Brief Personal Profile of
Edwin Aldren Maratas Refugio 

Edwin Aldren Maratas Refugio, 18 years old, is a resident of 873 North Curvada of Barangay Galas, Dipolog City. Born on the 24^th of November 1985 is the only son of Sarah Maratas Refugio and Edwin Hibaya Refugio.

Unfortunately, his father died on April 4, 1995 in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay when the Abu Sayyaf extremist group first launched their attack in the town of Ipil. He was nine years old then when that terrible tragedy occurred but life has to move on so here he is now striving to face reality and at the same time serving his fellow youths and the community in the process.

His struggles earned him a number of excellent citations, which includes being the valedictorian in his elementary days at the Dipolog Community School. While studying at the Zamboanga del Norte National High School, he finished his first, second and third high school years with first honors and he is also fighting hard to be a valedictorian at the present. 

Councilor Refugio is an active leader in school and community activities and as proof for this, he is currently the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President of Dipolog City. Elected as SK Chairman of Barangay Galas last July 15, 2002 and eventually elected as President of the City SK Federation.

As president of the Club Interact of the Rotary Club of Dipolog, he was the nominated as the Vice-Mayor of the Rotary Youth City Officials during the Rotary Activities Week. 

He has also served the Philippine National Red Cross (Zamboanga del Norte Chapter) as President of the Red Cross Youth. He has also attended and finished several trainings, conducted by the PNRC Safety Services, such as the Basic Leadership Training, First Aid Training and other related courses. Such training has given him the chance to spearheaded exercises with other potential youth volunteers in the whole province and also gave him the opportunity to actively join community activities and render service as a rescue-medic.

For the whole four years of Councilor Refugio’s high school life, he has served the Supreme Student Council (SSC) of his school and is currently won the position as President. 

Having been the Editor-in-Chief of the official school paper of their school, “The Zamboanguenian,” he has joined several Press Conferences and became winner in some journalistic fields such as Editorial Writing, News, Sports and Feature Writings categories. He has also joined the National Training of Campus Journalists in Baguio City and attended training courses in Desktop Publishing.

As an advocate of the “anti-drug campaign”, he has been an active member and officer of the Drug Abuse & Anti-Gambling Resistance Education (DARE) organization. During his third year, he was chosen as a nominee for the Search for K.I.D. Listo, and Tipo Kong Idolo of the Dangerous Drugs Board. Fortunately, he won in the Division level and became the Regional K.I.D. Listo winner after undergoing a tremendous series of interviews and written exams. He then represented Region IX in the National Search for K.I.D. Listo and there he attended the Training for Trainors course wherein he was brushed along with other K.I.D. Listo winners of their respective regions.

Honorable Refugio also got the chance to join the Eight National Youth Convention sponsored by the Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) and PASSA held at the Teacher's Camp in Baguio City wherein he have met a many of other student leaders all over the country.

He is also a member of the Dipolog Youth for Progress and the Dipolog Youth Alliance, which aims to help develop the youths in the City of Dipolog and foster cooperation and camaraderie among the youth sector.

As a public servant and being the SK Federation President, he has spearheaded activities that are of fundamental importance to youth development most especially in those activities promoting sports development. He has organized and conducted Inter-High School Basketball Friendship Game and Inter-Barangay Musical Competition wherein it was participated by active youth members in the barangays. Councilor Refugio has high hopes that through these programs it may properly enhance and develop the various skills and talents of the youth.

Despite being involved in academic and government programs, he is also entwined in spiritual activities such as the Youth for Christ and the LAYA Summits of the CFC­YFC, which promotes the spiritual well being of individuals.

At the moment, he is still on the go towards the betterment of the youth for he believes that they are the hope of the next generation and therefore play a vital role as common individuals who would eventually lead this country in the days to come.