 Filipinos who we were able to escort to safety on several occasions during the Third Libyan Civil War that raged from 2019 to 2020. 

I remember first meeting Bogs in one of the events of the Filipino Community that I was invited to a few weeks after I assumed as Chargè d’Affaires and Head of Mission of the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli. It was a birthday party held at a school compound in Janzour.  Bogs was introduced to me by his mother, Rizza, a nurse from the Tripoli Central Hospital. She had Bogs make mano to me before the boy went back to join the other kids who were then running around, oblivious to the looming danger. 

At that time, fierce battles between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) were raging outside Tripoli but the fighting was getting nearer and nearer. 

Despite the conflict that was triggered by the launch of the LNA offensive to capture Tripoli in April, life went on for Bogs and the more than 1,000 of our kababayan in the capital.

Despite the conflict that was triggered by the launch of the LNA offensive to capture Tripoli in April, life went on for Bogs and the more than 1,000 of our kababayan in the capital. Birthday parties like the one I attended were one way for Filipino nurses, teachers, and oil workers cope with the seemingly never ending cycle of violence and counter-violence that has gripped Libya since the 2011 revolution that ousted Muamar Kadaffi.

I would get to see Bogs in several other occasions and came to grow fond of the boy and I guess the feeling was mutual. The boy, who was born in Tripoli before the outbreak of the Second Civil War in 2014 and raised singlehandedly by his mother, would often go to me and make mano whenever we encounter each other in community events. 

I remember the Halloween party at the Philippine Cooperative Academy of Libya in Furnaj District, where I was asked to hand out candies to the school children who came trick-or-treating. Bogs walked up to me dressed as Zorro but it was his mother who stole the show with her bloody murderous bride costume. I was also there to present Bog’s certificate for his recognition ceremony at the end of the school year.

A few weeks later, Rizza told us that she has decided to take our offer to bring her and Bogs home. She was worried for herself and her son as the fighting had by then already reached the capital. We immediately processed their repatriation papers and included them in the batch that would be evacuated from Tripoli at the end of the month.  

On 30 November 2019,  we left the Embassy for Tunis in two vehicles. We were in the lead vehicle while Rizza and Bogs and the other repatriates were on board a passenger van we rented for them. It was a long journey but mother and son prepared for it as they brought with them a lot of chichirya and even a lamb and rice dish, which we were told was Bogs favorite. 

We made it to Tunis later that evening without incident. Early the next day, we took the repatriates to the airport. Rizza was teary-eyed as we started to say our goodbyes. I gave her a hug and handed a Tunisian stuffed camel to Bogs as remembrance. That was the last time I saw the two. 

Rizza would remain in touch and would give me updates about Bogs every now and then. A few weeks ago, Rizza told me Bogs was a candidate for a pageant in his school in her hometown of Gabaldon in Nueva Ecija. She asked me if I could support Bogs. Of course, I told her.

A few days ago,  Rizza told me the little boy I came to know in Tripoli had won the school pageant. Jeremiah Rapha Parungao was crowned King after emerging the top candidate in the search for Mr. and Miss Gabaldon Central School 2024. He was also adjudged Mr. Star of the Night, Best Attire, and Best Personality.  

Congratulations Bogs and Rizza! I hope the next time I see Bogs and his mom on stage is when he receives the gold medal when he graduates. 

Milan, 23 November 2024