Father’s Presence: The Years May Pass, But Love Does Not

For many, Father’s Day is a celebration: a celebration of the man who raised and took care of you. A day to honor the man who sacrificed to provide for you and your family. For others, however, Father’s Day is also a reminder of an absence that never fully fades. It is a day filled with gratitude, memory, and quiet longing for the fathers who are no longer here to celebrate with their children.

For Dimples Suchianco, co-founding partner of GSE Law Firm, Father’s Day remains a time to remember a man whose influence has endured long after his passing. Though nearly four decades have passed since she lost her father, his voice, values, and example continue to guide her life in ways both profound and ordinary.

“My dad passed when I was 20 years old. He was only 46 years old,” she recalls.

Yet in those 46 years, he left a legacy that continues to shape not only his community but also his family. He served as Mayor of Sta. Maria, Bulacan at age 25, helped establish civic organizations in the town, became President of the Manila Jaycees at 35, and later served as Vice-Governor of Bulacan after the 1986 Revolution.

But when asked what lesson continues to guide her life today, Dimples does not begin with titles or accomplishments. Instead, she remembers a man whose generosity often left little for himself.

“One of my most vivid recollections of my dad was of him holding his pay envelope as Mayor and giving out salary to those who would go to our house seeking his help,” she says. “When it was time for him to give our weekly allowance, he no longer had any money.”

She adds that his friends would often tease him, “Ikaw lang yata ang politiko na naghirap. Lahat palabas.”

Decades later, people who knew him still tell the same story. “Until now, when I meet anyone who knew my dad, they would always mention that he was a kind man who got along with everyone.” From him, she learned what would become lifelong values: selfless service, kindness, and compassion.

“He had the ability to make each one of us feel special.”

Yet despite his public responsibilities, it is his role as a father that stands out most vividly in her memory. “All his positions and activities and the various awards he received during his lifetime never prevented him from being a really good father,” she says. He was present in the small moments that often mattered most. She remembers him personally boiling guava leaves to help heal the scrapes and wounds she frequently got as a child.

“I was a malikot kid who would invariably have scrapes and wounds,” she laughs.

Most importantly for her family, he had the remarkable ability to make each of his five children feel uniquely loved. “If you ask any one of his children who my dad’s favorite was, we would all claim that each of us was his favorite.” He celebrated every achievement, no matter how small, and encouraged each child to pursue their own interests.

“My dad taught us that being busy with other things should not prevent us from being a present and involved parent.” That lesson has stayed with her throughout her own life.

There are even some moments she would lament his early passing and not being able to meet his many grandchildren, “My dad loved kids, and my siblings and I would regularly muse that my dad would have loved to see his grandchildren. He would have been an amazing grandfather.”

‘Hindi pwede ang pwede na’

Another lesson came from his passion and commitment to excellence. “He would not accept mediocre work,” she says. “The phrase that I usually say, ‘Hindi pwede ang pwede na’, was his mantra.”

He approached life wholeheartedly, refusing to settle for the minimum. He worked until the task was done, laughed loudly, loved openly, and lived fully. “My dad taught us to never do anything halfheartedly and to live our lives to the fullest.”

37 years after losing him, his influence remains unmistakable. “His memory is still very present in my life,” she says. Although she chose not to follow him into politics, she carries his example into every aspect of her life.

“I try to apply what I learned from him in the way that I deal with my family, my work, the people I work with, and how I live my life in general.”

Perhaps that is what Father’s Day ultimately means for those who have lost their fathers. The years may pass, but love does not. The people we lose never truly leave us when their values continue to shape our choices, their words echo in our decisions, and their example lives on in the way we treat others.

For Dimples, Father’s Day is not simply about looking back with sadness. It is about recognizing that her father’s life continues to bear fruit through the lives he touched, especially his own children. Though he was taken too soon, the lessons he imparted, the kindness he modeled, and the love he gave remain very much alive. And perhaps that is the greatest legacy any father can leave behind; not merely memories, but a presence that endures in those who loved him.

(Interview and write-up by: Zeus Earl Roy D. Custodio Jr.)