DESPITE his disabilities, Ernie Gawilan is one of the best swimmers in the Philippines. He has the accolades to prove to you that.In the Southeast Asian region, the 31-year-old Gawilan is legendary.Gawilan won nine gold medals at the Asean Para Games — three in the 2014 Naypyidaw edition (100m freestyle S8, 400m freestyle S8, 200m individual medley SM8); two in the 2015 Singapore meet (400m freestyle S8, 200m individual medley SM8); two in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Games (400m freestyle S8, 200m individual medley SM8); and two in the 2022 Surakarta edition (400m freestyle S7 TF, 200m individual medley SM7).The pride of Paquibato, Davao City also has three silvers and three bronzes to add to his Asean Para Games medal haul.Gawilan likewise stamped his class in the Asian region. Other than his three bronze medals and two silvers, he also has three golds at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.One of those golds was the Philippines' first-ever in the continental meet, and Gawilan delivered it by ruling the men's individual medley SM7 with a time of two minutes and 52.43 seconds.Gawilan got his two other gold medals in the 100m backstroke S7 and 400m freestyle S7 events.If that's not enough, Gawilan also qualified for the Paralympics twice, representing the Philippines in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and in the 2021 Tokyo editions of the Games.It's crazy to think that all these accolades of Gawilan were born out of her mother's unsuccessful abortion of him. As a result, Gawilan was born with underdeveloped extremities, having thin knees with no feet and an incomplete left arm with incomplete fingers.Gawilan grew up feeling like an outcast. It is in the waters when he feels normal and complete. Swimming became his sanctuary.'I used to be ashamed of my appearance, so I'm always inside. But because of swimming, I managed to get out of [my] shell,' said Gawilan in a short documentary titled after his surname.'When I'm in the water, my disabilities are being concealed. I feel a sense of passion. My shame disappears,' added Gawilan, whose father abandoned him and whose mother died of cholera when he was just five months old.Gawilan's grandfather took custody of him, and he was later sent to his new home at the Our Lady of Victory Training Center in Samal, Davao del Norte.In the early 2000s, Gawilan developed his love for swimming and coach Mark Jude Corpu saw potential in him.