MEMORIES: Tomas Pilay

Who is Tomas Pilay, or should I ask who Tomas Pilay was? The man sometimes called Tomas Bukol, Mamang Tomas, or just plain Tomas. No one seems to know. He had been a mystery for more than six decades and perhaps will remain a mystery forever. No one even knows his real name. Was he a bum, a vagrant… a beggar? Yet, he had been a part of many childhood’s memories.

Homegrown Calambeños aged 40 and above may say his name sounds familiar, those aged fifty and above may know him well. Mothers used him to threaten misbehaved children. He was an object of fear, insult, ridicule, fun and laughter.

Tomas Pilay was so popular during his era that most Calambeños would say that if you do not know Tomas Pilay, you’re not from Calamba. Maybe Tomas Pilay was popular because he lived in a time when beggars, panhandlers or even street children were unknown to Calambeños. Life then in Calamba was pleasant and easy.

Mamang Tomas at the time of my youth may have been fifty years old or so. He walks with a limp supported with a wooden cane, thus he earned his sobriquet. Ah, and yes, he had a big cyst at the back of his neck thus he was also called “Tomas Bukol.” Although some gave him dole outs, he works for his daily bread. He chops firewood, sweep yards, husk floors, and collect garbage. He was a regular in a canteen near the municipal building where I took my elementary schooling, thus I see him frequently chopping firewood and collecting garbage. When not at work, he strolls around the town. Often, children follow and tease him, prompting him to chase them with his cane. .Constantly, he grubs the town canal to search for coins, which he feeds the slot machine at Panciteria Calamba.

Old folks then, say that Tomas Pilay belonged to a wealthy family and was well schooled. This is seemingly true, when musing, he audibly talks to himself in mixed English and Spanish and at times he gestures as if delivering a speech.

Tales told about Tomas Pilay says he had a romantic love affair with a beautiful woman he loves so much. His love was lost… then his mind, with his heart. When I was a child, I heard some older men say that Tomas Pilay was a reincarnation of Crisostomo Ibarra, who lost his mind when he lost his Maria Clara.

Whatever tales say about Tomas Pilay, this man of mystery had been and is in a way, a part of the history of Calamba.