MANILA Vice Mayor and now Mayor-Elect Honey Lacuna received a basket of fruits and a handwritten message from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, thanking her once again for being a ‘guardian angel” and for ‘being in the right place and time’ for him.
In the said letter, Lorenzana said: “Thank God you were in the right place and time to break my fall when I fainted yesterday. Otherwise, I would have sustained serious injury. You were my guardian angel. God bless you always.”
Lacuna, in an exclusive interview with the Manila City Hall Reporters’ Association (MACHRA), said it was just fortunate that she happened to have been standing directly behind Lorenzana when the latter fainted and fell straight backward. The incoming Mayor initially caught him but the dead weight was too much for a frail Lacuna that he slipped past through her arms.
Still fortunately, the fall was broken and the impact was somehow cushioned, although Lacuna expressed worry because Lorenzana’s head still hit the concrete ground.
“Thank you Sec Lorenzana. Sana magaling na po kayo at sana, pacheck-up ulit kayo after two weeks,” Lacuna, who also happens to be a doctor, said in reaction to the Defense Secretary’s efforts to thank her repeatedly.
Lacuna said she is just too glad that she was already behind Lorenzana when it happened, saying it would have been worse if he fainted while they were lined up side by side in front of the flagpole since no one will be behind the Secretary to catch him and he would have fallen straight to the ground.
At that time, Lacuna said they were told to focus their attention to the upcoming traditional fly-by exhibition of the country’s aircrafts which was why she was looking up sideways.
Lacuna said the incident startled her and regretted that despite her effort, Lorenzana still hit the ground, although she expressed relief that he is now up and about already.
“Kung nakamaong pa siguro ako, baka mas nasalo ko siya,” she said. Lacuna was wearing Filipiniana and high heels when the incident took place and she was there to represent Mayor Isko Moreno.
Lorenzana also thanked Lacuna via a Facebook post which contained the same message and with a selfie he took with the incoming Manila mayor.
It will be recalled that during the flagraising and wreathlaying ceremony held in Luneta during the 124th Independence Day celebration last June 12, Lorenzana fainted and fell backward.
Though startled as her attention was toward the ongoing flyby of the newest and most modern Philippine Air Force aircraft, Lacuna tried to catch Lorenzana fully but failed due to his heaviness. Just the same, her effort broke his fall. (BABY CUEVAS)
