Story and Photos: Lyman A. Dalipe & Adam Canape
Edited by: Butz Muyco
“I want to break the chain that has kept me and my family in poverty.”
In Barangay Kematu, Tboli, South Cotabato, Alvin M. Quer, fondly known as “Vin,” was born and raised. Now 36, married and a father of two, he works at the Municipal Agriculturist’s Office of Tboli, South Cotabato.
Alvin is a member of the Tboli tribe and speaks both Tboli and Ilonggo. Both of his parents are farmers, while his mother also serves as a Barangay Health Worker in Kematu. He is the fifth of 12 siblings.
Growing up in a large family with limited resources, Alvin learned early to help with farm work. Farming was his family’s main source of livelihood and became part of his daily life from childhood.
Poverty was something Alvin experienced firsthand. With very little income, cassava and other root crops were often their food. They were grateful whenever they had extra money to buy rice. For many, having a plate of rice was an ordinary thing. For Alvin’s family, it was not always within reach.
Despite their circumstances, his parents taught their children never to forget or be ashamed of their culture and traditions. They also taught them to be generous and hospitable toward those in need, whether fellow Tboli or not.
Alvin attended Tboli Elementary School in Barangay Kematu. But after Grade 3, he had to stop going to school.
At that time, both of his parents had other families. Alvin had to take on more responsibility at home, helping in the farm and taking care of their livestock. For him, helping his family was necessary for them to get by.
“If I went to school, there would be no one to help my father and my siblings with the household and farm work. At that time, that was what mattered most.”
Later, however, Alvin realized that it would be difficult to change his circumstances if he could not continue his education. He began to see education as a way to build a better future.
At 12, Alvin returned to school as a Grade 4 student at Edwards Elementary School in Tboli. To support his schooling, he also worked as a household helper.
Because he was older than most of his classmates, he experienced teasing and bullying. But he did not allow these experiences to stop him from pursuing his education.
He continued working while studying through high school, taking on different jobs to support himself. On weekdays, he helped with household chores and errands. During weekends and whenever there were no classes, he worked on his employer’s farm. He learned to divide his time between work and school.
His sacrifices and hard work paid off. He graduated as valedictorian in both elementary and high school.
After high school, Alvin enrolled at Mindanao State University in General Santos City, where he took up Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering. He continued working while studying to help support himself through college.
“College was not easy because I also had to find ways to support myself. Fortunately, I was able to get a scholarship.”
Alvin received scholarships from the Kabugwason Paglaum Scholarship Program of the Provincial Government of South Cotabato and from Ethel Moorehouse.
The scholarships helped him continue and complete his studies. But another challenge awaited him after graduation.
He had to take the licensure examination for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers. He could not afford to attend a review program, but he decided to take the examination anyway.
He passed and became a registered Agricultural and Biosystems Engineer.
For Alvin, it was a major achievement—from being a child who had to leave school for three years to help on the farm and take care of farm animals, to becoming a licensed professional.
But poverty was not the only challenge he experienced. As an Indigenous person, Alvin also experienced discrimination. There was a time when he stopped speaking the Tboli language, and in doing so, he felt that he had also become distant from his own culture.
But he never forgot where he came from.
He grew up witnessing traditional farming practices, as well as the prayers and lah mingon, or traditional songs, of his tribe.
Today, he better understands the importance of his roots and the value of his culture and heritage. He is no longer ashamed of them. Instead, his culture has become an important part of who he is – something he takes pride in and wants to preserve.
“Today, there has been a change in the way Tboli people are viewed and treated compared to before. This is also because of the support and efforts of the Local Government of Tboli in empowering and providing opportunities for IPs.”
This means even more to Alvin because he is a Tboli himself who has experienced many of the challenges faced by his fellow IPs. His own experiences have helped him better understand their situation, aspirations, and values.
When the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project, or MIADP, came to Tboli, Alvin saw it as a program that could directly help communities within ancestral domains.
“I saw MIADP as a great opportunity for the IPs because the program was created to help develop ancestral domains and improve the livelihoods of Indigenous communities.”
Alvin was chosen by the Local Government of Tboli to serve as its MIADP focal person. His role includes reporting and assisting the Local Project Management and Implementation Unit and the Regional Project Coordinating Office XII in helping ensure the smooth implementation of the project.
But for Alvin, being an MIADP focal person means more than carrying out technical tasks. He sees himself as a bridge between the program and his fellow Tboli – helping them understand what MIADP is, how its processes work, and how they can make use of the opportunities offered by the project.
One of his greatest sources of pride is seeing the happiness of his fellow Tboli when they begin to understand the program. For Alvin, it is important that people see MIADP as more than projects and documents. It is also an opportunity for communities to take part in planning and implementing activities that affect their lives.
Recently, the Regional Project Advisory Board, or RPAB, in Region XII approved one Farm-to-Market Road and two enterprise subprojects for the Tboli ancestral domain.
For Alvin, these projects can open better opportunities for the community to bring their products closer to the market, improve their livelihoods, and prepare themselves to manage and sustain the opportunities that may come their way.
For him, the impact of MIADP should go beyond project implementation. Its real value can be seen when IP communities become stronger, livelihoods improve, and people gain greater confidence in their culture, rights, and capabilities.
Through everything he has accomplished and all the challenges he has faced, his family, especially his two children—remains his greatest inspiration.
His dream is simple: he does not want his children to experience the same hardships he went through.
But Alvin’s aspirations go beyond his own family. He wants more of his fellow Tboli to improve their livelihoods, for their children to have the opportunity to stay in school and finish their education, and for IPs to receive the respect they deserve for their rights and culture.
“To the young people, do not stop pursuing your dreams even when the road is difficult. Your dreams are not impossible to reach if you pursue them with hard work and prayer.”
Today, another part of Alvin’s mission is to help his fellow IPs, find their own path toward a better life.
Through his work in the local government and MIADP, he has found meaning in helping provide opportunities to people who have long hoped for a better future. For him, a project becomes more meaningful when beneficiaries do not only receive facilities or support, but also learn how to manage, care for, and sustain what they receive.
Alvin’s story shows how personal experience can become a source of strength in helping others. The difficulties he went through have become part of what he has learned—and what he now brings to his service to the community.
The chain of poverty that Alvin once dreamed of breaking is slowly being loosened. And today, he continues to work so that the opportunities he has gained can also reach his fellow IPs and the generations of Tboli who will come after them.
