Man who lives in cart reunites with family after they see him on ‘24 Oras’

A man who lived in a cart reunited with his family after they saw him on “24 Oras” on Wednesday.

According to Mariz Umali’s report on the newscast Friday, Rey Solas lived in a cart with his wife and two children.

Little did he know that when he appeared on television on Wednesday, his parents and siblings who had long been looking for him would be watching.

“Para akong hinimatay nung nakita namin sa ‘24.’ Akala namin patay na yan,” his father said, crying.

The GMA-7 reporter interviewed Rey on Wednesday about the upcoming school enrollment amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

As it turned out, Rey’s parents and siblings, who had been looking for him for more than 10 years, were watching the news broadcast at home in Palawan.

After his family spotted Rey, they quickly contacted Mariz to be able to connect with him.

With the reporter’s help, the family was able to locate Rey and his cousins finally met him in person.

“Si Papa kawawa. Iyak ng iyak kahapon pa. Bakit di ka na daw umuwi sa Palawan, akala namin patay ka na,” Jessel, a cousin, told him.

“Si Papa matanda na ... kahapon pa kami naghanap sayo. Ngayon wala na silang tulog nung nakita nila sa kariton ka na lang nakatira.”

Because his parents and siblings were in Palawan, Rey could only talk to them through a video call.

“Ilan taon ka na namin hinahanap, sa kariton ka na nakatira. Umuwi ka na lang. Dalhin mo nalang ditto ’yung mga bata,” the father said. “Miss ka na namin. ’Wag mo hayaan na ’yung mga bata nasa kariton lang. Tag-ulan na ngayon.”

For the first time, Rey introduced his wife and children to his parents, albeit through a video call.

According to Rey’s father, he allowed his son to go to Manila to earn a living since he wasn’t contented with life in the province.

He allowed Rey to go to Metro Manila because his son did not want to become a fisherman like him.

Upon the instructions of his father, Rey and his family immediately packed their things and left their cart to move in to his cousins’ place.

“Doon ka muna. Kami na bahala sa padala,” his father told him.

Rey promised to go back to Palawan after the pandemic was over.

For now, he’s just thankful that his children and wife now have a roof over their heads, and that he has his family back.

“Pasensya na hindi kami nagparamdam. Happy Father’s Day din po,” he greeted his father after a long time. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News