2017, May

When Rolly Tomas left his rural village of Estancia in Piddig, Ilocos Norte for Taiwan, he had high hopes to start a bright future with his family. Four years later, he returned home with meager income as most of his earnings went for the treatment of his common-law wife, fighting cervical and liver cancer. Single and childless, the 39-year old landscaping artist— which he acquired through experience in Taiwan— vent out his distress on a beautiful heart-shaped landscape garden located along the highway and adjacent to his family residence in Estancia. Over the past six months, Mr. Tomas said he developed a portion of their family lot into what he now calls as the “Heart of Asia” garden.