I was asked to help present a certificate of recognition and groceries for a sari-sari store to Felicitas dela Pena, the grandmother of Wendell de la Pena, a 16-year-old who died while saving others at the height of last October's Antipolo flashflood.

Together with some friends, Wendell had put himself in harm's way by standing guard near an open sewage pipe concealed by the flood and stopping many fleeing neighbors from falling into the abyss. The teen had to physically grab one family of three on a motorcycle, saving them from almost certain death before Wendell himself lost his balance and fell into the flooded hole.

His body was recovered downriver the next morning. Wendell was an only child but grew up with his lola. His single mother had been a caregiver in Canada since he was 18 months old. According to relatives, Wendell was a quiet kid but was always helpful. "Why is it the good people on earth who go first?" a tearful Lola Felicitas asked in anguish.



I could only tell her that his act of heroism will not be forgotten. The lola was later surprised upon her return to Antipolo when a public mural was unveiled in Wendell's honor.

One large, often unasked question is, why do some people, even teens, choose to risk their lives and safety to help others, while most people would not? That question has been prominently raised recently in the light of the spectacular rescue by a New York man who leaped onto the subway tracks to save the life of a complete stranger, who had suffered a seizure and accidentally fallen from the subway platform. Both men lived when Wesley covered the other man's body with his own as a train passed inches above their heads. The rescuer left two young daughters on the platform.

An article in the New York Times examines the brain functions that process the last-second decisions to risk one's life to save another. It helped that the rescuer, Wesley Autrey, was a former US Navy man trained to face adversity.

But one study's findings reported in the Times could apply to many heroic personalities, including Wendell's: "People who acted heroically often came from more nurturing families and were imbued with an ethic of caring, empathy and compassion." That line made me think of Wendell's mom who toiled as a caregiver for foreigners so her only child could go to school, and his doting lola who never imagined she would live longer than her big-hearted apo.

Then again, I grew up in a nurturing family too but I'm far from sure I would do the same thing Wendell dela Pena or Wesley Autrey did. I tend to think my own process of risk analysis might end up paralysing any action.

Wendell is officially counted as a victim of natural disaster, one of the 3000. But since he died from falling into an open excavation, he was also a casualty of official negligence. But no one keeps mortality figures for that.

The Museo event was recorded and will be aired on the QTV show, At Your Service-Star Power, hosted by Iza Calzado. I was a guest presenter.

In the Museo Pambata, there is a young heroes gallery. In addition to the blind honor student Roselle Ambubuyog, the gallery features teens and even a six year old girl who saved lives. We may see Wendell dela Pena among them soon.

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I've been seeing the figure 3000 in other contexts -- the US military just recorded its 3000th death in Iraq since the war began in 2003, while 3000 Iraqis are dying in the war every month.

About 3000 people died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

People who directly benefit from stocks are celebrating the 3000 index reached at the end of 2006 by the Philippine Stock Exchange.