JOY Calimlim Habana is many things. He is a sailor for the sport’s national team. He is a father of four children. He is both a pest control worker and a delivery rider.
He is also a PWD.

A few hours after he was born, his right leg had to be amputated. For all of his life, the 49-year-old got around with the help of crutches. Yes, even while he’s on a bike.
“Gusto ko ipakita sa lahat na, putol man ako, marami pa akong magagawa,” said Habana to Summit Media journalist Jham Mariano.
Many things changed in 2020. Among the most far-reaching transformations were a tectonic shift in the way we bought things and the way we got around.
These two are connected — and nowhere was that more clear when lockdown protocols kept us inside our houses. Most of us could only go out to do essential work and buy essential goods. But there was a catch: public transportation was banned from the streets.
So many Filipinos had no choice. They either bought a bike, or booked a team of riders to deliver essential goods to their home.
Cities and businesses responded to the new face of mobility. Bike shops scrambled to secure a steady supply of bicycles. Delivery apps scaled up operations to handle demand. City governments built cycling lanes… and, better still, enforced them, too.
And so a new kind of frontliner was born: the delivery rider.

On the streets of Manila, where 88 percent of households do not own a car, Habana still makes for an uncommon sight: a one-legged biker pedaling hard through the streets. Even former Senator JV Ejercito — an avid biker himself — felt compelled to take a selfie with him when they were biking along the same road.
The same day Ejercito posted his photo, Habana was honored in the first-ever Mobility Awards, winning first place in the Padyak! Power to the People category.
A month after, Grab honored him in its Grand Pagpugay celebration on November 29.
“Masaya po ako sa mga natanggap ko na award,” Habana told SPIN Life. “Hindi ko po naisip na mangyayari po ito sa akin sa year 2020 lalo na nasa stage tayo ng pandemic.”
He added humbly: “Pero kung tutuusin mas mayroon pa siguro na deserve kaysa sa akin tinanggap na ganitong award kasi magagaling sila at matagal na sa larangan ng delivery. Ako ay isa lamang baguhan, at ginagawa ko lang lahat at buong puso ang trabaho ko at hindi nagbabalak na umalis kay Grab.”

Another thing about Habana that is not often talked about is that he’s a PWD athlete, in a sport that doesn’t get nearly enough recognition: sailing.
“Sinasabi nila na ang sailing ay mahal na sports, pangmayaman lang daw,” Habana told SPIN Life. “Pero inilalapit na sa mga tao na ang sport na sailing ay pwede rin sa iba, o kahit sino ay pwede sa sports na ito.”
He was introduced to the sport by a parasailor when he was in a PWD federation, who invited him to try out the sport in the Manila Sailing Center in Manila Bay.
Habana is no stranger to sports. In the '90s, he regularly went on long-distance runs, and he even told us that he once ran Milo’s famed 21K marathon. Habana has also dabbled in badminton, table tennis, hiking, and paragliding.
But before the pandemic, sailing had become part of his regular routine. Every weekend, he would train in Manila Bay, and on the second Sunday of the month, he would head down to Talisay, Batangas for some lakeside sailing.
He’s also been a trainee in the national parasailing team since 2017.
“Habang ako ay trainee sumasali na rin ako sa mga local regatta para lang makaipon ako ng mga record ng race,” he said. PHILSPADA, the government office for PWD sports, looks closely at an individual’s accomplishments before granting full national team member status.
“Kumpleto na ako sa mga record at award na natanggap ko na kailangan nila,” Habana continued. Still, he’s waiting for official word from the agency.
What is it about sailing that attracted him to the rare sport?
The feeling, Habana said, is one of a kind. “Pag nakasakay ka para kang lumilipad sa bilis nito.” With his condition, the sport suits him as well, as he can navigate through the water sitting down. In that sense, the sport becomes almost a mind game. “Gagamit o iisip ka ng taktika kung paano at saan mo ito papadaanin.”
While sailing was shut down, like many other sports, during this year, Habana was glad to see some practice just last October and November. Even for a little while, he was able to feel the surf on his face and the wind on his back in Taal Lake in the past few months.

In selecting him for the Spin.ph Sportsman Who Defies the Odds award for 2020, we noticed how Joy Calimlim Habana's story has gone beyond the usual narrative of PWD sports and embodied many of the key themes of this pandemic year — among them, mobility, cycling, the necessary work of frontliners, and the shutdown of all sports tournaments. Through all the challenges above and beyond his disability, he has surmounted them all, and made this year one to remember.
The recognition that he’s received throughout 2020 is fueling his hope that next year, things would turn out for the better.
He wishes, of course, that his national team member status would finally be approved. He also wishes that his Grab ledger would be filled with bookings and delivery so he can keep on making a living.
Above all, he said, “Wish ko po sa taong 2021 ay maging normal na ang lahat para wala na tayong alalahanin sa kalusugan ng ating mga mahal sa buhay.”
But we know that, whatever happens next year, Joy Calimlim Habana will be an athlete who continues to defy the odds.
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