Meaning of “Roco:” rock, boulder or stone
Like a rock, I have uncompromising values.
My strength comes from my faith in God and my family. I exercise this strength in the lives I touch.
Conservative. Prayerful. Conscientious.
As a second generation Filipino American, I was born into a conservative Catholic family and grew up in rural Washington State. My father was a surgeon in our small town. Quiet and humble, he never turned away any patients, paying or non-paying. Memories of my youth were filled with middle-of-the-night emergency room calls, family outings canceled because my father was needed in the ER. Life was often inconvenient, but I learned early on that my father was given a gift of healing and that Gods calls him to help lives. I often watched indigent patients bring in farm eggs in appreciation for my father's kindness. For forty years, every year, he goes on missions and performs free surgeries for the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. My mother, the anchoring stone of our family, shared the blessings she had in life and gave charitably and generously. She and my father taught me to love God foremost and to use my talents and abilities to serve others. Deeply rooted good and wholesome values are what we need in leaders today.
Perseverance. Determination. Never giving up.
On a spring-like evening in March 2000, on my way to a foster family for my weekly visit as a social worker, a car ran a red light and collided violently into my car. No blood or broken bones, but the left side of my head was thrown against the inside of my car and my life was forever changed.
Just a few days prior, I was a superman. I was going to school full-time and working full-time, all the while still making time for family and giving my wife a break on Saturdays. I was on my way to becoming a clinician, memorizing pharmaceutical names for a psychopharmacology class but after the accident, I couldn’t even read Dr. Seuss’ ABC book to my then 2-yr and 1-yr old children. I couldn’t drive, couldn’t talk without stuttering, couldn’t tolerate noises and light and couldn’t carry on conversations, let alone practice as a social worker. Our lives were turned completely upside down.
It took a long time for us to figure out that the injury I suffered was a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). I was only 34 years old then and in the prime of my life. I had young children to raise and a wife to care for. We had hoped that the tough times we faced would go away after a few months, a year or two, but such was not the case. Things got much worse before they got better. The MTBI tested my family, my future but not my faith. God gave me a gift to experience and appreciate life in a way never before possible.
It’ll be 10 years this March from the onset of my injury. During the past ten years, I’ve learned much about life, humility and perseverance. Like my mother, who fought a long fight with breast cancer before eventually dying of it, I was not giving up on life. I developed a disciplined exercise schedule in which I exercised many hours a day to keep my functioning; I went back to school to try to finish my PhD; I sought out experimental brain/drug research to help my brain; I went back to work to teach psychology as a community college adjunct faculty, inspiring my students as they watched me work around my disability. I even went back to work as a therapist helping juvenile detainees. I took classes at the U. of Hawaii to keep abreast of the latest. I try every day, in every way I can, to do my best—to serve God and my family. Perseverance. Determination. Never giving up. These are the same qualities Hawaii needs in a senator, especially during these tough times.
Ethics. Morality. Doing what’s right.
In my profession as a therapist or social worker, much power resides in my hands. Issues and problems in social work are complex and multi-faceted. Things must be contemplated from different perspectives. I differ from many social workers in that I delve deeper into the cases and make decisions only when I know I have a solid grasp of all the issues involved such as allegations, crimes, abuse and accountability and validity of information from all parties.
A judge decides certain things, but social workers can impact a child for the rest of his/her life. For example, I help to decide what foster family a child goes to, I write reports advocating whether or not the child reunites with his biological parents, I analyze a child at different levels of functioning and recommend whether or not to pursue a different school, public or charter. All of this requires synthesis, debate and negotiation-- meeting school administrators, school psychologists, teachers, district representatives, biological and foster parents, etc. Sometimes, it takes speaking plain truths in order for people to listen. Sometimes it takes courage to do the unpopular thing. To me, when people’s lives are at stake, there’s no room for laziness or corruption. When faced with very difficult situations, I look inwardly and make sense of what is right and what is ethical. I don’t choose the easiest route, but abide by morals and ethics. I credit this to my faith and my upbringing.
In politics, power needs to be handled judiciously in the same way-- in hands that hold solid values and morals. Government is there to serve the people and I intend to exercise this instrument with utmost care and justice.
Resume
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Therapist Benchmark Behavioral Systems 2008
Instructor San Bernardino Valley College 2000-2002
Social Worker Alpha Treatment Centers 1999-2000
Social Worker Walden Family Services 1997-1999
EDUCATION
Loma Linda University MA General Psychology
Lewis and Clark College MA Counseling Psychology
University of Washington BA Psychology
RESEARCH
Western Psychological Association Poster: ”Validation of a Life Events Scale Specific to Ethnic Minorities in America.”
LANGUAGES
Intermediate English Sign
Elementary Mandarin Chinese
