What Our Elders Began, We Continue
There is more history behind this photograph than what can be seen.
We do not know exactly how far back the relationship and cooperation between our families go. What we do know is that Juan, grandfather of Juanita Torremocha, and Torio, grandfather of Letecia “Ate TC” Butalid Paitan, knew one another and worked together through herbs and healing.
That spirit continued into the next generation through their children—Ondoy, Juanita’s father, and Badeh, Ate TC’s father—who carried the knowledge forward.
Generations passed, and that spirit of connection continued.
Noel Torremocha became part of the family through his marriage to Juanita and through learning from the elders. I, Eric Roxas, was welcomed into this lineage through Lolo Badeh and Ate TC, who taught and guided me together and shared with me the knowledge entrusted to them.
Alongside family and mentorship is something we all recognize in our own journeys: tuga—the divine calling to the path of healing.
Today, Juanita and Noel continue their work through Balay Pahauli, while Ate TC and I continue ours through Siquijor Healers (Life Coaching Services).
We each have our own ways of practicing, serving people, and sustaining our work, and we respect those differences. As Noel simply puts it:
“Depende sa diskarte ng mananambal.”
When we come together, we share stories and knowledge, talk about herbs and healing, and support one another. We also buy herbs from Juanita and Noel because supporting the people who continue cultivating, gathering, preparing, and sharing these plants is another way of helping keep the knowledge alive.
There is something deeply meaningful about seeing this relationship continue.
Our elders did not preserve their knowledge in isolation. They knew one another, worked together, exchanged knowledge, and helped one another.
And generations later, here we are doing the same.
Lineage is not only something remembered. It is something lived.
Perhaps one of the best ways we can honor Juan, Torio, Ondoy, Badeh, and the other elders who came before us is not merely to remember their names, but to continue the cooperative spirit they left behind—to learn from one another, support one another, and pass forward what has been entrusted to us.
They worked together then. We continue that spirit today. 
Juanita Torremocha & Noel Torremocha (@Healing Hut Siquijor) — Balay Pahauli
“Ate TC” Letecia Butalid Paitan & John Eric Velilla Roxas — Siquijor Healers Life Coaching Services
Kaalaman • Kalikasan • Kagalingan
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