For the first time in 17 years, he finally saw the person he was looking for.
“Natagpuan ko na lang yung sarili ko, yakap-yakap siya ng mahigpit. Napatawad ko na siya. Nakahinga na ako nang maluwag. Hindi na ako kulang,” 21-years old Jay-Ar Ortega shared.
Crossroads
In 1992, Jay-Ar, who was four years old then, woke up one morning in their home in Brgy. San Roque, Rizal without his father and two other siblings, Janine and Jessica. He asked his mother where they might have gone but there was no clear answer.
All Jay-Ar can remember was that his parents would argue most of the time and would end up with his father hitting Meldy, his mother.
After some time, Meldy took back Jessica and Janine from his father, but his father did not come back with them. Nonetheless, life continued on for a four-year-old Jay-Ar.
“Ang pakiramdam ko lagi kulang na kulang ako. Galit man ako sa kaniya kasi iniwan niya kami, miss na miss ko pa din siya ng sobra.” Jay-Ar added.
Being the eldest child, Jay-Ar had no choice but be the ‘man of the house.’ He would help his mother in earning a living for them, doing the house chores and taking care of his siblings, too. It did not become easy for him. He had to wake up early in the morning and had to help his mother prepare food to sell in their rolling store. He saw the great effort his mother was putting up for them to continue going to school and make sure there’s food to eat and clothes to wear.
Beyond boundaries
In 2009, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under Listahanan, formerly known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), conducted the first nationwide household assessment to identify poor households.
During the said assessment, Jay-Ar was hired as an Area Supervisor in Quezon Province. As an Area Supervisor, he works hand in hand with the enumerators who go from house to house to interview and gather information as basis for identifying the poor.
“Naikwento sa akin ng isa sa mga Enumerator ko na meron doong tao na Ortega and apelyido. Alam naman nila na matagal ko na ring hinahanap si Papa. Sa tagal ko na siyang hinahanap, nagbakasakali na din ako,” explained Jay-Ar.
With a hunch and desperation, he visited the houses in Brgy. San Diego, Tagkawayan, Quezon.
He reached a small house made of broken materials. In there, he saw a weak man, seated on a chair. The man looked familiar. He leaned closer everything went in slow motion, he finally saw his father again.
“Kung hindi po dahil sa proseso ng Listahanan, hindi ko na natagpuan si Papa. Napakahina na po niya nung nakita ko siya. Ngayong may sakit na siya, babawi ako at aalagaan ko siya bilang isang anak na nangulila sa kanya ng ilang taon,” shared Jay-Ar.
The father and son reunion exactly turned out as bright as Jay-Ar would have wanted– it gave him a feeling he had been longing for. He finally found the love and attention of a father, and it all happened through Listahanan.***