The son of a palabok vendor widow who struggled to make ends meet for her family, 24-year-old Cadet Jervis Allen Ramos lived a difficult life while growing up; yet he did not let these difficulties stop him from reaching for his dream and fulfilling the wish of his late dad.
Living in Tondo, one of the poorest districts of Manila, there were a lot of things that could have influenced Jervis to stop reaching for his dreams. There were plenty of bad influences all around him, yet he held on to the dream his father had for him: to become a policeman.
Photo credit: Jervis Allen / Facebook
“When I was young, he (encouraged) me to join the police. Maybe he wanted to pass on his dream to me,” Jervis recalled.
Holding on to that dream, Jervis strived hard and will now be graduating top of his class at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) in Silang, Cavite. He topped the list of graduates in Sansiklab Class or the Sandigan ng Mamamayan na may Sigasig na Itaguyod ang Kapayapaan at Ipaglaban ang Bayan.
Photo credit: Jervis Allen / Facebook
Though this was his father’s dream, the latter was lost to a liver condition back when Jervis was still 13 years old. A jeepney driver, Jervis’ late dad had hoped for his son to become a police officer – and the kid held on to that dream with all his heart, in hopes of fulfilling his dad’s last wishes.
He had to endure many hardships, yet never once did he think of quitting school. He studied BS Criminology at the Universidad de Manila and would actually rank third in the Criminologist Board Exam he took last October 2014!
Then, he entered the police academy where he devoted most of his time reading books and studying, to ensure he would pass the course and somehow make his late father proud, no matter where the old man might be.
Photo credit: Jervis Allen / Facebook
Jervis’ mother, 58-year-old Priscilla, sold palabok and spaghetti to feed her children and send them to school. Her hard work paid off as her son will now become a police officer just as her late husband dreamed of.
As for Jervis, he plans to build a house for his mother as a way of thanking her for the sacrifices she made for the family even though she had to raise them by herself. He also wants to spend more time with his family, bringing them to ‘beautiful places’ in the country. Wow!
Congratulations, Jervis! You make us proud.
