Do you believe in the old saying that “everything happens at the right time”?
For 28-year-old Jet Rejade Guevarra, those words are not just a cliché. They capture the rhythm of his journey and his dreams that once felt out of reach until they took flight when the ‘universe’ finally said it was time.
These days, Jet wears the red vest of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Now a staff member under the agency’s Public Relations Service (PRS), he brings enlightenment to clients seeking to better understand the agency’s programs and services.
But before he became a public servant, Jet knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of those services.
Jet grew up in Batangas in a family that dealt with so many challenges due to financial difficulties. Everyday is a question of how his parents could possibly afford Jet’s daily allowance at school or let alone put food on the table.
That is why when his family was enlisted in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), it helped a lot not just to keep Jet in school but also to meet their daily basic needs.
“Kay hirap po ng buhay sa amin sa Batangas, so malaking bagay po ‘yun na kami po ay napabilang dun dahil kahit paano natustusan po ‘yung aking pangangailangan sa eskwelahan actually, hindi lang po sa school, minsan po nakakabili pa rin po kami dun ng bigas, ng pang ulam po namin knowing na talagang medyo mahirap po ang buhay po namin sa probinsya,” Jet reminisced in an interview with “Kwentong Angels in Red Vest,” an online documentary of the DSWD.
The 4Ps grant helped Jet finish high school and eventually pursue a degree in Communication. It was a pathway he fervently hoped would bring him closer to his dream of becoming a news anchor.
Jet hustled his way into the media industry, taking jobs as an assistant location manager, wardrobe staff, and transcriptionist. However, while the dream was alive and clearly kicking, the income was not enough.
Stability became more urgent than ambition. In 2019, he applied at the DSWD and secured the position of an encoder.
“Para medyo stable yung work, nag-apply po ako dito sa DSWD and luckily natanggap po ako as encoder. Unang-una po sa accounting division na dati pong Financial Management Service na ngayon Financial Service na,” Jet narrated.
Jet was eventually given a chance to move in the PRS. As a grievance officer, he often became the first point of contact for inquiries on programs and services, and frontline force for frustrated clients.
As recounted by Jet, it was difficult not to take the client’s hurtful words personally at first.
“‘Nung mga time na yun medyo hindi pa po ganun kalawak yung pang-unawa ko dahil as a beginner bago pa lang po talaga, parang ang nangyayari po ang dating po sa akin nagiging personal na kapag po minumura po ako ng kliyente, to the point na hindi ko na po talaga kaya. Ayaw ko na bumalik, ayaw ko na pumasok kasi baka murahin na naman ako. ‘Yung mga ganun po,” Jet shared with Kwentong ARV host, Director Lara Duran of the Traditional Media Service (TMS).
However, a shift in perspective taught Jet empathy. And empathy gave him purpose.
“Actually, may tinatak talaga siya sa utak ko eh na kailangan mo magbalik ng tulong sa DSWD that’s why I’m here ngayon nagbibigay…nagbabalik po ng tulong sa kanila sa ganito man lang paraan na makapagbigay ng impormasyon tungkol po sa programa at serbisyo ng DSWD eh mabigyan ko po ng kakarampot na tulong yung mga kasamahan o yung general public,” Jet said.
Fate also found a way to reconnect him with his dream. Through DSWD, Jet was assigned to co-host a program on DZMM Teleradyo, alongside veteran broadcaster Alvin Elchico, a moment that felt like destiny aligning once more.
From being a 4Ps beneficiary to serving as an Angel in Red Vest, Jet’s journey, indeed, has come full circle, proving that everything happens at the right time.
“So, yun lang siguro ang mabibigay ko lang din pong message sa ating development workers siguro wag po tayong tumigil, ‘wag po tayong titigil sa kung anong pangarap po natin sa buhay and naniniwala po talaga ako lagi pong may perfect timing at hintayin natin ang perfect timing na yon,” Jet said.
The Kwentong ARV is hosted by TMS Director Lara Duran and airs every Monday over the DSWD Facebook page. (LSJ)
