Grin Department rocker down with disease cries for help

An appeal for financial assistance and blood donors has been launched on Facebook in ailing Bong Pascasio’s behalf.

“Miss, miss, sa loob ng jeepney, sana naman ako ay bigyang pansin,” goes the line from the song “Miss U” by the rock band Grin Department.

It was about a man in a jeepney developing a crush on a beautiful co-passenger. The band gained fans in the 1990s with such happy-go-lucky, if not comical, songs.

Today, however, a serious medical condition plagues its frontman, Bong Pascasio.

The musician was recently discharged after a two-month confinement at Sta. Ana Hospital in Manila. He now awaits an operation for a chronic abdominal disease.

Pascasio, also a tattoo artist, has been struggling with finances since his house on Teresa Street, Sta. Mesa, burned down in December last year. An appeal for financial assistance and blood donors has been launched on Facebook in his behalf.

In a phone interview with the Inquirer, Pascasio said he had gone under the knife to have a tumor removed from his small intestines after it started affecting his large intestines and bladder.

The operation left Pascasio malnourished and almost unable to walk.

His fraternity, Tau Gamma Phi, and his friends have launched an online campaign for donations. Peers in the rock music circuit have also held three charity concerts.

Pascasio said he still owed the hospital about P10,000 for the blood transfusions and that he could use a little more help for his maintenance drugs and further checkups.

Those who wish to help Pascasio may call 0922-9339664.