Written and Interview by Loy Palapos
Published by Bohol Sunday Post Many Boholanos who succeed in their chosen professions abroad predictably come back to cap their careers by sharing their talents with their compatriots. For them, it is not enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor all alone by themselves in some foreign lands; there is more meaning and contentment when success is shared with others. For Boholanos, sharing it with fellow Boholanos is not just a source of pride for having accomplished something, it is the feeling that one has helped his brothers and sisters that is more profound and gratifying.
Such is the case of Jun Ayag of Mabini, Bohol. After accumulating the necessary educational qualifications and experience in his country, he widened his horizons for more challenges. For 23 years he worked in Saudi Arabia, focusing on human resource management. So successful was he that, in the 2006 Presidential Awards for Outstanding Filipinos Overseas, he was a leading nominee, missing the plum by just a few points.
He could have stayed abroad for more years, but there was this nagging feeling that success is not complete if not shared in his home province. Thus, he came back to Bohol and founded Options and Concepts, a consultancy on human resource management and event organizing. The establishment can adeptly handle seminars, workshops, programs, and varied events… “from birth to deathâ€, he good-heartedly averred. He has a staff and a pool of consultants to handle varied concerns. Last month, Options and Concepts broke the ice by being the event organizer and coordinator of a debut and fashion show at the Grand Ballroom of Bohol Tropics Resort, which was a big success.
This interview took place in the Island City Mall, at Vicky Wallace’s D’ Buzz. It was my first time to meet personally Dioscoro Orias Ayag, Jr. (DAJ), although he was my subject in a September 2007 feature of Bohol’s Choice Cuts.
LMP: You are a Boholano at heart, I believe.
DAJ: Yes, a full-blood Boholano.
LMP: You went abroad for how many years?
DAJ: Since 1985; that would be 23 years.
LMP: Is this your first time to come back to Bohol?
DAJ: No. I’ve been here a lot of times. In fact, I have been getting the best of Bohol since I’m on manpower supply for the world’s largest petro-chemical and oil gas company. I do some interviews and I recommend Bohol as part of the sourcing for manpower. It’s not because I don’t have space there anymore to do what I want. It’s just that a part of me needs to be and to feel at home rather than stay in Saudi Arabia for a long time.
LMP: Does that mean you are fed up in Saudi Arabia?
DAJ: No, I’m not. But in life, you go into a stage wherein it would be better if you go back to your roots and stay there. So I asked my employer if I could leave because I need to be home since I’ve been spending much of my years outside my country. At first they said that it’s not possible. They still don’t want to let me go, not until I developed more people so that by the time I come home, the people I’ve trained will not be dependent on me anymore. They would also feel at home in a foreign land.
LMP: You have taught them so many things, but of course when you come home it does not mean that you have to retire and do nothing. Are you planning to do something by coming over?
DAJ: Yes. I want to infuse the learnings that I had while working in a world-class organization in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade. I need to infuse some quality culture in our province. Bohol is not anymore the Bohol I’ve seen years ago. It has developed into a more competitive and progressive province. Even so, I believe that there’s still room for improvement in our province and I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of the challenge of putting and fusing some new things.
LMP: So you come back here already prepared for that?
DAJ: Yes. Very prepared for everything.
LMP: In what capacity would you be able to help? What parameters or field will make you well-equipped for that?
DAJ: One of the things I have discovered which is lacking in our province or in the national scale is values-orientation. People lack this skill. It must start from within us. I don’t like people blaming the government for some incapacities. The people are the government so the change must come from the people. I think it needs somebody to introduce this change. We first go into basics.
LMP: You mentioned about values transformation, can you name some differences between the Filipinos and the Arabians?
DAJ: Filipinos are dependable when it comes to multi-tasking. The Arabs don’t have that kind of ability. Also, the Arabs lack human resource. They have the financial resources but when it comes to managing people, that’s when the Filipinos come in. The Filipinos are a rich human resource but don’t have the money, while other countries are struggling for manpower but have the financial means.
LMP: What particular trait would you like the Filipinos to learn when it comes to values-orientation?
DAJ: Self-empowerment. It is about living your own life the way you want it. The feeling of not being insecure and that your decisions are not dependent on others’. Once you have assessed yourself of your capacity, you have to maximize it to the fullest without thinking of what others might feel or think. Having a decision made by others is tantamount to not having the confidence.
LMP: I’ve heard that you’re putting up an establishment. What’s the name?
DAJ: It’s called Options and Concepts.
LMP: When you say option, how does it differ from concept?
DAJ: Option is giving out varying degrees of solutions or ideas. Concept means enhancing or developing these ideas.
LMP: Will this be a single proprietorship or is it going to be a corporation?
DAJ: I still have to introduce this idea outside the province. There are a lot of interested parties in the USA, but I told them I would rather start it myself. I have started it here in Tagbilaran. It’s basically about events and managing them. So anything that could be needed by an individual, I could provide that. Events involve wedding planning, organizing, product launching and any form of parties from birth.
LMP: When are you launching this?
DAJ: We’ve launched it already last July 27 at the Bohol Tropics.
LMP: Try to envision the clientele expected in this venture, would you believe that the Boholano in general and Tagbilaranons in particular would easily adapt?
DAJ: Yes, I am very positive about it. I believe that if you’re going to introduce a new thing and you put your entire competency in it and the people would see that it is really rewarding, then, eventually, people will accept it. Even though the end is not yet achieved at this time, there’s still a potential for it to grow.
LMP: You conduct workshops and seminars and this venture needs people. Do you already have them with you?
DAJ: Yes, I already have. In the organization that I am with now, I have spotted and mapped those people who do best in this kind of endeavor.
LMP: Do you have talents coming from outside the province?
DAJ: Yes. Having been able to work in Saudi Arabia for 23 years, I already have this training institution where we could find our resource speakers. I’ve been linking with them.
LMP: Do you have an on-going project at Holy Name University? I have heard about it.
DAJ: It is a workshop for writers. I was referred by Ma’am Fiel Angeli Gabin to the students and they came to me. I just can’t deny my help to them. So even though I have a scheduled tour given to my guests for the opening of my business that would coincide on that same day, I told them I would be absent for my tour for half a day. I would do the workshop for the students.
LMP: Do you have any plans of going to publishing since you also know how to write?
DAJ: Yes. In fact, I have requested Bohol Cable TV to cover the opening of my event. I have initially talked with the Marketing Director. Eventually, we will be putting up a regular program on TV and I would be speaking about the best of Bohol, like the best personalities. We could make them the role models for our youth and for the community. Putting up all the positive values that come out of it.
LMP: So it follows that it will not be all about options and concepts but also about writing?
DAJ: Yes. It includes a lot of areas.
LMP: What is your message to your fellow Boholanos?
DAJ: I hope that you would be receptive to this kind of change for the betterment of our community. We do have our share of shortcomings, and we have to be optimistic in making this change because this change comes from ourselves. We don’t have to rely on other people to be given the authority to have that change. I hope that through Options and Concepts, we could be the instrument of change in Bohol.
As an individual, Jun Ayag is not the run-of-the-mill trying-hard copy-cat, especially in in-depth repartee. The gentleman speaks fluent English, in an unaffected manner, although he could have opted to sound like an imported cosmopolitan. His Visayan is impeccable, and his Tagalog is grammatically flawless. He must have enough speaking knowledge of other languages, particularly Arabic, but I decided not to venture into a language I have no knowledge of. Besides, I sensed that the guy is not the type who would waste time in useless banter.
Jun Ayag, as a true-bloodied Boholano, is laudable in his decision to share his time and talents with Bohol. This is a typical Boholano trait not easily seen in other provinces. For this move alone, he deserves to be commended. Perhaps, not in terms of a plaque or a certificate, but through the support Boholanos can give in his latest venture.
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