INTERVIEW ON PINOYAPACHE, PART 1

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONNAIRES FROM A B.S. EDUCATION STUDENT AS A REQUIREMENT FOR STUDIES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DILLIMAN, QUEZON CITY.  SEPTEMBER 6, 2013. 

 

1.     How would you describe yourself as an individual, and as a leader?

I am really a shy person and would like to do things away from the limelight if that would only be possible.  I know I would sound like a hypocrite here considering that I bask myself in the glare of Facebook updates.  I wished I could turn it off but I have a personal mission. My being shy does not mean I am aloof but it grooves more of my being a very independent person; doing things my own way by my lonesome self, risks included.  Yes, I am comfortable working alone and I have proven that many times in the past as a solo operator.   

As a leader, I have my own faults.  I am human and subject to social and environmental interference.  I would rather watch from the sidelines than leading people.  On that manner, I could ascertain my own path for my upkeep.

2.    How would you describe Cebu City as your birthplace and as your playground?

Cebu City is just a small place sharing the biggest plain of an island with two other cities.  It has four creeks draining to the Mactan Channel, one of which is my childhood playground.  It has all the amenities and conveniences that you would likely find in Metro Manila, only you could secure or reach it in less travel time or even walk it in between.  It is protected from the east by Mactan Island and from the west by the Babag Mountain Range and from the north and south and above its air space, by our beloved Señor Santo Niño.  We speak Cebuano, of course, but the original residents here would rather read newspapers and watch movies in English.  The city had lost most of its character brought on by brisk business activity and the influx of tourists and people from other provinces which made it more crowded, polluted, increased index crimes and what have you that are also common in Manila and other big cities of this country.          

3.    What memory can you share about your childhood and your basic education?

Early in my life, I was doted on by my grandparents and became so close to them as if I am living separate from the rest of my family although we all live in the same house.  I have literally been in a school of hard knocks during my elementary and a day would not pass without bruises, black eyes and head bumps.  During that time, I have learned to earn my own money by my own wits when asking it was too taxing for my parents and elders since their values ran contrary to what tantamount to as begging.  In my freshman year in a Catholic high school, I am a weekly visitor in the principal’s office due to disciplinary actions and I was kicked out after my third year when the friars thought I am a very subversive youth.

4.    Why did you take up BS Commerce, Computer Science and Vocational Courses?  Are they your interest?  Who or what influenced you to enroll in the mentioned courses?

I shift to Commerce because I thought it is easy than Engineering but my preference to be always with my peers caused me to drop out and I was forced to take up vocational courses instead to appease my father and to keep me busy for four years.  Later, I took up Computer Science when I was in the police force for my career advancement.  If I had not taken subjects in Computer Science I would have been a dinosaur until now.   

5.    Describe your fears as you begin your first job?

The only fear I had felt then was that if my employer would discover my true age and that was the time when I was hired as a warehouse helper in a big national supermarket chain in 1980 because I was 17 then and I passed myself off as 18.  I did not last long with my first job because I was a wild youth.

6.    Why have you decided to work in a private company from being a police officer?

When I got myself separated from the force, I have no other option to feed my family except to get a job from the private sector.  I screened out several times as a call center agent and there was a time that I worked as a gardener for six months for a cousin.  Fortunately for me, a private security agency was in need of someone to oversee their operations and I felt my knowledge and experience are adequate enough for that job.     

7.    Why have you selected to become a self-reliance and primitive-living skills instructor?

After I heard from my mountaineer-friends talking about a famous TV survivalist, I instantly surmised that he was not doing those things the proper way.  Since I knew a lot of survivalcraft from my late grandfather, I begun to entertain the idea of teaching it properly to people and discuss the wisdom behind each aspect whereby it lead to a great understanding about what this guy was really doing.

8.    Are your kids also into bushcraft?  If yes, can you share how they became interested?  What is your most unforgettable experience with them?

No.  I wished they would but I will not force them.  I am just waiting for the right time when they get tired of their dependence with the electrical outlet.  Watching them grow up every day is an amazing experience.

9.    What does “teamwork” mean to you?

Teamwork is doing things in clockwork precision with all the individuals in a team.  Each one has his/her own role or functions and, whatever the outcome, as long as there is cohesiveness, the objective of teamwork is thus achieved.  Of course, I know this, being once a basketball player but it is not confined to a certain sport and it can also be adopted inside of a corporation, a home or even running an event.

10.  Would you describe yourself as a team player or an individual achiever?

Either.  I could organize and direct a team in an easy manner as much as I could bank on myself to come up with good results singlehandedly.  Most often, I just watch from the sidelines and make myself relevant when I thought I have the answers.

11.  What kind of people do you find difficult to work with and why?

People with bloated egos and the know-it-alls.  They have their own convoluted benchmarks and they are quite critical of other people who, they think, are not at their superfluous level.  And there are persons who have inferior qualities but who make up to it by projecting themselves as someone who is superior.  Trolls make up this last type.

12. What experience have you had with students from culturally diverse backgrounds?

It is always a good opportunity to learn from other people with different cultural backgrounds.  I treat each one as an equal with utmost respect and understanding.