ILIGAN City ― We were having our fill with that boodle fight with a difference. Because, instead of banana leaves spread before us, there were thick plastic ones. And then over them were long wooden plates with the yummy food. We each ate with gusto with those plastic gloves too. The family had a reunion of sorts this past Christmas 2023.

And then they came, the carolers. They were a sight to behold. The young ladies, six of them were in green flowing dresses that of course, reached the floor of the dining hall where we just had our fill. There were four of them, the young men who were all dressed in white tee shirts over black pants. One was carrying a guitar, another, a drum, and another, a box with a prominent message saying "Donations for a Cause." The said box had a large opening and that brought my curiosity to the max because you can dip your hand easily into it and grab those donated bills inside it.

They sang beautifully of course. One of the young ladies made an intermittent violin solo with the instrument that she had brought with her.

One girl was particularly attractive, with dimples on each side of her cheek. They swayed and swayed to the rhythm of the songs that they were rendering before us.

I groped for a P20 bill in my bag, but there was none; only P50. Maybe instead of the P20, that P50 would do? I saw that my son, Den also made some rhythmic movements of his body along with the carolers. So, I gave my P50 to him, who I saw took out a P100. Others too in the diner gave their donations to the carolers.

Needless to say, it was a relief to see those carolers after experiencing various ones, of course mostly children who sang their songs mostly out of tune. And with no instruments but only some clapping of hands. The lyrics of those child carolers were mostly incorrect with some of them singing with some of them singing, "berting, berting, berting inserted into the song, "Joy to the World." Others too inserted the word "tagbalay": instead of "panagway" in the song which begins with "Kasadya Ning Taknaa."

And I remember experiences in the "daygon" aspect when I was a kid. Some households then would say then, that "utang una" because no money yet. And I was tasked to collect the "utang." And half of the time, I would oblige. Maybe they saw me as "thick-faced?" Ha, ha ha, and most of the time the "tagbalay" would oblige too with their payable in their "daygon utang."

Anyway, the morning after we had witnessed those carolers, it was the family's topic.

"They're Quiboloy carolers," said the man who had driven my son, Yuri with his family from GenSan."

With that, there was a chorus of "Ha?" which included me.

"If I had known, I should have sought a refund." From Yuri. We then knew that he was sore at Pastor Quiboloy because he was the one who told then Pres. Duterte to stop the "Kapa" or "Kabus Padatoon" of Pastor Joel Apolinario. And many of persons there had lost their money earlier. To recall, that "Kapa" thing had taken this country by storm with stories of people not doing anything anymore but lining up for their turn to get their share of their "blessings" coming from their "donations."

Of course, the news in the past days is that Apolinario et al had been sent to jail in connection with that seemingly Ponzi scheme, that is, "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Of course, Quiboloy too is not loved in America, in connection with other matters, like human trafficking and similar matters. And lately, there's unsavory news about SMNI. It is reported too that he is the "spiritual adviser" of FPRRD.

There was also someone who commented that one of the songs that the group which I call the "Q carolers" was the song the beginning lyrics said:: "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart but the very next day, you took it away…"

"That wasn't a Christmas song!" said Dondon, the driver.

"Yes," many of us agreed.

"I should have asked for a refund!" somebody blurted out. Meaning, because the "producer/director" of the group was Apollo Quiboloy?

To note, along with my P50 donation to the carolers, there were several P100 from our group and there were 11 of us then. And there were other diners too.

But the thought of a refund did not cross my mind. Because the carolers did a good job. Never mind if Q has some notoriety attached to his name…

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