A MESSAGE FULL OF INSPIRATION, A CALL FOR A MISSION! REPAIRING A BROKEN PAST TOWARDS A FUNCTIONING PRESENT - Ruben Villacencio’s Ring to Success

A 34-year-old technician named Ruben Villacencio was born and raised in Davao Oriental, San Isidro. He’s the sixth child in their family. He has two elder brothers, two younger sisters, and two younger brothers, and he did not mention the rest of his siblings since he came from a large family. Just like the others struggling financially, he is also a victim of circumstance. His life in the province was quite difficult; his parents couldn’t afford to send him to school. For them to have something to eat, he had to cultivate crops like corn, bananas, and coconuts. Despite this, he finished his elementary education at Laak Davao de Oro.

His parents were even constantly fighting because of different matters; one day, a fight between his parents changed his life. When his father was about to hit his mother, it was Ruben hit at the back and front of the head. It bled a lot. His eyes were affected, which caused him to be half-blind. He recalled it was a painful experience for him, and he can’t even put it into words. At 12, his father died, and he had to stand as a father for his family to survive. He said to himself that he had to multiply his efforts to live a comfortable life. These bitter experiences pushed him to venture into the city and decide to be a working student to sustain his basic needs. The drive he had in his heart to get out of poverty gave him strength.

He was a working student throughout high school and attended only Sunday classes. He worked as a salesman for cellphone accessories at Brgy. Mintal. He had done this for four years until he finished high school. He decided not to enter college, and in 2011, he decided to set up a small business, which is a cellphone repair business. When he was just starting, he was only selling chargers, SIM cards, and cellphone cases. He even borrowed 10,000 pesos as capital from his elder brother. After only a year, his business grew and continues to expand up to this day. 

In 2015, he underwent an assessment in Consumer Electronics Service, which was amended in 2016 to Electronic Products Assembly and Servicing NC II, at the Provincial Training Center Davao. He passed the assessment but wasn’t able to get a national certificate because he lost his claim stub. Years passed, and he decided to enroll in Electronic Product Assembly and Servicing II at the same center because it offers free training and assessment for technicians. According to him, it helped him hone his skills, learn new knowledge, and apply it to his existing business. 

In addition, he has a branch in Tibanban, Governor Generoso, and Davao Oriental. According to him, his business is going well. Both shops offer cellphone accessories and memory cards; he also repairs LCDs and offers mobile wallets to allow his customers to accept cash-in and cash-out. By doing so, he can compare his life and income before moving to the province with what he has now. He is hoping that what he learned in TESDA will help him help other people as well through his business. [SMAC – Ira Monica M. Tan]