Have you ever thought of soy sauce as a luxury? For Cris Guiral, a 30-year-old from Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro, having soy sauce or cooking oil [ asin toyo mantika ] with meals was considered fortunate during his childhood. More often than not, his family would season their rice with just salt to make it through the day.
Table of Contents
Toyo, Asin, Mantika – His humble beginning
Cris grew up in a household with no stable income—his father worked as a fisherman, and his mother had no means of livelihood. Yet, despite the hardships, poverty did not deter him from dreaming of a better future.
Photos courtesy of Cris Guiral (FB) via PEP
He attended school without basic supplies like pencils, paper, or notebooks and often went without money or snacks for recess.
Becoming a Pantawid beneficiary
Fortunately, when he entered high school, Cris became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which provided some financial support for food and his educational needs.
After high school, Cris pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, despite his uncertainties about affording it. Like many financially challenged students, he studied during the day and worked at night to sustain his education.
Living with loans
His family also relied on loans, with lenders trusting them because repayments came from their 4Ps allowance. This financial assistance was critical, as Cris’ two younger brothers were also in college, and their father suffered a stroke.
His siblings’ success
Fortunately, Cris’ siblings were equally hardworking and resourceful. They received allowances through the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA), a partnership between the DSWD, CHED, and DBM.
One graduated cum laude in Bachelor of Science in Education, majoring in Math, at Mindoro State University–Bongabong Campus. The other completed a Bachelor of Science in Social Work at Mindoro State University–Labangan Campus.
Photos courtesy of Cris Guiral (FB) via PEP
Cris at present
Today, the family’s circumstances have greatly improved. Cris now works at DSWD-Cordillera as a contractual municipal link personnel under the Socialized Livelihood Program. His two brothers serve as jail guard officers in Occidental Mindoro and are helping fund the education of their two younger siblings. Meanwhile, their mother is now a barangay councilor in their community.
Cris remains grateful to the DSWD for the opportunities that helped lift his family from poverty, showing that determination and support can make a profound difference.
