Tribute to a Master Gardener
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Alberto “Bitoy” Camaro
Bitoy did not have any formal training in gardening. Before working in La Vista, he was a salesman for a biscuit factory on Araneta Avenue. His job, which lasted for 27 years, involved physically arranging displays and keeping inventory of biscuits in different malls. His job ended when the factory closed down. He had a hard time looking for work in Manila and considered going back to Cebu, his province. But his only brother, Danilo, who was the driver of Nick Villasenor, a longtime La Vista resident who later became the President of the La Vista Homeowners’ Association, encouraged him to apply as a maintenance worker for the gated community in 2003. After he was hired, he and his family moved to Kaingin 1 in Pansol, adjacent to La Vista.
While he had no experience as a gardener, Bitoy rapidly honed his skills on the job and gradually came to love it, especially when his clients in the village praised his work. He was an engaging storyteller who took pride in his creations and liked to narrate his day-to-day experiences with his family or point to his specific contributions—for example, the gazebo, the walking path in Bagobo Woods, and the Grotto at the end of the path along Mangyan Road, which he helped beautify with plants. He spent most of his time in this park.
The grotto at the end of Bagobo Woods, which Bitoy helped landscape.
His hard work made La Vista’s parks and gardens clean, resplendent, and well-maintained in an understated way.
I got to know Bitoy well when I was a member of the La Vista Board from 2013–2025. I walked regularly between 7 and 8 a.m., and my route would end on Ifugao Street, where I would spot him working diligently on the plants and making sure the parks remained clean and well-tended. He was always cheerful and delighted in telling me what specific tasks he was currently busy with. I would sometimes ask him for the names of certain plants that I saw in Bagobo Woods, and he would say, “‘Ay sorry po Ma’am, hindi ko po alam ang mga pangalan nila (I don’t know their names)!”
Gazebo Whisperer
There was a deteriorating gazebo in Bagobo Woods, which turned off residents. Before the pandemic, I reported the existence of this decrepit gazebo to the La Vista Board, which then assigned me to renovate it. I asked the then-Village Manager Laura Mirabueno and Bitoy to upgrade the gazebo by installing lights and electric fans, adding benches made from the trunks of village mahogany trees, and installing tiny steps as well as a solid concrete path so that residents and people with disabilities could easily access it.
The gazebo that Bitoy landscaped.
We also decided to collect leaves from the plants in Bagobo Woods. The leaves would then be placed face-down on the wet cement as the concrete steps leading to the gazebo were being laid. This way, the leaves’ distinctive patterns would be imprinted on the steps, memorializing the plants in Bagobo Woods even if we did not know their names.
Another major challenge was addressing the mosquito infestation around the gazebo. The nearby creeks were breeding grounds. On special occasions, the La Vista Office would arrange for Bagobo Woods to be fumigated with a chemical insecticide on the day of an event. To adopt a more organic approach, members of the Environment Committee unanimously suggested adopting natural alternatives, such as growing mosquito-repelling plants like citronella, lavender, or lantana, a small colorful flower.
Once, we ordered citronella plants from farmers in Bicol and told them to deliver the plants during office hours to the La Vista Administration Office, but they were delivered in the wee hours of the morning to the Mangyan Road entrance. A security guard transferred the citronellas to a security post in Bagobo Woods, leaving them on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the garbage collectors were making their rounds, and one of them thought the sacks with the plants were meant to be thrown away, so he scooped them up and dumped them in one of their trucks. I was so upset and frustrated, and Laura thought it would be impossible to retrieve the plants, as they would have been dumped along with all the other garbage, including pig’s slop, in the garbage trucks.
To my surprise, the next morning, when I passed by the gazebo, I saw bundles of the citronella plants neatly piled on the sidewalk. Bitoy had somehow appealed to the driver of the garbage truck and retrieved them. He painstakingly cleaned and later planted them around the gazebo, making it a more conducive venue for small parties or gatherings of residents.
Free Vegetables
Bitoy also took the initiative to plant native vegetables like malunggay, alugbati, Tagalog pechay, and spinach near the barracks and generously gave bunches of vegetables to residents passing by. He could make female residents feel like brides, carrying lush bunches of Tagalog pechay or spinach as they walked.
Andi, the author’s granddaughter, holding a bouquet of lush pechay Tagalog given by Bitoy.
He created a nursery to nurture various plant shoots in small plastic containers until they were ready to be planted. Many residents liked his cheerfulness, generosity, humility, and sense of humor. A good number of them availed of Bitoy’s expertise by asking him to work for them on his free days and consulting him on how they could improve their own gardens.
A Leader
La Vista resident Ping de Jesus, former Secretary of Transportation and Communication, Executive Director of the Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX), and current President of the Clark Development Corporation, was among those who regularly availed of Bitoy’s services and even invited him to visit his farm in Pampanga. He lavishly praised Bitoy, saying that in any group of workers, there is one who always emerges as a leader—one who sets the standards not only for skills but also for dedication and passion, thus raising the bar for the group’s work performance. In La Vista, Bitoy was that leader. La Vista’s gardens were well-maintained and resplendent. He was passionate, energetic, and always ready to teach other workers his skills. He was the perfect gardener for La Vista.
“Bitoy, parang Diyos ka kasi kahit iyong patay ay nabubuhay mo pa (Bitoy, you’re like God because you can raise the dead)!” I told him several times.
The plants were regularly watered, pruned, and grouped with others to blend well with the environment and make them visually attractive. Cuttings of the plants would be transferred to pots to multiply or be planted in the soil. Bushes were trimmed and located along the Bagobo Woods path, with white benches installed at intervals for village walkers or joggers to sit on. His familiarity with different foliage and flowers enabled him to plant them in exactly the right places and add color to enhance the environment.
Jano Eustaquio, CEO of Linnea Furniture and Realty Development Corporation, was another resident who worked closely with Bitoy. Jano’s sister Nina was once a member of the LV Board who headed the Environment Committee. She meticulously trained La Vista’s maintenance men and even attended to their personal appearance. Jano, a passionate gardener himself, enjoyed working with Bitoy. “Bitoy was outstanding, exceptional in his work. Even his work ethic was exceptional.” He and Bitoy “traded” with each other. He gave Bitoy some plants like the bromeliad hibiscus imperial and exquisite-looking pots for the bigger ornamental plants. He and Bitoy kept in touch by chatting at Jano’s home or in Bagobo Woods and occasionally texted each other.
“Great achievements are usually done in silence,” says Annie Guerrero, the multi-awarded Environment Guru of La Vista who was the Chair of the Environment Committee during the presidency of Atty. Mervyn G. Encanto. Annie has lived in La Vista for 54 years. In 2007, La Vista was conferred the Garbology Award, the gold medal for solid waste management.
Bitoy with indoor plants he rearranged in minutes. Left to right: Bitoy and an unidentified companion.
Quiet Demeanor
Her fondest memory of Bitoy during her term was “his quiet demeanor.” She fondly recalls Bitoy being assigned to the Ecology Center in Bagobo Woods, doing menial jobs, which he performed in extraordinary ways, such as daily checking that all the tools were returned and kept in the barracks as if he personally owned them.
“His capacity to do his job well is perhaps what gives his life its deepest meaning,” she adds.
Many of the materials Bitoy used for the garden came from the debris of remodeled village houses. Bitoy said that sometimes the plants he found among the debris were wilting or practically dying, but with his care and instinctive touch, he would regenerate them in no time.
“Bitoy, parang Diyos ka kasi kahit iyong patay ay nabubuhay mo pa (Bitoy, you’re like God because you can raise the dead)!” I told him several times.
He may not have had the benefit of formal training. He did not take courses in Landscape Design or Landscape Management. La Vista did not have to outsource its landscaping by contracting a high-end landscape architect. But through Bitoy’s 21 years of passionate service and sheer love for La Vista, he left as his legacy the lush and beautiful gardens of this village.
