Maritess De Ocampo

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Remembering Nilo Ortiz

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781108436458Screenshot 2026-06-08 at 11.19.24 AM.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Rhiza Pascua with her parents, Nilo and Vessie Ortiz</div>June is also known as the month we honor our dads. But this Father&#x27;s Day, the Pascua and Ortiz Families will celebrate Nilo Ortiz—beloved husband, father, and grandfather—through memories rather than moments. As they continue to grieve the loss of their dear Nilo, they are also honoring the life he lived and the lessons his story leaves behind about family, aging, and looking out for our elderly.For many families, one of the greatest gifts of aging is watching parents and grandparents continue to live independently. They drive themselves to familiar places. They run errands. They shop for groceries. They maintain routines that have been part of their lives for decades. These ordinary moments often provide comfort, both for seniors who value their independence and for the families who love them. It is easy to assume that these everyday routines will always end the same way: with a loved one returning home. For Filipino live-events executive Rhiza Pascua and her family, one ordinary errand became a painful reminder of how quickly life can change. According to the family, 82-year-old Nilo Ortiz had gone to a Seafood City location in Los Angeles when an alleged theft-related incident occurred. The matter is now part of an ongoing criminal case in the United States. This week, Ortiz’s widow is expected to take the witness stand and revisit one of the most difficult days of her life: the day she lost the man she had loved for more than 55 years.<div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZWMpifgdlO/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=768&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1915169.3000000715%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="889" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>For Pascua, the loss remains deeply personal. “My father, Nilo Ortiz, was not a headline,” Pascua wrote in a personal account shared by the family. “He was a husband of 55 years. A father, a grandfather, and the sort of man who never met a stranger.” Remembering and honoring Nilo Ortiz To the public, Nilo Ortiz’s name may now be connected to court proceedings. To those who knew him, he was a husband, father, grandfather, and friend. His family remembers him as warm, generous, and deeply present. He remembered birthdays. He offered help before anyone asked. He never walked away from a conversation without leaving someone smiling. For the people who loved him, these are the memories that matter most. His absence, however, has transformed daily life in ways both profound and ordinary. Pascua says her family’s life now feels divided into two chapters: before and after. Before, her mother had the husband she built a life with for more than half a century. Today, she sleeps alone. Before, Pascua’s children had a grandfather they could call, visit, laugh with, and play games with. Today, they are left with memories. Before, their family gathered around a man whose presence made everyone feel safe. Today, there is an empty chair that can never be filled. Encouraging a broader conversation As the criminal case continues, Pascua says her family respects the role of the court in determining responsibility for the incident. Outside the courtroom, however, she hopes her father’s story can encourage a broader conversation—one that many families are already having as parents and grandparents grow older. Her message, she says, is not about blame. It is about awareness. It is about prevention. It is about asking how families and communities can better protect elderly loved ones in the ordinary places they visit every day. The loss of her father has made one reality impossible for her to ignore: seniors often move through public spaces with quiet vulnerability. They go to groceries, markets, churches, pharmacies, parking lots, and community stores. They walk more slowly. They may carry bags. They may be alone. They may trust that the spaces around them are safe. And because of that, Pascua believes they deserve more attention, more awareness, and more protection. The risks of independence For many Filipino families in Los Angeles, Metro Manila, and communities abroad, this concern feels familiar. Many have parents or grandparents who continue to live independently, running errands alone and insisting they are still capable of doing things for themselves. Every Filipino family knows someone like Nilo Ortiz. A lolo who still drives himself to the grocery. A lola who still goes to the market alone. A parent who does not want to bother anyone for help. An uncle or auntie who says, “Sandali lang ako,” and leaves the house for a simple errand.For most families, they come home. Pascua’s father did not. Living with what comes after Since losing her father, Pascua says she has lived with grief, anxiety, fear, panic, and the constant weight of what her family lost. In her impact statement, Pascua described the death of her father as a tragedy that shattered the foundation of their family and left lasting emotional, psychological, and practical burdens that they continue to carry every day.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781108543860WhatsApp Image 2026-06-07 at 23.02.08.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>The family grieving the loss of their beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Nilo OrtizHer mother is grieving the loss of her husband of 55 years. Her children are grieving the loss of a grandfather. Pascua herself continues to balance the responsibilities of being a daughter, mother, professional, and advocate while processing a loss that changed the course of their lives. What weighs on her most is the thought of what her father should still be doing. He should still be enjoying his senior years. He should still be traveling with his wife. He should still be celebrating milestones with his family. He should still be playing Uno with his grandchildren. Instead, his family is preparing for testimony, court proceedings, and the difficult experience of speaking publicly about a deeply personal loss. A reminder for families everywhere Pascua says her family continues to speak because Nilo’s life mattered. They speak because senior safety matters. They speak because no family should have to receive a call that turns an ordinary errand into a permanent goodbye. And they speak because what happened to their family has become a painful reminder that elderly people need stronger protection in the everyday spaces where they live, shop, wait, walk, and gather. For Pascua, that means encouraging families to check in more often with elderly loved ones. It means reminding seniors to stay alert in parking lots and public spaces. It means asking community establishments to be more mindful of vulnerable customers. It means promoting emergency readiness, visible safety awareness, faster response, and compassion when tragedy strikes. Most of all, it means refusing to let her father be remembered only for the circumstances surrounding his death. “He was a husband. A father. A grandfather. A loyal member of a Filipino family. A kind man whose life was full of people who loved him.” As his widow prepares to testify and the criminal case continues in Los Angeles, Pascua hopes people remember her father not as a case number, but as a man whose life mattered to many. A man who left home for a simple errand. A man who should have returned to his family. And a reminder for all of us to ask a difficult but necessary question: Are we doing enough to keep our aging parents safe?</div><div> </div><div>Photos courtesy of the Pascua and Ortiz Families.</div>

As Father’s Day approaches, Rhiza Pascua reflects on the loss of her father, Nilo Ortiz, and the lessons his life—and absence—have taught her about family, aging, and keeping elderly loved ones safe while preserving their independence.

As Father’s Day approaches, Rhiza Pascua reflects on the loss of her father, Nilo Ortiz, and the lessons his life—and absence—have taught her about family, aging, and keeping elderly loved ones safe while preserving their independence.

A beloved father's last grocery run: One family's story of love, loss, and the need to protect our aging parents

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A beloved father's last grocery run: One family's story of love, loss, and the need to protect our aging parents

Mawi Fojas De Ocampo

Published June 11, 2026 12:56 AM PHT

Read More:

Aging Parents

Senior Safety

Filipino Families

Elder Care

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