Heroes, Dads on the streets

SIAROT, ROXAS

Heroes don’t need capes nor superpowers.

For in the midst of us, they can exist working in plain sight with everyday stories to tell of a job so difficult that it takes a special kind of person to do it, lovingly, for the family.

Take for instance 48-year-old Jennifer Siarot and 63-year-old Oliver Roxas whose jobs are, by no means, easy.

Siarot, a father of four, has been working as a traffic enforcer for 22 years; while Roxas, who has three children has been selling food on the street for the last 23 years.

According to Siarot, it was when he first held his daughter in his arms that he decided to build a good life for his family.

“Pag kita nako sa akong anak lipay kaayo ko (When I saw my child, I was overjoyed.),” he said.

“At the same time, naka huna huna ko nga kinahanglan gyud ko mu dawat sa dako nga obligasyon mao nga ni undang ko’g eskwela nya ni trabaho ko sa munisipyo for 2 years sa San Fernando kung asa among probinsya (At the same time, I realized that I had a big obligation that’s why I decided to stop schooling and work for the municipal government of San Fernando where I’m from.),” Siarot recalled.

For two years, he served as a draftsman in the municipal office of San Fernando town, southern Cebu.

But as the expenses of his family, grew, the young dad decided to go back to school in hopes of finding a better paying job after graduation.

“It was a big challenge for me as a man to have a family of my own. Although my wife’s pregnancy was unexpected, I don’t regret anything at all,” he told Cebu Daily News of the time when he had to drop out of college after getting his girlfriend, now his wife, pregnant.

However, much as Siarot’s first born, Jenn Marie, gave him and his wife happiness, the child was diagnosed with a chronic illness.

Jenn Marie’s medications took a toll on the family’s budget and Siarot had to find a way to augment the family income.

In 1995, Siarot graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering at the Cebu Technological University (CTU).

A year after, he was hired by the Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (Citom) as traffic aide officer 1.

“Working in the streets is not an easy job under the heat of the sun while standing on my post for the entire day,” said Siarot.

The pay may not be commensurate to his tough working conditions; but Siarot said that he is happy to be able to help fellow Cebuanos simply by manning traffic.

Siarot is also grateful for the job that puts food on their table and sends his children to school.

For Roxas, a street vendor, feeding his growing family meant having to leave his hometown, Cagayan de Oro City in northern Mindanao.

It was 23 years ago when Roxas left Cagayan de Oro City to try his luck in booming Metropolitan Cebu. But as luck would have it, he couldn’t find a job.

After several efforts to find work, Roxas decided to start a street food business in the town of Minglanilla, southern Cebu.

“Magpada rako nila kada buwan (I would send them money every month),” Roxas said.

But his meager income was barely enough to sustain the needs of his children who eventually had to drop out of school.

“Elementary ra gyud ilang nahuman kay mao ra gyud ang akong makaya (They only finished elementary because that’s all I could manage),” he explained.

“Di pud ko makahatag og dako kay naglisod pud ko og pagpakabuhi diri sa Cebu ( I could not give them more because I also have a difficult time living here in Cebu.),” Roxas said.

While Siarot finds joy in being able to send all his children through school, Roxas gets a thrill out of seeing his children, all grown up now, ready to fend for themselves inspite of all the hardship that they had to undergo.

Since he could not afford to pay for boat tickets to Cagayan de Oro, Roxas’ children would sometimes visit him in Cebu.

“Kana akong iplete ako nalang gitigom para ipadala nila para makakaon sila ug makapalit sa ilang gikinahanglan didto (What I could have spent for fare, I save so that I could send my family money for food and help them with their needs),” said Roxas.

“Karon nga mga dagko na sila, pasalamat pud ko nga mangita pud silag paagi aron magkakita gihapon mi (Now that they are all grown up, I am happy that they also try to find a way to see me.),” Roxas added.

Siarot, for his part, said that it was not easy to watch his eldest child suffer through an illness.

“Nothing can compare to the feeling of watching your own child suffer from an illness that you cannot take away,” Siarot told CDN.

At present, Siarot supports his daughter’s online clothing business while she tries to figure out a career suitable for her health condition.

For Roxas, not being able to see his family for almost 23 years was painful.

But the pain is made more manageable by the thought that difficult as it may be for others to understand, he did what he believed was best for any father to do: Provide.