Many people start forgetting things as they enter adulthood. But you can ask Raymunda Chua Maxino any question about her childhood, World War II, her family and her grandchildren, and her present state of health, and she'll remember every detail.

At 103, Lola Munda's memory continues to serve her well.

"I'm usually tired; I have body pains all over, and I don't have a good appetite," she complained. Since she recovered from a mild stroke last year, Lola Munda has been going about in a wheelchair.

But her condition usually improves with an occasional puff of a cigaret made of lomboy leaves, for which she makes sure she has an ample supply of, stacked neatly in a can beside her. Old habits, even for Lola Munda, die hard. "It was this girl Veronica, the wife of my cousin, who introduced me to smoking when I was 12 years old; and I've been a smoker ever since," she recounted smilingly.

Lola Munda's youngest daughter, Dr. Hope Maxino-Bandal, 55, gave an amused smile as she listened to her mother being interviewed five days before her 103rd birthday. Hope listened as her mother brought her back to her younger days in their hometown in Ayungon, Oriental Negros.

That was when Lola Munda was an active, doting mother who, together with her husband Hermenegildo, raised nine academically-gifted children, and helped them every night with their homework.

"I helped my children with their lessons in arithmetic and other subjects," Lola Munda recalled. This seemed extraordinary for someone who only finished second grade. Munda then was forced to stop schooling to help her father attend to their store. The eldest of 11 Chua siblings, Munda also helped her father raise her brothers and sisters.

"But I was a brilliant student, and I always got promoted in school. I left my classmates behind!" Lola Munda stressed, to the approving smiles of her daughter Hope.

Hermenegildo and Munda's patience and perseverance in raising a huge family soon paid off, as all their nine children graduated either as valedictorians, salutatorians, or with first honors.

The eldest Dominador became a soldier during the World War II. He died at the age of 19 in Capas, Tarlac after surviving the Death March.

Luciano, 80, now retired, became a lawyer. He became dean of the Foundation University College of Law and Jurisprudence in Dumaguete City, and University president from 1984 to 1990. He was also manager of the Central Savings and Loan Association (CESLA, now the SG Bank).

Lorenzo, 76, became mayor of Dumaguete in the late 70s until the early 80s. He also managed the Dumaguete Rural Bank Inc., and taught at Foundation University.

Nicerata Santos, 73, retired as a provincial government employee. Vicente, 70, another lawyer, continues to teach Law at Foundation University. He retired as regional director of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation of Region 7. He headed the Negros Oriental Immigration office for several years.

Marcelino, 67, is also a lawyer who became Dumaguete City councilor in the 1970s. He also served as president of Foundation University from 1976 to 1984, then left the country to become lead appellate lawyer of the Court of Appeals of the 6th Judicial District of San Jose, California, in United States from which he recently retired.

Gerardo, 64, obtained a doctorate degree in Physics, and is a professor at Silliman University, serving as chair of the Physics Department.

Hospicia Sy, 60, is a special education consultant with the Department of Education, and a professorial lecturer at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Hope Bandal, 55, also holds a doctorate degree in Physics, and teaches at Silliman University.

Lola Munda said she believes that her children learned a lot from their parents. "All my kids are doing fine -- they don't quarrel; I always advised them never to quarrel."

After she converted their house in Ayungon into a chapel, Lola Munda decided to live with the Bandals in Barangay Bagacay in Dumaguete City. Looking back at how she reared all her successful children, Lola Munda stressed that she never spoiled any child by playing favorites. "I treated all my children equally," she said. And that she made it a point to spend time with each of her children's families.

Even when her children were raising families of their own, Lola Munda made it a point to be with her children when they needed her. "She would come to Manila where my family lived, whenever I gave birth," Hope recalled. Those were visits every family looked forward to.

"She's the perfect mother-in-law," chimed in Hope's husband, RTC Executive Judge Rosendo Bandal Jr. "We always went along fine; we never had any disagreements whatsoever."

"If she's not a perfect mother, she's the almost-perfect mother," said Hospicia, whose memories of her mother are those of a very hard worker who never spanked them, but who taught by example. "We learned to be compassionate from our mother's own example. Whenever beggars knocked on our door, she did not [just] give them money then let them go away; she let them into our home, and fed them."

Lola Munda also imparted to her children the love for God through her nightly and early morning prayers. "I always remember going to bed at night while my mother was saying her prayers. I would wake up in the morning to again see my mother doing her morning prayers," said Gerardo.

And a strong prayer life is what Lola Munda has until this day. "God must have been pleased with me that He gave me a long life," Lola Munda told this writer in her soft, slow voice. On her birthday last January 10, Lola Munda had a simple wish--more years to her life so she could continue to be with her children, her children's children, her children's children's children and her children's children's children's children.

That's four generations. And counting.*AP

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