Everyone here calls him Boss.
I thought it was just a nickname.
Then Melvin told me he lives in Corazon now, but almost every weekend, he rides back to Barangay Amancion.
Saturday or Sunday. Every week.
I asked him why.
“I'm the SK chairman of Barangay Amancion. I'm still registered as a resident here. That's why I always come back.”
So I watched what he did when he came back.
He stood in front of the farmers and explained an agricultural program in Bisaya.
The person I knew as an entrepreneur was also an elected youth leader, still making the trip back to the barangay he represents.
Then I met Nanay Nina.
She's been farming for about 20 years.
When we talked about the next generation, she said she wants them to keep farming.
But she can't force them.
No big answer. Just something worth sitting with.
I left the mountains and headed back to IT Park.
Still thinking about that name.
"Boss."
Maybe it was never just a nickname.
Still Learning.
Still Exploring.
One local story at a time.
I came into these mountains thinking I already knew who Melvin was — an entrepreneur, a name attached to a small processing facility and a peso figure I'd already written about. What I didn't expect was to watch him stood in front of the farmers not as a businessman, but as an elected official, still riding back almost every weekend to a barangay he's no longer required to live in. I wondered whether he could have just as easily stopped coming back — but he hasn't.
It made me think about Nanay Nina too. Twenty years of farming, and when I asked about the next generation, she gave me the same kind of quiet, unforced answer. She wants them to stay. She can't force them.
The entrepreneur I thought I knew was also an elected youth leader who still returns to Barangay Amancion almost every weekend.
| Date | July 19, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Location | Amancion, Catmon, Cebu |
| Event Type | Community Agricultural Briefing / Weekly Return to the Barangay |
| Access Method | Invited by a local contact (Melvin) |
| Food Featured | None |
| Cost to Attend | Free (by arrangement) |
| Rarity | 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ — A quiet, recurring role most visitors never see |
| Bayanihan Index | 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜ — High communal involvement, farmers' association briefing |
I still don't know if "Boss" was ever really about the business — or if it's a title he keeps earning some other way, one Saturday ride at a time. Whether that's simply who Melvin is, or something this barangay quietly expects of the people who leave it, is still something I don't know.