I was born and raised in the northernmost part of the Philippines, in what most people call “Ilocandia” or “Ilocos”.  Having been raised by a family of farmers, I grew up very quickly realizing that for you to have money, you have to work hard for it.  And work hard, I did.

During summer vacation, I was busy doing odd jobs like cleaning other people’s houses, raising pigs and goats, as well as planting vegetables in my garden.

My parents always encouraged me to do good in my studies. As an obedient son, I did follow that advice.

After graduating as valedictorian of my grade school class, I managed to top the high school entrance exam to one of the most prestigious schools in the Ilocos province, the Mariano Marcos State University – Science High School.  I won numerous awards during inter-school contests like Philippine Math Olympiads, Math and Science Fairs, Highest Achiever in Mathematics, Math Wizard Champion and more.