One of the most impeccable and award-winning pieces of Maalaala Mo Kaya, “Rehas”, a story of a mother who faces great turmoil when insanity struck her three children, deserves our unending applause and appreciation. Even if it has been more than a decade since it was released, the story always touches our hearts.
Aling Reming (Gina Pareño), is a devoted mother to her mentally sick children. For her, there was never a moment of even thinking about giving up. She may feel all the pain and anxiety but it was never her choice to surrender her responsibilities as a parent to her children.
Aling Reming considers her children as a blessing as they grew up good-hearted and responsible. They also showed great enthusiasm in their studies.
The story started when the character of Lotlot de Leon, one of her children, went to Manila to work. However, time passed and Aling Reming received news that her daughter was having a nervous breakdown because of anxiety and longing for her family. Since then, she did not come back to her normal self and would not speak a word. Her family especially Aling Reming took good care of her and made sure she’s always safe.
Aling Reming did not expect that her daughter’s situation would be even worse than Judy (Sid Lucero), one of her sons. One night, Judy went home trembling, experiencing chills all over his body. They brought him to the hospital and was diagnosed with typhoid fever. However, after that incident, they noticed something unusual with Judy’s behavior. He would lose self control and seems like he’s always irritated. His behavior worsened so they decided to bring him to the hospital. After two years, fortunately, he recovered and went back to normal.
Meanwhile, Joel (Jhong Hilario), took his application for the international shipping line he wanted to work for. However, he did not manage to get it because he didn’t have any backer. Even though it was difficult for him to accept, he moved on from it and chose to sell seafood as their source of income. Later on, he had his own family but he never forgot to still help his parents and siblings financially.
One day, his wife Emily told Aling Reming that Joel has been desolate for days and he kept on saying he’s worried he could not provide for his family. As days went by, he became even more aggressive. His wife decided to leave him and sadly, they never went back. That’s when Joel’s condition became even worse. Aling Reming and the whole family were forced to lock him in a cell-like room outside their house. It was very difficult for the family to see the situation of Joel but they did not have a choice. Little did they know that it wasn’t the last storm that would hit their lives.
An incident brought back Judy to how he was when he suffered from mental illness. He was attacked by his neighbors after having an argument with them. He was greatly wounded and brought back to the hospital. When he was discharged, he started to lose control of his behavior and threw tantrums. Aling Reming and the rest of the family decided to lock him inside the separate cell-like room outside their house.
Nothing can really compare to what Aling Reming experienced in taking care of her children, in being a mother in general.There was a time when she questioned God why her children, who grew up to be very loving and responsible, had to experience such sufferings. But she did not give up on them. She made sure she did everything to alleviate her children’s situation.
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