Eastern Visayas Media Without Borders
by Ahlette Reyes
MAHAPLAG, LEYTE – Instead of enjoying his retirement years, 70-year-old Jose Pentin Rallos of Barangay Union in Mahaplag, Leyte, opted to enrol as a Grade 7 student, considered in Philippine education system, the first year in junior high school.
Known in the barangay as “Tatay Jose,” the senior citizen of a town (which name is believed to have been culled from a combo of two local terms that mean failure and success) is openly determined to finish an education that was deprived of him about six decades ago due to poverty.
Tatay Jose, born on 9th of March 1955, unintentionally became a symbol of lifelong learning, as his pursuit of a long-held dream effectively served as inspiration to the thousands of students at the Mahaplag National High School (MNHS) main campus, a public school.
Tatay Jose, in an engagement with the media, revealed that it was poverty that had put his education on hold many years ago. While others enjoyed economic comfort during the post-World War-era, he said his family was among the many others who were agonizing in an economically deprived household condition.
However, his optimism for a formal education never left his heart and mind, despite his fall into early marriage at the age of 19, which further shelved his dreams of finishing school.
“I always wanted to go back to school. However, I got married early and have to work to raise my five children. I got separated from my wife and then I had to take care of my ailing parents,” Tatay Jose said in the local language.
Impressed by his courage and determination, people in the barangay were initially puzzled by his decision to enrol in a regular school, instead of the Alternative Learning System that is being made available by the Department of Education to out-of-school youths and adults who have not completed formal schooling.
Wenico Bantaculo Jr, from MNHS’ School Governance and Operations counterpart, said Tatay Jose was insistent from the start to go to school just like the regular students with regular school hours.
He did not want to undergo the hybrid learning that eases up pressure of an education setup, especially to senior citizens like him. However, “he really insisted on learning directly from the teachers and requested no special treatment,” Bantaculo said.
Class adviser Cristy De Paz, bared that Tatay Jose needed to brush up on almost all of the subjects, adapt to technology in education, and to adapt himself to a classroom environment.
Yet, in his age, “he is quite determined,” De Paz said. “If anything, he’s teaching our students the importance of perseverance. I have had perfect attendance from my class since the school year opened with Tatay Jose being among them,” she added.
Tatay Jose, going through writing and recitations, told his classmates (in Bisaya): “Ang bahandi nato nga dili makawat bisan kinsa mao ang kinaadman, ug madala ni nato bisan ug asa pa ta.” (Our greatest treasure that no one can ever take away is education that we can bring this anywhere we go.)
Tatay Jose’s story of entering high school spread like wildfire in the social media, sparking hope across ages and making him more popular these days. He even dared to dream bigger than this, despite his age, that of finishing college. To top it all up with his crop of white hair, Tatay Jose proves that age is not barrier to education, and it’s never too late to finish formal education. —-Miriam G. Desacada
