David Delima: Hope in Battle

He was a hopeful junior in high school when a great misfortune haunted Asia’s Latin City, Zamboanga City. The Zamboanga siege back in September 2013 happened when the forces of Nur Misuari, the MNLF faction, declared war against the forces of the government for the unfulfilled provisions of the 1996 Peace Agreement.

“Twenty days of limited resources, of sleepless nights, of gun fires and scattered explosions, of women and children running for their lives,” David John Eliezar P. Delima recalled. This led to the displacement of more than 20,000 families and the fall of the economic activity in the city.  “Tomorrow’s fate was unimaginable … everyone was terrified, and people of all faiths were praying,” he added.

This almost destroyed David’s college dream to study in one of the top universities in Manila. “Universities were too afraid to come to Zamboanga to administer the exam.  But De La Salle University came. Only DLSU, among the big four universities, had the courage to personally go to our place and administer the exam in a public school. It gave me hope that there are institutions who believe in the potentials of students from conflict-afflicted areas,” David shared.

From being the class valedictorian, to being in the upper 1% examinees from top universities in Manila, David landed into his first choice – De La Salle University – for its specialized program in Biochemistry and for the Vaugirard Scholarship program.

As a student scholar, he became an active member of the De La Salle Chemistry Society and the University Student Government. “In this University, I found a family – a family of different languages, different cultures, different colors, different dreams, and different battle cries,” shared by the proud Lasallian.

“DLSU taught me that there is hope – that we can light our path from darkness. I am a product of La Salle’s love for the underrepresented, underserved, and undervalued brothers and sisters.”

As an advocate of change, he led the Project Citizen case study by the Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy that aimed to solve sanitation issues in urban poor regions.  He was only a junior in high school when he authored a resolution to the Sangguniang Panglungsod, to implement an ordinance for the maintenance and support of communal comfort rooms in underdeveloped areas.

Outside the university, he voluntarily joined the Philippine Model Congress, a simulation of the Lower House, wherein authored bills were passed on to the Upper House of the Republic. His group sponsored the 2017 Hijab’s Act that ensures the protection of Filipino Muslim Women in practicing their religion at work. This congressional bill won the full vote of the plenary without abstentions and opposition votes. The bill now awaits the sponsorship from one of the Senators of the Philippines.

All these exposure in socio-civic activities and policy making made him qualify to be one of the country’s representatives in the Global Youth Congress in Liverpool United Kingdom. This cultural immersion program gave him the opportunity to express his thoughts on global citizenship, education, and faith.

At the end of his undergraduate career, he was selected as a National Advocate for Sustainable Cities and Communities of the 2030 Youth Force in the Philippines, an International Youth Ambassador for Sustainable Development, an International Affiliate of the International Youth Committee (a United Nations Affiliate), and an International Youth Ambassador for Political Discussions of Bridge The Divide United States.

David graduated Magna Cum Laude in February 2019.  Fueled by his achievements locally and abroad, he pursued for the world ranking for master program scholarships, finishing at the top 5% for two masters programs of the Erasmus Mundus Association. At present, he works as a field scientist in analytical instrumentation with focus on research to assist academic and industrial communities. He hopes to continue doing research and socio-civic services especially in areas stricken with ill-fated realities.

David John Eliezar P. Delima was raised in the southernmost part of the country, Zamboanga.  He actively involved himself in in socio-civic activities, community projects in rural areas, and in policy-making for the urban poor during his high school and college years.

At present, he works as a field scientist in analytical instrumentation with focus on research to assist academic and industrial communities. He hopes to continue doing research and socio-civic services especially in areas stricken with ill-fated realities.

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