BAGUIO CITY—She was only 6 when Agustina Bantiloc, the 12th of 13 siblings, fractured her pelvis in 1974 due to a bad fall. It took three days of hiking to get her from their remote Kalinga village to the nearest hospital. By then, it was too late—the girl had lost the use of her legs. She could no longer walk, even with crutches.

Growing up, Bantiloc spent most of her days at home, except when her siblings would bring her to the river to bathe. Those days meant enduring the endless taunts and teasing of other children, recounted this paraplegic who never imagined that she would one day bring home two golds for a physical feat.

When Bantiloc reached school age, a teacher took pity on her and allowed her to move into her hut near the school so she wouldn’t have to crawl too far to get to class. At the end of the week, her parents would carry her back home.

Bantiloc was in Grade 4 when a tribal war between the Lubo and Mangali tribes of Kalinga erupted, forcing her to stop going to school. Once more, her life was limited within the four walls of their home and occasional trips to the river for her bath.

But life offered her hope when a recommendation from Sister Aurora Codiam of the Tuding Sisters got her into Tahanang Walang Hagdan in Baguio City. In 1983, Bantiloc moved into this shelter for the disabled and became a regular employee by 1985. Aside from helping out in the kitchen, she learned various life skills, such as baking, watch repair, electronics, and silver craft making.

A free corrective surgery at the Baguio General Hospital in 1985 and a brace worn for a year after surgery enabled Bantiloc to walk with crutches, although she remained largely dependent on a wheelchair.

In 1992, Bantiloc married a polio victim, Melchor, whom she met at the shelter. Two years later, they moved to Manila, where she pursued studies at the National Orthopedic Hospital School for Crippled Children in Santa Lucia, Novaliches. She was taking up her Associate in Formation Computer Science at the Baguio Colleges Foundation (now the University of the Cordilleras) when she discovered she was pregnant with her first baby and had to drop out.

Bantiloc found a career in sports by accident. Along with her children, she had gone to watch her husband compete in basketball during the 2002 Philippine Sports for the Differently Abled held in Baguio. “When I found out they were also staging the first Olympic Power Lifting, I ended up joining it,” she recalled.

Surprisingly, Bantiloc, who never had any previous training in the sport, won the gold for lifting 40 kilos. She then represented the region in the national competitions in 2003, and again won the gold, this time for 50 kilos in the body weight category.

As the country’s representative in the 2003 ASEAN Sports Competition for the Differently Abled held in Vietnam, Bantiloc began training in earnest. Lifting 60 kilos earned her second place in a field of 11 competitors. In 2006, she flew to Malaysia for the Asian Sports competition, where she lifted 67.5 kilos and won third place. In January 2008, Bantiloc once again represented the Philippines in Thailand, lifting 60 kilos and placing third.

Her husband, a construction worker, has similarly made a name for himself in national sports, with his basketball team consistently placing second or third place. He is quick to acknowledge his wife’s prowess though. Unlike her, he said good-naturedly, “Pang-national lang ako (I’m only good for national competitions).”

Between caring for their young children, Bantiloc also dabbles in archery. Opportunities for People With Disabilities (PWDs) who are into power lifting are limited in Baguio, she said. “There are no disabled-friendly training grounds, not even a gym where we can train continuously and improve ourselves.” Muscle-building takes years of training, she explained. In archery, she added, players can use the grounds of the Athletic Bowl in Burnham Park.

The apparent discrimination between normal players and the differently-abled also rankles. “Normal players get higher incentives and allowances,” she said, while players like herself have to spend more to get their own transportation. “It’s hard for us to get into a bus,” she pointed out.

The prizes also reflect a double standard, Bantiloc said. Differently-abled power lifters get P25,000 when they win the gold, while normal players get P50,000. Along with the silver medal, PWDs receive P15,000, compared with the P25,000 that normal players get. Bronze medalists for both get P10,000.

Despite this concern, Bantiloc still encourages young PWDs to get into sports as a form of therapy and fitness building. “Don’t lose hope because your day will come,” she said. Women’s Feature Service