Everything has started when Eugenia developed feelings for Eugenio. As soon as their eyes met, they were instantly consumed by an unbreakable love for one another. And when the second Lola closed her eyes, the melody from their memories took her back to 1953.

Eugenia devotedly loved Eugenio with all her heart and soul, and she often hoped God would grant her the ability to love Lolo even after she left the world.

The fact that Lola and Lolo share the same birthday, age, and first name was surprising; hence, it quickly established a deep connection between them. As if the universe has aligned and make them believe that they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together.

After dating for a year, Eugenio finally asked Eugenia to spend the rest of her life with him. Lolo and Lola tied the knot in 1954, but unfortunately, they weren’t destined to have a kid of their own.

At the present time and into the foreseeable future, the 90-year-old Lola from Itbayat, Batanes has been described as a devout Christian. She is a firm believer who prayed several times a day and always wear a rosary around her neck. She beseeched all-powerful and merciful God on a regular basis to protect her loved ones.

Despite her age-induced memory loss, Lola Eugenia would never forget the moment her life was irrevocably transformed by incidents she couldn’t undo or prevent. It’s true that we wouldn’t be hurt unless something entirely out of the blue transpired.

At 4:16 AM on 27 July 2019, Saturday, a Magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook the Batanes Islands. Its epicenter is located 12 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes and originated at a depth of 12 kilometers. At 7:37 AM, an earthquake with Magnitude 5.9 occurred 21 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes at a depth of 7 kilometers. At 9:24 AM, a Magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred, located 11 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes, with a depth of 11 kilometers. Each event was followed by several aftershocks. 

She held back her tears as she heard the coverage of the earthquake’s aftermath on the news and realized that her modest dwelling had been destroyed.

After two devastating earthquakes in quick succession, Lola’s life has been flipped upside down. Aside from the physical pain, she had also suffered emotional trauma. In this state of confusion and agitation, she was in chaos. Lola and her husband barely escaped a catastrophic event, but she has always had faith in God and was grateful that they both survived the adversity.

Putting Lola to the ultimate test of life again, her dearest husband passed away from a critical illness after the earthquake wrecked their modest dwelling. They were together until the day her husband passed away, and she hardly recovered from the pain she felt from that day on.

Of all the challenges Lola has to endure and surpass, her inability to recover from the death of her husband culminates in her neglecting her health and falling into a deep depression. Despite her strength and resilience, she is unable to move past this impediment.

As a result of everything that has transpired in Lola’s life, she has never doubted God’s existence, for she has faith that everything happens for an exquisite reason.

Lola may have lost those valuable things in her life – her house, peace of mind, and one true love, but occasionally the universe intervenes to return what she has lost through the help of the people she holds dear in her heart.

“Ang mga social workers na personal na naghahatid sa akin ng ayuda ay mahal na mahal ko. Sana ay gabayan pa kayo [Angels in Red Vest] lalo ng Panginoon sa lahat ng mga ginagawa ninyo. Salamat dahil nandyan kayo para sa akin,” said Lola Eugenia as soon as she received her stipend.

Time does indeed heal all wounds, and as the years pass, she gradually begins to see the good in things again. The fact that she was still alive and able to breathe was one of many blessings she was counting. She would constantly be grateful to Him because the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 2 – Social Pension Program never abandoned her.

After everything Lola has been through, the one thing that has ever brought her joy has been the pension she receives from the DSWD FO2. Lola affirms that she is spending her stipend on the foods she enjoys eating the most, particularly those that she and her husband used to enjoy sharing .

The DSWD FO2 allowed her to rediscover the joy she felt when everything was still in a perfect place. With the help of the Social Pension program, she was able to start over with a fresh outlook on life, and she is pleased to share that story.

As hopeless as Lola’s situation seemed before, she eventually found solace in the agency’s program. Also, she is always armored with the bible verse Psalms 34:18: THE LORD IS CLOSE TO THE BROKENHEARTED; HE RESCUES THOSE SPIRITS ARE CRUSHED.

This day and age, Lola Eugenia is proud to say that she was once lost, but now she’s found.

“Maraming salamat dahil ginamit na instrumento ng Diyos ang program ng Social Pension upang ako ay makabangon muli sa aking pagkakadapa. Sobrang saya ko ngayon dahil may sarili na naman akong pera na pambili ko ng pagkain na gugustuhin ko. Buti nalang social pensioner ako kasi excited ako palagi sa tuwing makakatanggap na ako ng ayuda mula sa DSWD, malaking bagay ito para sa akin.”

When her heart and soul was in the lost-and-found, the program came along to claim it.