Cordova’s ‘little pastor’ is 2019 Region-7 Exemplary Pantawid Child

Jhon Rhod Amodia (third from right) receives his award as the Cebu provincial winner for the 2019 Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Children search of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in a ceremony held at a hotel in downtown Cebu City on August 8, 2019. |CDN Digital photo/Rosalie Abatayo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The “little pastor” from Cordova town has topped the Central Visayas regional search for the 2019 Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Children of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Jhon Rhod Amodia, a Grade 7 student of the Marigondon National High School, earned 98.33 percent during the regional desk judging at the DSWD regional office on September 3.

While most children of his age love being outdoors to play games, 12-year-old Amodia spends his time playing music for the church and sharing verses from the Bible during discipleship in the Four Square Church in Day-as, Cordova.

Amodia, dubbed the “little pastor” in his neighborhood, has earlier told CDN Digital that his mission was to bring the youth closer to God.

“I dream to help the other youths to help live a righteous life. I want to teach them to value the life that God has given us. We only become children once, let us not waste our youth because we might just end up regret(ing) it in the end,” Amodia said.

Read more: Grade 7 student from Cordova tops provincial search for Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Child 2019

Read more: Cebu’s Exemplary Pantawid Kid is on a mission to bring the youth to God

Amodia, who is now in his seventh grade in Marigondon National High School, is also a consistent honor student since kindergarten despite belonging to a less privileged family.

His father, Teodolfo, is an on-call construction worker while his mother, Jonalyn, tends to the family’s small sari-sari store. Amodia’s eight-year-old younger brother, Jose Rodulfo, is in third grade and is also an outstanding student.

The Amodias are among the 160,000 family-beneficiaries of the DSWD’ Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Cebu.

Amodia was first recognized as the first place winner in the provincial search for Cebu in the Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Child 2019 last August 8.

This earned him the ticket to compete with the other provincial winners from the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor in the regional tilt.

Kerwin Macopia, the information officer of the DSWD-7 who also served as one of the judges for the regional judging, said Amodia is the complete package; his advocacy for the church and academic achievements have earned him the top spot of the tilt.

Cleia Tadena of Duero, Bohol ranked next to Amodia with 94.33 percent while Shane Lagos of Negros Oriental and Kathleen Pastrana of Siquijor ranked third and fourth with 92.66 percent and 87.33 percent, respectively.

According to Macopia, there will be no search for a national winner for the Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Children. All provincial first place winners are instead invited to a one-week National Children’s Congress in Metro Manila in November, he added. /elb