IT was just Wednesday, the middle of the school week, but young Felix “Toto” Rubin’s slippers were already torn beyond repair.
It was his third pair for the month. His farmer-parents bought it for him with the spare change they got from selling produce.
“Tag-usa ka semana ra gyud tawn akong tsinelas. Unsaon man nga di man makaagwanta sa among nilakaw (I walked so much that each pair of slippers wouldn’t last beyond a week),” Toto remembered.
Not only were the roads difficult, but he also had to cross a river to get to the closest elementary school, which was some seven kilometers away from his home in Barangay Mabunao.
Mabunao is one of seven mountain barangays in Tabuelan town. The village is approximately 12 kilometers away from the town proper.
Toto and his peers had to leave home before dawn broke and made their way back at dusk. This arduous journey discouraged several pupils that only 12 of them decided to pursue their secondary education. But the closest public high school was nine kilometers away, in the neighboring town of San Remigio.
With no access to transportation, Toto and his friends had to attend school on foot again for the next four years. From 12 freshmen, only four of them endured the tedious journey and finished school.
The years of walking gave Toto a lot of time to ponder and ask himself what he can do to make sure none of the future children of Mabunao would suffer the same fate.
He found his opportunity to do something for his barangay when he was elected as Sangguniang Kabataan chairman in 1996.
After serving two terms, he was urged by the people to run for village chief against two 50-year-old veteran politicians.
Despite being a neophyte, he was elected as barangay captain at the age of 25 in 2002. As soon as he assumed office, the first thing he did was renovate their barangay hall.
“Mauwaw intawn mi oy kay bugal-bugalan lang mi sa uban. Mura kuno og ad sa baboy among barangay hall (We were embarrassed because some people compared our barangay hall to a pigsty),” he said.
Finally, a closer school
Two years later, a local elementary school was established in Mabunao due to Toto’s insistent appeal to the then provincial superintendent of the Department of Education.
This feat encouraged him to make good his dream, which was to establish a local high school.
But it wasn’t an easy walk. Toto had to juggle his responsibilities as a father to Mabunao and a father to his growing family.
He worked as a security guard from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. in Balamban town when he was not driving pregnant mothers and sick elders to the hospital or settling troubles as village chief.
This went on for two years, causing Toto to drastically lose weight from fatigue.
“My wife asked me to choose. I told her we were used to living in austerity, and change for Mabunao will only come if we start with ourselves,” he said in Cebuano.
Toto exchanged his P12,000 monthly salary for a monthly honorarium of P1,900.
The couple then worked together, drafting resolutions and letters to fast-track the establishment of a high school campus.
Despite the backlash and doubts, Toto and his councilors established a temporary classroom made of bamboo and galvanized iron for a few high school students.
It only had three volunteer teachers whose salaries were drawn from the honorariums of the barangay officials.
With just 30 freshmen and 25 sophomores, and two bungalows, Mabunao National High School was inaugurated in 2007.
Eleven years later, the school now has nearly 300 junior and senior high school students, a computer laboratory and nine classrooms. A four-story building and a covered court is also expected to rise in the area soon.
Aside from education, Toto also toiled for water connections in their barangay. Before, the people had to get water from banana plants for their everyday use, including drinking. The nearest spring was some six kilometers away.
As he assumes office after succeeding his wife, outgoing village chief Vivian, Toto plans to provide feeding programs and free educational requirements to elementary and high school students.
Despite his busy schedule, Toto said he always makes sure his Sundays are spent with his family. “Hardships come in varying degrees but no one is exempted. I have responsibilities as a father to my four children and my community, but I just offer it all to the Lord,” he said.