WINNERS. The two families- Sevilleja’s of Abra (group on the right) and the Saib-o (left), were chosen as 2018 Model OFW Year Award (MOFYA) by Ovearseas Workers Welfare Administation Cordillera. Regional Director Manuela Peña (4th from left) and members of the screening committee joined the families during the awarding ceremony at Paragon Hotel in Baguio City on Friday (October 5, 2018). (Carlito Dar/PIA-CAR)
BAGUIO CITY -- Two overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and their families have been named as 2018 Model OFW Family of the Year Award (MOFYA) in the Cordillera region.
They were chosen not only for their financial success, but for their close family ties.
“It is quite easy to become a successful OFW in terms of maybe economic achievement, but we found out it is difficult to maintain family relations and to soar it into success," Manuela Peña, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) – Cordillera chief, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Saturday.
Peña said awarded on Friday were Conrado Sevilleja and his family, who are natives of Barangay Abaquid, Danglas, Abra, and Bernardo Salib-o and his family of Sta. Marcela town in Apayao, at Paragon Hotel here.
The annual search of the OWWA aims to inspire overseas workers, who despite separation from their families are able to maintain good relations and succeed economically.
The Sevilleja family won the MOFYA award for the land-based category.
Conrado, who has opted to return home in 2017, now manages an18-hectare eco-farm in Abra, which is home to various high-value crops, such as dragon fruit, papaya, coconut, dalandan, passion fruit, jackfruit, and various herbs and spices.
The property was acquired through his savings, starting when he was still single in the 1980s initially as an electrician in Saudi Arabia before he moved to Australia and New Zealand to try his luck. From 2009 to 2017, he worked as a lineman.
He endured the sadness, the loneliness and the difficulty of being separated from his wife, Anita, and their three children.
Conrado said they slowly developed the farm using hard-earned money. In partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Sevillejas’ “farm-tourism” facility educates farmers on good agricultural practices.
Anita told PNA that while her husband was abroad, he acquired skills on farm management.
“Even in our travels, he would never fail to include farm visitations in our itineraries," she said.
Their farm recently passed the accreditation for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It was the first GAP Philippine-certified farm in Abra.
In their long years of loneliness, the couple drew more strength from their three girls, now all professionals.
“Everything paid off. Now we are proud parents of three successful fine women. We have a licensed electrical engineer who graduated cum laude and holds a position at Meralco. Our second child also graduated cum laude and now works as Portfolio adviser to the Victorian Shadow Minister for Families and Children, Housing and Prevention of Family Violence at the State Parliament of Victoria in Australia, while our youngest is helping at the family-owned Sevilleja's Eco-Farm winery,” Conrado said.
The young Salib-o family, meanwhile, bagged the Sea-based category award.
Bernardo started out as a waiter at the Baguio Country Club (BCC) for two years before trying his luck as a steward for the cruise line SuperFerry, putting into practice his undergraduate course of Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering.
In 2007, he joined an international cruise line where he was hired as a junior steward.
Arcellie, Bernardo’s wife, related that they were able to build their own house, set up a mini-grocery store and buy an eight-hectare rice field in Apayao.
“My husband's work has relatively provided comfort to our family, for our two young children, the elder is seven and the younger is five,” she said.
“He has been working in the cruise line for more than 10 years now. He has been very supportive of any endeavor I would like to venture in,” Arcellie said.
She said because they support each other, they were able to succeed in both in business and in their relationship.
“We always have long distance calls. We always decide together. It has always been a mutual decision for anything that involves our family,” she said.
Apart from the awardees, there were five nominees for the 2018 MOFYA award.
They were Teresita Calado and family from Sablan, Benguet; Jerry Kadlosa and family from Bontoc, Mountain Province; Glory Laus and family from Besao, Mountain Province; Marcelo Eroy and family from Tuba, Benguet; and Evelyn Kimbungan and family from La Trinidad, Benguet.
The awardees will vie against the other regions’ best for the national MOFYA search. (PNA)
