Jesuit Father Manoling Francisco offers a Mass at the wake of slain security guard, Jeneven Bandiala, on July 28. (Photo supplied)
By Joseph Peter Calleja
August 1 2022
‘Selfless’ Jeneven Bandiala was among three killed by a gunman at Ateneo de Manila University.
The Jesuits in the Philippines have paid tribute to the security guard who died while attempting to stop a gunman at Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University earlier this week.
Jeneven Bandiala, 35, died while confronting gunman Chao Tiao Yumol during his shooting spree at the university before a graduation ceremony on July 24.
Yumol shot and killed former Basilan Mayor Rosita Furigay and her aide Victor Capistrano along with Bandiala. Police arrested the shooter shortly after.
On July 28, university president, Jesuit Father Roberto Bobby Yap, and fellow Jesuit and chairman of Tanging Yaman Foundation, Father Manoling Francisco, celebrated Holy Mass at Bandiala’s wake at the family’s apartment.
“Jeneven fulfilled his duty and calling until his death. He had fulfilled his job to protect the Ateneo community…That’s why we are honoring his heroism,” Father Francisco said during the Mass.
Bandiala’s fellow security guards and coworkers at the university were present to honor him.
“I did not even have the chance to talk to him on the day he died”
Father Yap thanked Bandiala’s family for sharing him with the university, saying he was a person with a “generous” heart.
“His bravery will not be forgotten,” Father Yap told Bandiala’s relatives.
The university held a requiem Mass for Bandiala and the other victims at the Loyola School’s chapel on the university campus on July 29.
Bandiala’s partner, Cristina Mascardo, said she did not have the chance to talk to him on the day he died because of their busy schedule.
“We always leave very early in the morning before the sun rises. That is why it is so painful because I did not even have the chance to talk to him on the day he died. I just learned from the news that he died. It is so difficult,” she told reporters on July 26.
Mascardo said she would miss Bandiala’s generosity, especially the way he loved her child from a previous relationship.
“Even if he was very tired, he would always work for the family, just to help us”
“He loved my child as his own. He worked very hard so we could build a home and for my child to finish college. He worked very hard towards these goals. I am very sad now that he won’t be able to achieve them,” she added.
Bandiala’s sister said her brother always put their family’s interest first by giving money to their ailing mother.
“He was very kind and generous. We will miss those traits because he never abandoned us, his family. Even if he was very tired, he would always work for the family, just to help us. It’s so hard for us to accept his fate,” Mary Ann Bandiala told reporters on July 27.
Third among 10 siblings, Bandiala wanted to become a seafarer to earn more income to help his family from Misamis Occidental in Mindanao region in the northern Philippines. The course of his life later changed, and he became a security guard. His younger, Raymond, is also a security guard.
“He always advised me that, when it came to work, to have more patience to avoid trouble. Don’t be hot-headed,” the Inquirer newspaper reported him as saying.
The Jesuits at Ateneo and their students have launched a donation drive to support Bandiala’s family. Several organizations have reportedly donated to Bandiala’s partner, Cristina.
– UCA News
