There are many success stories in Kalinga and one is the story of a candidate running for the City Council in Tabuk. This is the story of Former Correctional Superintendent Jayferson Bon-as.
During the second episode of the ‘Know Your Candidate Forum’ of the Tabuk City Information Office last November 21, Bon-as narrated his struggles early life which could be the case of many in the City.
According to Bon-as, he was born to an economically disadvantaged family in Nambaran. He is the fifth of 13 children. During his childhood years, he recounted that they had to work hard to help provide for their food as their farmer parents’ wages were not enough to cover all their needs.
“Amin nga kaarruba mi ket adda kaya da. Dakami lang [ti awan] ta … 13 kami, amin, inkami makitrabaho tapnu lang mangan … inkami makigapas, inkami agbisukol,” he recalled.
These difficulties in life, however, did not stop him from finishing his degree in Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education majoring in English, and passing the Licensure Examination for Teachers.
While he applied his teaching profession at the Kalinga Colleges of Science and Technology for a short period of time, Bon-as wanted to navigate the opportunities at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology where he faced another challenge – travelling to Manila without relatives or acquaintances in the area who could provide him assistance.
“Napanak idiay Manila nga awan iti am-ammu na, napanak idiay Manila nga nag-apply a kas maysa nga BJMP,” he said.
From BJMP, he then proceeded to have a career at the Bureau of Corrections where he rose through the ranks and was later appointed as Acting Superintendent.
Didn’t want his kailyans to experience the same
Having started from scratch, Bon-as conveyed he did not want others from Kalinga to experience the same struggles he had when applying for the uniformed service. For this reason, he opened his house in Manila to iKalingas seeking employment at the Bureau of Corrections when he was still with the agency.
“Idi napanak idiay BuCor, madi kayat nga maranasan dagiti kailyak diay naranranasak nga nag-apply iti trabaho. So, iti inkastak in-open ko iti balay ko iti amin nga kailyan ta kunak garud madik kayat nga maranasan da diay naranasak,” he said.
When he was asked to share his everyday routine during the forum, Bon-as said that since he returned to Tabuk City, he went back to what he used to do when he was young, and that is helping at the farm.
“Agriing nak iti 4:30 iti parbangun ket apanak agkuliglig, agaradu. Agaradu ak iti agsapa inggana alas nuebe tapos nu malem met, innak met agpadanum,” he said.
While he is enjoying his time in the fields, Bon-as said he feels like one of his callings is to keep serving his kailyans. This then urged him to file his Certificate of Candidacy for City Councilor of Tabuk City last October.
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