A Farmer's Son

            A lot of people here in the Philippines did not finish their studies due to some reasons. One of the reasons is poverty. Yes, poverty is one of the main reasons that a child is not able to finish his or her studies. Well, apparently, our facilitator Mr. Randy S. Gamboa showed us a video. It is a short narrative video of Dado Banatao’s biography. It showed how he started from the bottom until he came out on top. And our facilitator tasked us do a reflection paper about the video. I know that it will be fun to make a reflection paper about the video, since it has a lot of powerful message that is conveyed to the viewers upon watching.

            The video starts with a text saying “In 1984, Dado Banatao designed the first PC Chipset. It is inside every PC today.”  It caught my attention. A Filipino designed the first PC chipset. I was very surprised knowing that. I asked myself, “How could I not know about this?” I was so curious. Who is Dado Banatao anyway? Well, the video continued and you can hear a voice narrating and introducing himself as Dado Banatao. In that particular moment, we knew that it is actually Mr. Dado Banatao who’s doing the narration. With his introduction of himself in a low tone voice, I knew that it was going to be a short biographical video. Showing his origin, and the things that he achieved. But who is he? His real name is Diosdado Banatao, hence the nickname “Dado”. He is the founder of the Philippine Development Foundation or also known as PhilDev Foundation. A foundation which aims to eradicate poverty through education, innovation and entrepreneurship.  But, Mr. Dado Banatao had a lot of very rough times before he became a successful person.

            He was a son of a farmer which he stated in the video “My father was a farmer. I am an engineer”, and of course it was also stated on the title itself “A Farmer’s Son”. According to Mr. Dado Banatao he was born in a small barrio in Iguig located in the Cagayan Valley. He experienced growing up without having any access to electricity. Whenever he goes to school every day, he had to walk the dirt barefooted. He even learned how to do Math by just moving bamboo sticks. Upon listening to this part, I felt sad for what he was when he was still a child. When I was a child, I had everything I could have to study. Electricity to light our house. A pair of shoes to keep my feet protected. But Mr. Dado Banatao managed to do the same thing I did even if he did not have the things that I had. He was very determined to learn and to finish his studies. He said that almost of his classmates back then would stop studying after grade six just to help their parents on the farm. But Mr. Dado Banatao’s father did not want him to stop, his father wanted a better life for him. His father told him that it was his dad’s job to keep the food the table, and his job was to study. This part showed how a parent would work as hard as they can just to give their children a good and a better future.

            It is very common to most of the Filipino families where their children would stop going to school just to help their parents. The number one reason of this is because of poverty. The Philippines has a total population of 98.39 million Filipinos. Majority of that number are not living the life of those people who are having luxury, and wealth. In short, they are poor or impecunious. They are those people who has little or no money, and what they do for a living is enough for them to live another day. Many children here in the Philippines were born into poverty. They exposed by the reality’s horrible truth at their early age. They experience how it is like to eat less than three times a day, they experience how it is like to scavenge something in exchange for money. At a very young age, they are forced to work in order to help their parents. In some cases like in the province. Parents would let their children go to elementary school, just so their children would learn the basic macro skills, and to have enough knowledge. But after the children would graduate, some of them won’t pursue going to high school since they don’t have enough money for projects, and most of all, they are old enough to do farm works. I see it as a cycle. A circle of life. Parents would their children go to school, then they’ll halt them after graduating at elementary and enter them into farming at the right age. Then those children will learn about farming more than they have ever learned when they were still young, and they will grow molded into farming. They are educated by what they do in the farm, they know that life is very hard, and farming keeps them alive. Then, they have their own offspring which will do the same thing, then they will pass their farming legacies to them. It is like a wheel that keeps on spinning and spinning, and that wheel will keep on spinning until one will stand and break the wheel. Just like what Mr. Dado Banatao’s father did. He did not let Mr. Dado Banatao stop studying, and made it clear to him that farming and working is his job. He did not pass his legacy to Mr. Dado Banatao. If he let the cycle go on and do the same thing as the others did, then Mr. Dado Banatao won’t be the person who he is today. We would not have the chipsets inside our PCs right now.  

            When he started high school, he felt pressure between is peers. He felt inferior to his classmates since they were from the city, they had a better life than him, and he was just a son of a farmer. But that did not stop him to finish his studies. He studied whenever his friends are playing basketball. Mr. Dado Banatao showed how very passionate he is, and how willing he is to sacrifice his leisure time to prioritize his studies. Just like some of the people I knew, including myself, instead of using our vacant time to hang out and play with your friends, why not use it to study? I know that it is very hard to do that because the temptation is very strong. You are thinking a lot of things like they are having fun and you are not with them and you’re totally missing out the good things. You envy them cause they are out there, talking to each other, laughing at each other, having good time with one another, yet you are in your room. Alone, with no one to talk to, and nothing to entertain you. You only have your notes and your books. It is a very tough decision to do, but the prize for doing it is pretty priceless. It will reward you knowledge. They may be out there, and you may be in your room, but you are studying while they are out there having fun. You gained a lot of knowledge on that day. Knowledge they do not have. Knowledge they missed out. The people should need to look at these kind of people as a role model. It is a hard thing to do, but you will get used to it soon.

            I had this time when I was still high school, my friends likes to have fun and hang out very often. I, too like to have fun, so that is why I always hang out with them. Everytime when we do not have a class, we will go out and play internet games or go to different barrios to play basketball. We do this very often cause one of our teachers before likes to have no class, so she would appear rarely on our class and she would just leave an activity that we should do, then she will leave. So, after that class, we have a 4-hour vacant time, so we would use it to have fun and do things, crazy things, nd no. Study was not a part of it. I remember the days when we would have a long venture walking from Davao City National High School to Maa, El Rio, and etc. just to play basketball. And the best part that I love about it is we would hitchhike a pick-up truck to go our destination. Those times were very awesome, and it gives me that nostalgic chill everytime I think of it. But one day, I learned that my grades on my other subject is very poor. I feared that I might fail on the 3^rd grading period if I would continue wasting my vacant time on things that I should not be really doing. I realized that, I wasted so much time having fun. 4hrs of vacant time, and not even a minute of that vacant time is dedicated for studying. I really felt bad about myself at that time. I was thinking what I should do. I had a dilemma. I was thinking that I should stop going out with my classmates during vacant time and use those 4hrs to study. But, another thought would contradict that. It tells me that if I will stop hanging out them, I will the fun stuffs, good stuffs. I’m afraid that I may not able to see epic things along the way. I feared that I will be out place when they will talk about what happened when I did not come with them. So, that was the dilemma I had. I kept on thinking and thinking. Weighing which of the two is more important, which we knew that studying is the most important thing. But, I was so stupid before that I would gladly cut class and have fun. It was so hard for me. But then, I realized that I should be studying. I thought of my parents at that time. I thought of their sacrifices for me just so I will be able to go to school. That’s why I decided to stay at school every vacant time and read my notes and answer activities on the book. It was very hard for me at first. When I sat on the canteen and read my books, I can’t help but to think. I always think what my friends are currently doing. Are they having fun? Are they talking about me? Am I going to feel out place whenever they come back and talk about what they do. But, I did my best to focus. I told myself that, it is just fun that they are having, fun can be found anywhere, and what I’m currently doing is much much more important than having fun. I kept on thinking that I’m on the brink of danger, and I must do my best to survive. I kept on motivating myself by thinking that it is a good thing for and a bad thing for them, cause I gained knowledge, and they did not. Days had past, I finally get used to it. Whenever they would invite to hang out, I just simply decline their offer without any hesitation. I missed a lot of good stuff when I started to stay at school during vacant time, but in the end, it was all totally worth it. I managed to save my grades.

            Going back to the main topic. Mr. Dado Banatao eventually became a college student at the Mapua Institute of Technology, where he fell in love with engineering. He wanted to build things, he said. But the Philippines is not a place for engineers at that time, there were no opportunities for them. So, he moved to America where he enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Washington where he became a licensed pilot, and became one of the design engineers for the Boeing 747. He then left the job and applied for a masters in engineering at Stanford University which he acquired in 1972. It is a common issue here in the Philippines, where a lot of graduated students found themselves jobless since there are no opportunity for their degree. That’s many of them work at call centers, many of them are underemployed just for the sake of their needs. They need a job for their expenses. But, many of them do what Mr. Dado Banatao did since the employment rate here in the Philippines is very low. Graduate students are forced against their will to fly abroad and seek for a job where they can use their acquired degree. It is also one of the things that I am scared of. I keep always on thinking that what would happen to me after I graduate. Maybe I will be underemployed, having a job which is not related to my course, knowing that I deserve a lot better than this job. Or the worse is that I may end up jobless. It is bothering me. I keep on thinking what if I will not be able to find a job here, and I cannot go abroad since money is the real deal. I am worried that someday I will not be able to get a job, and my parents will be disappointed at me, cause after their sacrifices to meet their expectations for me turns into a failure. I am afraid that I cannot repay my parents for what they have done to me.

            When Mr. Dado Banatao graduated, he worked on various top of the edge technology companies including National Semiconductor, Intersil and Commodore International where he designed the first single chip, 16-bit microprocessor. He also discovered and invented the first 10-Mbit Ethernet CMOS with silicon coupler data-link control transreceiver chip while working in SEEQ Technology in 1981. He was also credited for the first system logic chip set for IBM’s PC-XT and the PC-AT; the local bus concept and the first Windows Graphics accelerator chip for personal computers. He said in the video that he was intimidated by his peers when he was at the Stanford University, he felt everybody seems smarter him, but did not stopped him. He studied twice as hard as he could. Now, that is a true spirit right there. When a person is felt inferior to his or peers, some of them succumb in to that matter, but some of them would fight their way to level them or to surpass them. I know that a lot of students are having that experience. I am having that experience too every time I find myself in a new field. Just like when I was on my 3^rd take of Programming 1. I felt very stupid and dumb because it was my 3^rd take, and my classmates are younger than me and much smarter than me. Instead of letting the pressure devour me, I used that pressure to fuel me, I used that pressure as my motivation. I studied very hard, until my studies paid off in the end. I finally passed Programming 1. Another example is when I became a member of my current group called Guhit Pinas – Davao. It is the Davao branch of the Guhit Pinas group which is an open art group here in the Philippines. When I fell in love of drawing, I drew every videogame character I want to do and post them on my Facebook. I was new at drawing back then, I post it even though I know it is very crappy and it is very bad. For me it looked realistic at that time. One day, I was added to the group by a friend of mine. I never knew that this group existed. I saw a lot of members posting their drawings, and GOD! Their drawings are over the top! They can draw realistic portraits in just hours. I feel inferior to them. It is like their hands are made out of printer. I am just a speckle of dust and they are rocks. Every time that they will be conducting a meet-up, I just pretend that I am busy. I can’t go out with, and having my drawing placed next to their drawings. But then came a time where I decided to work hard. I thought of this, if I wanted to be with them, I should be as great as them. So, I taught myself how to draw realistic drawings. And I just kept on drawing and drawing, until I noticed that there was a big difference between my old drawings and new drawings. I noticed that my drawings are now better than before, it looked more realistic than my drawings before. Until I had the confidence to hang out with them. I learned that they are very open to newbies and they are very friendly. They are willing to help those who are starting to draw. Every time I hang out with them, I learned new techniques to improve my drawings. Until one day, I finally told myself that, I am at their level. I know that I haven’t surpassed them yet, but my drawings are keeping up with them. There was also a time when I was a 2^nd year college. I was so motivated to go to the gym and work my body out to gain mass and develop my muscles. At first I was so determined to workout because I do my workout at Sasa, which is very far from our home. I like to workout there cause it is quiet and there is only less people. When I learned that there was a gym near our house, I registered and acquired a membership. I was excited to do my 1^st workout there. But, when I was about to start working out. The gym is filled with guys with huge muscles and developed body. And I’m just a skinny guy standing there looking like a match stick. But, I was not bothered about it. I worked out on my own. I tried not to socialize with them cause I felt so inferior to them. So, I worked out for weeks, and weeks, and weeks all by myself. I was doing fine then, cause I was not paying attention to them so I don’t get intimidated. But, there still this aura that creeps in my mind. Telling me that I am way too far from them. I was on my 2^nd month as a member, but as the days gone by, the feeling gets so strong. Instead of urging to surpass them, I was consumed by the power of negativity. I quitted on the gym, and admitted that they are way too superior and I am too inferior.

            Inferiority is a part of being a human. Feeling that you are inferior to other person means that you are aware of yourself and other people. When a people felt inferior to others, they usually admit and succumb onto it until there are swallowed by their thoughts that they can never be as good as the others. But, some of them, wants to step up and aim for superiority. As what Alfred Adler said; “To be a human being means to possess a feeling of inferiority which constantly presses towards its own conquest. The greater the feeling of inferiority that has been experienced, the more powerful is the urge for conquest and the more violent the emotional agitation.” It implies that inferiority acts as a fuel, a motivator to those people who are feeling it. And in my own opinion, it is correct. I agree to this statement. When a person feels inferiority, he is intimidated by those people who he or she considers to be superior. Upon feeling the inferiority running in his system, he is urged to do something that would surpass those people who are superior to him or her. So, what happens is that person would strive hard, having the thought of surpassing those people until he will be successful on surpassing them. They would work hard until they will be successful and they no longer feel inferior. See? It is the feeling of inferiority who is pushing them to strive and work hard just to appease themselves. The result and the feeling of inferiority is very directly proportional to each other. The more inferiority a person feels, the stronger the urge is, and it will make his efforts a lot greater and he will achieve great results. That’s why even he felt so inferior to others, Mr. Dado Banatao was so passionate and loved engineering that’s why he made all these things possible. He made a lot of things that we currently have in our PCs right now.

            He mentioned in the video that he started a company, but that company failed. I did a research, and I found out that that company was Mostron. I wasn’t able to find much about Mostron, but according to my research, he started Mostron with a capital of $500,000. Mostron was built to develop chip sets and manufacture motherboards. Mostron was a failure. Mostron ran out money. He then co-founded the next company named Chips and Technologies (C&T) in 1985. After months, the company was selling chip sets. The company went public after 22 months due to its success. It gained $12 million during its first quarter. It must be a very sad moment for him when Mostron was bankrupted. It was his first company, he worked hard for it, but it failed. I know that many people can relate to this scenario especially those who are in to business. It is very hard to build your own company, and it is not easy to maintain it.

            But it wasn’t the end for Mr. Dado Banatao. He rose from his failure, after he co-founded C&T, he co-founded S3 Graphics. It is a computer Graphics Company based in America. Mr. Dado Banatao and Ron Yara in January 1989. S3 Graphics was a company that pioneered local bus concept for the PC in 1989 and introduced the first Windows accelerator chip in 1990. He is now a multimillionaire investor, he invested in a lot of networking companies that were eventually sold before he joined the venture capital firm Mayfield Fund in 1998. Mr. Dado Banatao possesses a great will. It helped to the things he wanted. He wanted to promote innovation no matter what it would cost him. This kind of trait is the kind of trait the Filipinos should possess.

            Even a brilliant mind like Mr. Dado Banatao failed to put up his own company. It seems very impossible to believe that an intelligent person like him failed. Well, failure is inevitable. You cannot go out and be a successful figure without failing once. Failure is a constant factor that is present to each in every person. Whether you want to make something or you want to do something, failure is always present. But even though failures are always around you, you can manage to overcome it. Failure is just an obstacle that you need to pass. Imagine yourself as an athlete running on the track to reach the finish which is the goal, then you have those hurdles placed on the track, those are obstacles and failures both at once. You should jump right over them to overcome them, or else you will trip and fall, and that is how you fail. But in real life, obstacles and failures vary in size, it doesn’t have a fixed size just like a literal hurdle. There obstacles which are very high and hard to overcome, and comes with a great failure. Athletes tripped many times, countless times attempting to jump over a hurdle, but they kept on trying and trying. That is why athletes needs to train, over and over and over to pass one hurdle, and another hurdle, and so on and so forth. In real life, we fear to fail. We do not want to experience failure. When we fail, we lose our courage, we succumb into the power of failure, we are afraid to try it again. Now, Mr. Dado Banatao founded the Philippine Development Foundation or also known as PhilDev Foundation. PhilDev, as mentioned earlier on this paper, it aims to eradicate poverty through education, innovation and entrepreneurship. According to their Facebook page, PhilDev is a nonprofit working to create an ecosystem of science and technology in the Philippines for long-term economic growth and development. PhilDev was found on Jan. 1, 2000.

            So, after watching the video and researching more about Mr. Dado Banatao to aid me with my reflection paper, I was amazed how far he is now than he was before. From being a farmer’s son, now he is a multimillionaire engineer and a founder. Mr. Dado Banatao’s story is the best example of hard work, passion, determination and will. If more Filipinos are like him, then the Philippines would be a better place. But in reality, there are still a lot of Filipino families who are living in poverty, who are living in the same situation same as which Mr. Dado grew up. How can we hope for our younger generation to innovate our country if they are living in poverty, struggling to finish their studies? That’s why foundations like PhilDev is a very magnificent way to help students living in poverty-stricken areas to finish their studies. They provide the needs of the student in various ways. Example, the PhilDev donates free computer and internet to poor schools to aid their students and teach them about innovation and entrepreneurship. PhilDev is like a savior that is sent from above. Saving those children from where they currently are. Mr. Dado Banatao put up this company to save those children and make an entrepreneur out of them. But, why would Mr. Dado Banatao even do this? It is simple. It is because he knows how it feels like to live in poverty. He knows how it feels like to live in darkness. He knows how it feels like to walk wearing no shoes at all. He knows how hard it is. All of this. He knows all of this since he was been there before. He experienced all of this before, and he does not want other children experience the same thing. He put up PhilDev to help them, slowly helping them and turn them into a successful person. He is trying to change the Philippines and trying to make it a better place by their agenda. And it is very clear that hopefully one day, those students will do the same thing as Mr. Dado Banatao did. If I will be asked if I would do the same thing as what Mr. Dado Banatao did, then my answer will be YES. It is a wonderful idea to help our children and to help the Philippines. If given a chance to become as smart as Mr. Dado Banatao, then I would study and work so hard, until I can graduate. Then I would apply for a master’s degree. After that, I would join any programs that would be able to help to expand my knowledge. Then I will try to land on a high end job and work my way to the top. As soon as I will be able to put up my own company, I will make its foundation strong. I will start on doing programs that would benefit the people of the Philippines, especially the children. Then, I will look for partners are a willing to expand my vision of a better Philippines. Then, I would like to encourage my beneficiaries to help the Philippines in a way that they can. I do not want them to go and abroad as much as possible. Why? Because it is one of the reasons why Philippines is not improving. There are brilliant minds here in the Philippines. Students with unique mind and intelligence. They manage to graduate with a high degree, but what they do is that they go to abroad and work there. So, instead of helping the Philippines to improve, it is the country which they are in, are the ones they are helping to improve. That is very common, a lot of graduates go abroad and work there. Why? One of the main reason is the salary. Of course, the salary offered outside our country is double or even triple the salary which is offered here. That’s why graduated students are tempted to work abroad. But if the Philippines would become a better country just like what Mr. Dado Banatao envisioned, where there are plenty of jobs offered, where the country is full of innovations and the country is the technopreneurship center in asia, then there will be no reason for graduated students to go outside the country for a high-end job.  Just like Mr. Dado Banataom I dream of the Philippines as a successful country. A country that can go head to head and toe to toe with other countries. I want Philippines to become a 1^st world country. 

            We are lucky to have Mr. Dado Banatao as our fellow countrymen, he is willing to lift our country in such a way. If there are more foundations like the PhilDev, then there will be lots of students that will be able to finish their studies. I hope that a lot of people will see this video, and I hope that they will realize that is not the end of their dreams if they were born poor. Their lives could turn into a different path if they are willing and determined. As what Mr. Dadao Banatao said in the video “My story, could be your story. As Filipinos, it must be our story.”