A soldier’s tale: life, love and fighting for country

MANILA, Philippines -  At 27, Private First Class Roel Dalaota has had his share of difficulties. More than once, he had put his life on the line in fulfillment of his sworn duty to protect the Filipino people.

But never, he tells STARweek, did he consider turning back on his lifelong dream to become a soldier and be an agent of peace for his homeland in southern Philippines.

Born in a small hut in the middle of a farm in Impasug-ong, Bukidnon in 1988, Dalaota says all he ever wanted was to uplift the life of his family while at the same time help in addressing the peace and order situation in Mindanao.

He recalls the fear that, as a boy, he and his family experienced when insurgents frequently raided their town for supplies. “I don’t want other children to experience that,” he says in Filipino.

But his dream of becoming a soldier took a backseat as poverty forced him to make difficult decisions in life.

At an early age, Dalaota – the second of five children – was forced to work different jobs to help support his family.

When he was in Grade 6, his parents had to temporarily leave for a job opportunity, forcing him to balance his education and the need to provide and care for his younger siblings.

“Because of my desire to continue my education and fulfill my dream of becoming a soldier, I worked part time by repairing shoes and umbrellas for P10 each,” he says. “I also ploughed fields on weekends for additional income.”

After years of rigorous effort and continuing hardship, including walking five kilometers to and from his school, Dalaota finished high school in 2007, at the age of 16.

Pursuing a dream

With no money to support his college education, Dalaota went to Cebu City to live with his aunt and find a better opportunity, eventually landing a job at a gasoline station and later at a fast food restaurant near the famed Basilica de Sto. Niño.

His dreams of becoming a soldier surfaced two years later when, while praying at the church, he saw a military officer whom he immediately approached to ask if he can be a soldier even if he was just a high school graduate.

Fortunately, the 53rd Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army had a quota for 100 candidate soldiers at the time, giving Dalaota an opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a man of uniform.

He immediately went to the Army Recruitment Center to take the Armed Forces of the Philippines Test and Battery, which he passed.

“I learned that it was just a qualifying exam and that I still needed to pass other tests and submit documents, which forced me to use up my small savings,” he said.

Dalaota was not among those who were initially selected among the over 1,000 applicants. However, he was chosen as a replacement as many of those who passed had already left, as waiting for the results took months.

He officially became a soldier in April 2010 and was assigned to Cebu during that year’s presidential elections. It was during that assignment when he met his future wife, Philippine Air Force personnel Marie Ligad.

They were married in 2012, after working out their long-distance relationship as Dalaota was assigned to Eastern Samar while Ligad stayed in Cebu.

Close calls

The couple has two boys, the youngest born just last May 20.

Dalaota admits the difficulties in having to be away from his wife and children, turning somber as he narrated how his first-born once called him “tito” when he went home.

“It was sad, but I have to do this for them,” he says. “I do my best to let them feel that I am their father even if I am away.”

For the past six years, Dalaota has been assigned in Eastern Visayas, where he experienced close brushes with death while fulfilling his duties.

In 2013, days before Super Typhoon Yolanda struck, he and his unit were deployed to Tacloban City to stand by for possible rescue operations in the aftermath of the disaster.

Little did he know that they would be among those heavily affected, recalling how they had to cling to the trusses of their command post as the typhoon’s howling winds wrecked the structure and the ensuing storm surges flooded the building.

Worse, his wife – who was also deployed in the city – was nowhere to be found after Yolanda struck.

“I saw my wife clinging to a tree, with scratches all over her body and a wound in her leg,” he recounts, noting that he had suffered a minor injury in his eye. “I was really thankful that that was the only thing that happened to us.”

Two years later, Dalaota was again deployed for relief operations in support of the victims of Typhoon Nona.

While en route to Oras, Eastern Samar to deliver relief goods, they were ambushed by alleged communist rebels, and he sustained three gunshot wounds on his legs.

Dalaota survived the incident, and received a wounded personnel medal. He was also awarded the Bakas ng Parangal by the Office of Civil Defense in March 2016.

Despite his close encounters and the difficulties he experienced, the young soldier says it never crossed his mind to turn his back on his sworn duties. Even as he is still recovering from the wounds, he reported back to headquarters.

“I still have a long way to go,” he says, recalling his dream of helping attain peace and order in Mindanao.

While he maintains that he has no problem wherever he is assigned, he expresses hope that there will come a time when he will be given an opportunity to be deployed in the south.

“This is what I have always wanted to do.”