(2025.01.21) Special Contribution by Hisao Yoshihara, Former Chairperson

Reunion with my Godson Yoshio

On November 21, 2024, we met again with Yoshio, my Godson, at Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo for the first time in six years for dinner and shopping.
In mid-November, Hon. Romeo Salda, Municipal Mayor, La Trinidad, Benguet Province, Republic of the Philippines and his delegation of 15 people came to Japan to participate in the “10th Anniversary of Exchange Ceremony” held in Minamimaki Village, Minamisaku-gun, Nagano Prefecture. Yoshio, one of the delegates, is Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer in La Trinidad office. Six years ago, by taking another opportunity to come to Japan for JICA's “Disaster Management Safety Training”, he visited our home to meet my family.

Mayor and company at Senso-ji Temple (2024.11)

With Yoshio (2024.11)

As a volunteer agricultural corps member, I was sent to Philippines for pomiculture

In March 1972, I joined the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and was sent to the Mountain State Agricultural College (MSAC) in La Trinidad as an agricultural corps member. My mission was to introduce fruit orchard science to the Philippine people and teach them warm-season pomiculture. I researched and collected warm-season fruit trees in the province, created orchards, and introduced superior breeds of mandarin oranges, bitter summer oranges, apples, and peaches from Japan.

Northern Luzon

Benguet Province

At MSAC's orchard（1973）

MSAC Graduation Ceremony（1973）

I became the Godfather!

One evening, when I went to the government building where the truck driver Alfred Labi and his family lived to confirm their schedule for the next day, I saw a baby crawling around. I asked him what his name was and he said, “I haven't named him yet, soon or later I will baptize him in church and give him a name, Yoshi-san, will you be his Godfather, oh yeah, the name should be YOSHIO”. I immediately replied OK. One Sunday morning in September, I went to a Catholic church near the college and attended the baptism. It was my first holy experience. After the baptism, I returned to the government building where his relatives, neighbors, and colleagues gathered for cannao (feasts).

About my host family, the Cabato's

At that time, I was taken care of for two and a half years by a nice family in Baguio City. They were the husband, Mr. Fernando Cabato (Attorney, Professor and Judge passed away in 2000) and his wife, Julie (a medical doctor). Julie is 88 years old now and is doing very well.
I learned many things from them as “Lesson 1” of living in a foreign country, such as the country, people, history, culture, customs, English language, family life. Mr. and Mrs. Cabato were also very understanding of our cooperative missions and supported my duties. My successor, Shigeki Koyama, was also taken care of by Mr. and Mrs. Cabato. To date, they have taken care of about 100 Japanese cooperative members and so on. My relationship with the Cabato’s continues to this day. On the occasion of Yoshio's return to Japan, I left a Christmas card and Japanese sweets for Julie.

Yoshio at our home (2018.7)

Yoshio with Julie Cabato（2024.11）