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Son of farmer, habal-habal driver in Lanao del Norte is 9th in PMA Class of 2020
LANAO DEL NORTE - As Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Commandant of Cadets Brigadier General Romeo Brawner Jr. announced the top 10 graduates of Class Masidlawin 2020 in Baguio City on Friday, the parents of Cadet 1st Class Rubenson Prajes Abgao were not around.
No guests were invited and parents of the graduating cadets did not have the chance to witness the momentous occasion due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Abgao's parents were very proud to learn that their son was Top 9 in his class of 196 cadets.
Abgao, who used to plant palay during his student days, is the son of farmer, "habal-habal" driver and charcoal vendor Rodrigo and his wife Betty.
It was in 2016 when Abgao left his hometown to join the PMA.
Although two of his older brothers are currently active corporals in the Philippine Army—one assigned in Marawi City and the other in Iligan City—Abgao, the fourth of five children, said he will join the Philippine Air Force.
The family struggle
Life for the Abgaos has been difficult.
While Rodrigo tended a small piece of land he inherited from his parents which produced a minimal yield of copra and palay, Betty took care of their five children while carving out coconuts to sell as dried copra.
For most of their lives, the family lived in a dilapidated house in Barangay Maliwanag in the municipality of Baroy in Lanao del Norte.
“Life had been difficult. It was a struggle. This house did not look like the original one we had,” said Rodrigo.
Their current two-story concrete house, built by their older children Rubelyn, Roger and Robert, lies in the middle of a coconut and rice farmland.
Rodrigo recalls the days he would juggle part-time jobs to make ends meet. He and Betty would sell charcoal (uling) in nearby Barangay Manan-ao when farm produce was unreliable. They did that for 13 years.
Rodrigo also drove the "habal-habal" for 12 years.
He would also bring the children to the farm and allow them to experience tilling the soil and planting rice. Then he asked them: Would you prefer to do this hard work all your life or get an education to secure a better life? The children chose education.
Rodrigo promised they would finish college. He said his own parents did not send him to college thus leaving him no choice but go to farming in order to survive.
There was a time he even had to sell Betty's carabao and resort to loans from neighbors to put Rubelyn through school.
As a 4Ps beneficiary, Betty received monetary aid from the government, which helped cover some of the family expenses.
From the farm to PMA
Abgao was in elementary and high school when he worked in his father's farm planting palay.
It was pure hard work.
“But I understood why I had to do it. We were five children growing up together and two of my older siblings went to college almost at the same time. Whatever the family earned, it had to go to my older siblings’ education,” said Abgao.
The young boy set his mind on entering the PMA and not giving up, no matter how difficult it would be.
Every time he felt like giving up inside the PMA, he would remind himself of his goal of not going back to doing hard labor in the farm.
“There were times I would feel so low and get so tired in PMA and I would tell myself that I will never go back to the painful experience in the past. And so I persevered,” Abgao said.
Student achiever
Early on, Abgao already showed diligence and perseverance.
He was an outstanding student at the Lanao del Norte National Comprehensive High School (LNNCHS) in Baroy.
Edalyn Melecio-Olis, Master Teacher I and Abgao's ICT teacher at LNNCHS, remembers Abgao as a "diligent, very humble, respectful, and responsible student." He showed dedication in class and would always come to school very early despite the distance he had to travel each day.
"Sonson, as he is fondly called, would never say no to anything. He always wore that smile every time his teachers asked him to do things for them. He never failed to come to me and would always wait until classes ended just to spend time with us and talk or exchange pleasantries," said Olis.
Abgao was an honor student in high school and excelled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). As an active leader in Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP), he participated in several competitions in the region. He even represented Lanao del Norte in the Regional Technolympics Skills Competition and won first place in tarpaulin design. He joined the National Technolympics Skills Competition in Marikina in 2014.
Rodrigo said he knew Abgao was a smart child.
However, when Abgao was about to graduate from high school, Rodrigo told him they were still not financially stable. He advised his son to look for a college scholarship.
Abgao then took the scholarship test of the Department of Science and Technology. He qualified then studied computer science for two semesters at the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).
At the same time he took the DOST test, Abgao also took the examination for the PMA. He moved to the PMA after he hurdled the exam.
At the PMA
Life in the PMA had totally changed Abgao.
He had become more confident and his character inspirited and emboldened by the PMA’s ideals courage, integrity and loyalty.
Abgao also matured well physically and he believes he has been fully developed as a person.
Rodrigo and Betty are grateful that Abgao survived the rigorous training at PMA, but his being in the top 10 was a bonus and a surprise to them.
“Whatever he got now, being in the top ten, I did not expect that. It’s a big bonus,” said Rodrigo.
Betty said Abgao is now on his way to a better life on his own now.
Raymond, the youngest child, is following in his brothers' footsteps. He recently passed the examinations for entering PMA and is waiting to be called for the upcoming school year.
With great pride, Rodrigo tells his friends that with his three boys now serving in the military, and one more son about to join the PMA, and his daughter Rubelyn now working as a supervisor in a food manufacturing company in Cebu, their sacrifices have paid off.
Rodrigo instilled in his children's minds that wherever they may go and whatever they accomplish in life, they must keep their values intact and always put first the value of respect; and to respect themselves and others is paramount.
For their sacrifice and support, Abgao only had good words for his parents.
“'Nay, ‘Tay, Salamat sa inyong pag suporta. Kung wala ko ninyo gisuportahan, dili ko maabot ug ingon ani karon. Salamat kaayo sa inyong pagpasingot ug pag-antos aron makahuman mi ug eskwela tanan. Ug sa akong mga igsoon, Salamat pod kaayo sa inyong suporta (Mother, Father, I thank you for your support. If you did not support me, I would not have achieved what I have now. Thank you for your sweat, for sacrificing a lot so we finish our education. And to my siblings, thank you for supporting me)," Abgao said. —KG, GMA News
