Boy Abunda —CONTRIBUTED Photo
TV host Boy Abunda said he has been helping kids since 2000 by sending them to school not only because he wanted to pay it forward, but also because of the “unexpressed disappointment” of his mother for his failure to graduate.
Abunda agreed to this interview with Inquirer Entertainment after making us promise not to reveal the exact number of his scholars, as well their identities—except for three.
Abunda said the number of his scholars who graduate each school year varies. Most of them took up four-year courses, with a few finishing two- or three-year courses. At one point, he had two scholars who graduated summa cum laude from the Far Eastern University, and one magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines.
“There were years when I would only have two graduates, but there were also times when I would have a lot. Most of them are achievers. I’m sorry for not revealing the numbers because I cannot afford to send everybody who requests for school scholarships from me,” he explained.
“Just the other day, I accepted another child—a straight A student. She wants to take up fine arts. She only recently started to paint. I promised to shoulder her expenses for the next four years. I share her dream. She made me see how hard she works to achieve it,” the TV host continued.
Education advocate
Abunda is currently sending some students from Eastern Samar, his home province, to schools in Tacloban, among others. “I cannot give the names of most of them, too. I have scholars studying in AMA Computer College in Tacloban, while some attend state universities,” he reported.
“Currently, I’m sending (actors) Aljon Mendoza and Kaori Oinuma to the Philippine Women’s University (PWU). Aljon is really diligent. I’m a member of PWU’s board of trustees. One time, when I called the office of the PWU president, I learned that Aljon was there, asking about the requirements he needed to submit. It was then that I knew he was really driven to finish school.”
Abunda said his batch at the Ateneo de Manila University also has scholars. “I don’t have my batchmates’ permission to talk more about those kids because this is supposed to be credited to the batch and not to one person. Yes, I’ve also had graduates from there. This is an active scholarship,” he added.
Cris Reven Gibaga, who graduated magna cum laude with a degree in geology at UP Diliman, had been Abunda’s scholar since he was in preschool. “I just got a message from him while in Europe, where he’s taking his doctoral degree. He was introduced to me by someone from my talk show ‘Homeboy.’ His family was from Payatas. He is a very bright kid and I consider him one of my best scholars,” Abunda began.
“Reven is very special because he was my scholar from the very beginning—back when he was still in kindergarten. When he graduated, he wanted me to go onstage to pin his medal, but I told him, ‘I just sent you to school financially, but that honor goes to your parents.’ He graduated magna but, for some reason, he was the one who delivered the farewell address. He spent one-third of that speech paying tribute to me. I just learned about this later,” he recalled.
Abunda said he would feel extremely proud especially when his scholars would pursue jobs involved in public service. “One said he wanted to work in an NGO (nongovernment organization) because he would like to give back,” he recalled. “I tell all of them that the only way they can thank me is to make sure that each of them also sends one to school until that person graduates. I make them promise this in order for this whole endeavor to become transformative. When you talk about transformative leadership, leaders should be able to create leaders from among their followers. In the case of Reven, he is now sending his sibling to school. As for the others, it’s their cousins or their kapitbahay (neighbor).”
In choosing his scholars, Abunda said he would ask for recommendations from principal or teacher friends. “Up to now, there’s this feeling of regret in me for not being able to do more. This is because I have no actual office dedicated to monitoring tuition and allowances. This is very personal. I ask help from them to give me names of performing high school students. But more than the grade, I was, and still am, very conscious about the energy, the desire to go to school. I can’t just spend it on anyone. After all, I’m using my hard-earned personal money,” he pointed out.
Rough start
The TV host said the idea to send kids to school started around 2000. “I was doing television work, but without any degree in college. I thought, if I can’t have a college degree, I might as well send deserving young people to school. Plus, the unexpressed disappointment of Nanay (Lesing Abunda) that I didn’t graduate. She was an elementary school teacher for 41 years,” he said. “I think that disappointment triggered this attitude, this whole desire to help others. It also triggered my journey of finishing college until I had my PhD in social development.”
In 2005, Boy eventually resumed studying by taking the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) at PWU. He finished his masters in communication arts degree in 2011, then went all the way to getting his doctorate degree in social development in 2016.
Abunda then shared the lessons he picked up from his experience of sending kids to school. “This is the first time I’m talking about this lengthily. This is actually the effect of the saying, ‘When you learn, teach. When you get, give’ as well as the saying, ‘Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great. Greatness requires service,’” he began.
“I also learned that you can help, but it doesn’t have to be a multitude—it can just be one or two. In terms of one or two of my scholars being led astray, it didn’t make me feel cynical about being kind. I was more hurt, disappointed for the child,” he pointed out. “This is also very humbling. I came from a poor family. If I were to encapsulate it in a line, it is that I must always remember that I was also a beneficiary of the kindness of so many people. There were people who were so kind and pushed me to go back to school.”