In 2013, it can be recalled that Zamboanga City was caught in the middle of bullets and gun shots from the armed hostilities between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Philippine government security forces. It established what is considered as one of the darkest crises in the city and changed the lives of Zamboangueños as they know it.

Amidst the fear and displacement of thousands of families, a young volunteer stepped into the frontline. He carried with him not weapons, but compassion to serve the displaced families who have lost not just houses, but loved ones or even hope.

This is the story of Jamer Centi, a former Zamboanga Siege relief volunteer turned DSWD employee and stayed as an Angel in Red Vest.

One day, it was peaceful and quiet in the so-called Asia’s Latin City. Then the next day, a total disaster exploded like canon and disturbed the once passive urban life. The hysterical shuffle of footsteps echoed across the entire evacuation center at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex. What was once an area filled with hopes and dreams of athletes transformed into an arena of cries for relief.

At the DSWD quarters, boxes piled high, volunteers passing goods hand to hand, and families anxiously waiting for news that would tell them when home would no longer feel like a battlefield. Among the volunteers was a young man named Jamer Centi. He was a fresh graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biology then. He was still figuring out what the real world has in stored for him. Before he even tried his luck to look for job opportunities, he already immersed himself in what would later would turn out a career and a calling for him.

“Nasa lahi na yata ng pamilya namin ang tumulong. (I guess helping people runs in our blood),” Jamer recalls, eyes softening at the memory. “Gumagaan ang aking pakiramdam kung nakakatulong ka sa kapwa. (I feel a certain fulfillment when I am able to help others.)”

He was focused and dedicated to his task particularly repacking relief goods. Rice, canned goods, biscuits, coffee, all the basics needed to get families through one more uncertain night. Yet what he witnessed in the evacuation center shook him and touched a core spot in his heart. He saw mothers clutching their children, elders resting on makeshift bedding, youth who looked far older because of fear.

“Noong [una ay] akala ko ang DSWD ay nagbibigay lamang ng food pack (At first I thought the DSWD was all about just giving food packs),” he says. “Aking napagtanto na [hindi] lamang tulong ang ibinibigay natin sa tao [k]undi pagbabago sa kanilang buhay (I realized that we do not only help people, we change their lives).”

Hours turned into days. Days into weeks. Weeks into month. Until they were told that the Department no longer needed volunteers. And though many of his peers moved on when life demanded their return, Jamer stayed. His hands worked tirelessly, but it was his heart that led him deeper into the world of public service.

 

A Calling Discovered

After the siege, Jamer’s desire to help others did not fade with the crisis. If anything, it grew.

He found himself drawn to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), where he would later join as a Job Order employee deployed as Camp Coordination and Camp Manager serving the Indigenous Badjao Tribe.

With his experience and as an IP (Indigenous People) member, Jamer was then hired as a Community Facilitator for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). It was a role that required not only being an IP, but rather having resiliency and patience, the kind forged during moments of crisis.

“[Siguro] may balak [t]alaga si Allah na ibigay eto sakin na may dahilan tinanggap ko ng matiwasay. (Maybe Allah has plans and reasons why He gave me this opportunity which I took wholeheartedly).”

He visits communities, even those tucked far from paved roads or easy travel. There, he listens to the voices of the minority group and empowers them. He guides parents on responsible budgeting, keeps children in school, and motivates families to believe in their own success. Slowly, hope takes root.

As a child, Jamer remembered that he dreamed of becoming a doctor. He wanted to heal wounds and assuage physical pains of patients. Little did he know, he would discover a calling that not only heals cuts and lesions but rather takes away the pain and trauma in people’s hearts brought about by life’s circumtances and challenges.

“Labis na kasiyahang makasalamuha ang mga iba’t ibang tao upang matulungan lalung-lalo na sa munisipalidad kung saan ako na-assign, ang Municipality of Mabuhay, Probinsya ng Zamboanga Sibugay (An overwhelming joy fills my heart from helping people espeially in the area where I was assigned in, the Municipality of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay Province.”) Jamer said. “Dito nahubong lahat ng aking kakayahan at pananaw tungkol sa pagtulong sa kapwa. (This is where my strengths and perspective in public service were really honed.)”

 

A Test Of Dedication

To further his knowledge and undertanding about case management, Jamer returned to school and studied Bachelor of Science in Social Work. He wanted to really learn the field and immerse himself in deeper understanding of his profession. Although he had experiences where he gained most of his knowledge in case management, he knew that he needed to know more.

That’s how fulfilled and happy he is in performing his duties. Service, however, is not always safe nor simple no matter how he enjoyed it.

Jamer remembers one particular assignment in Barangay Taguisian after conducting household assessment and Family Development Session. Their team boarded a pumpboat to head home, tired but fulfilled until the unexpected happened.

“Nasabit ang propeller sa tali ng seaweeds (The rope holding the seaweeds got entangled with the propeller of our boat),” he narrates. “Ilang oras kaming nastranded sa gitna ng dagat, sinamahan pa ng malakas na ulan (We got stranded in the middle of the sea, all with a downpour of heavy rain).”

The pumpboat stalled in the middle of rough waters. Rain poured hard, blurring the horizon. Hours passed. The vast sea around them felt endless, and fear crawled into their hearts.

“Para kaming wala nang mapuntahan (It was as if we had nowhere to go),” he shares quietly. “Wala nang pag-asang makauwi ng ligtas (we had lost hope to get home safely).”

But amid fear, there was faith. The team prayed fervently, together. And while they prayed, the boat operators fought against the waves, working tirelessly to fix the damaged propeller.

“Dininig ng Maykapal ang panalangin namin (Our prayer was answered),” Jamer says with a grateful smile.

It was a reminder that service comes with risks and that courage is born from the desire to help others, even when the journey home is uncertain. And though he knew about this, it never discouraged his heart to still be of service to others, proving his commitment and dedication to public service.

 

Carrying Hope Forward

A few remarkable initiatives that he had done for the program and the IP community are the Mabuhay KKK (Kaalaman at Karunungan tungo sa Kaunlaran) program, several summits for Indigenous People, Youth, and Women, facilitation of the Bata, Balik-Eskwela campaign, among many others.

In more than a decade of his career, Jamer received several commendations that solidify his name as an outstanding Social Worker, the most recent was being commended by the Local Government of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay for his dedicated service to the people of Mabuhay. He was also awarded as the Best Field Implementer of the Year, Regional Community Facilitator of the Year, Most Promising Community Facilitator, Time-Conscious Community Facilitator, Highest Number of Cash For Work Projects Implemented, Most Number of Support Services Initiatives, and Best Community Facilitator.

Today, Jamer has gone back to his hometown in Zamboanga City after serving for more than decade in the Municipality of Mabuhay.

Jamer is not just a DSWD employee. He is a familiar face in communities that have learned to trust government support. He is proof that the best public servants are often those who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the people long before they wore an ID badge.

As he looks back at the young volunteer who walked into the chaos of 2013, Jamer smiles.

“I thought I was just helping repack boxes. But I was actually unpacking my purpose.”

From the ashes of conflict, Jamer chose a path of service, one that continues to shape the lives of families he meets each day. His journey reminds us that sometimes, hope is not delivered by trucks or packed into relief bags. Sometimes, hope looks like a person—showing up, staying present, and carrying it forward.