MANILA — Meteorology hadn't crossed his mind for a career, Ariel Rojas said, although since he was a boy, weather has been a huge part of his life.

While other children reminisce about trips to the zoo or playing with friends outside their home, one of Rojas' earliest and most vivid childhood memories was super typhoon Rosing, the strongest typhoon recorded in 1995.

Only 8 years old when it happened, Rojas, ABS-CBN's new resident meteorologist, remembers clearly how he and his family used a large table cloth to shelter from the lashing rain and howling winds.

“Magkakasama kaming family. Ang takip lang namin, parang ’yung mantel na makapal na nilalabas lang 'pag fiesta, kasi ’yung bubong namin sa second floor, nipa shingles lang. So nilipad na at nabutas na (We used a table cloth that is commonly used during fiestas as shade, because our roof of nipa shingles was already blown away)," recounted Rojas.

Rojas is familiar with battering typhoons, being born and raised in Catanduanes, an island in Luzon's southern region that juts out to the east and normally takes the brunt of the first landfall of storms originating from the Pacific Ocean.

Typhoons are a regular occurrence and has become a part of the lives of Catandunganons, and Rojas remembers in sixth grade when school activities carried on while a storm raged over his hometown of Bato.

“Lumilipad na ’yung yero sa kabilang building, nagko-contest pa rin kami. Ganu’n ’yung normal na ginagawa sa Catanduanes (The roof of the next building was already being blown away, but we were still holding a school competition. That was life in Catanduanes.)”

The effects of typhoons are ingrained in the life and history of Catanduanes. Tourists often note the interesting modification locals have made to their windows, where panes are bolted onto walls, in case yet another storm ravages the province.

Growing up, Rojas witnessed how extreme weather changed lives. In 1998, typhoon Loleng brought in its wake a construction boom in their town.

“Marami sa aming nag-OFW, and ’yung mga bahay nila after Loleng, nagpagawa talaga sila ng bahay na konkreto na. Sa Bato, especially sa poblacion mismo, ang daming malalaking bahay. And bagyo ’yung dahilan nu’n. Kasi gusto nila may second floor, para kapag umapaw ’yung ilog, they don’t have to go out anymore. They just have to go to the second floor," Rojas said.

(Many OFWs who are from Bato, especially in the town center, built bigger homes made of concrete after Loleng so they wouldn't have to evacuate. They can just stay put on the second floor.)

Rojas said his passion was initially not the weather.

He remembers fondly how in elementary school he dreamt of being an educator, so he could take the place of his social studies teacher. He even kept a notebook where he listed, by memory, all the regions, their respective capitals and population densities. He tediously updated the tally of each area's population when a new census report came out.

His eldest sister, Anna, remembers him as an achiever. He graduated class valedictorian in high school, and was always active in school.

"Growing up, very articulate talaga s’ya, a brilliant student," Anna shares, "Hindi lang sa (not just in) math and science, he was also good in writing."

Naturally, geography was his first choice going into college, but Ana dissuaded him.

"My sister told me I wouldn’t earn a living in a career based on geography. So she said, ‘You love sciences, why don’t you take up a science course?’" Rojas said.

He then took up Bachelor of Sciences in Food Technology at the University of the Philippines. Despite knowing where his true passions were, it wasn't a mere stepping stone for him; he was planning to make a career out of it.

But life had different plans apparently. Rojas is the third among seven siblings, and the eldest son. While struggling to fulfill requirements entering his final year in college, he decided it was more important for him to help support the education of their two youngest brothers.

He worked at a call center for four years and only went back to finish his Food Technology course after he had put his youngest sibling through college.

When he finished his undergrad course, Rojas was 26 years old, and he thought he was too old to begin a career in food technology.

An old fire sparked again, though, when he heard of the so-called "brain drain," as top scientists were leaving Philippine agencies for greener pastures abroad.

• READ: DOST chief plays down PAGASA brain drain

“Di ba ang turo, serve your countrymen. Or paglingkuran ang mamamayan, ang sinasabi. And dahil medyo idealistic ako, maybe I’m needed in PAGASA kasi nga umaalis ang mga tao. (That's what we were taught, serve our countrymen. I'm idealistic, so I thought maybe I was needed in PAGASA because people were leaving.)”

He wanted to pursue a masters degree in geography, but no scholarship was available. So he took the next best thing in his mind: meteorology. PAGASA happened to be nearer to his home during the time, so he went there to apply.

He received the grant and began his studies. Although. the two-year course took him four years to complete, because he had to pause to help support his mother's treatment for cancer.

Despite the odds, he finished his masters in meteorology in 2017, and within five months was hired by PAGASA.

It was then that Rojas realized that perhaps this career option was something that might have been with him since the very beginning. “Why not venture into something I am very familiar with from childhood?" he recalled his thoughts at the time.

"I think that's what sets him apart from the other forecasters," Anna said of his brother.

"He knows from a very young age what it's like. In 1998, we experienced [Loleng]. Kaming dalawa lang and our lola, we thought malulunod na kami. Talagang nakita n’ya ’yung destruction, the preparation before the typhoon, and life after the typhoon. (He, our grandmother, and I thought we were going to drown in typhoon Loleng's floodwaters. He witnessed the destruction.)"

Rojas always knew the importance of bringing timely weather reports to troubled areas. But it was during his first year in PAGASA where he truly saw the necessity of it.

He remembers doing on-camera reports during typhoons Urduja and Vinta that year, which left many dead in landslides and mudflow brought about by heavy rainfall.

The casualty count made him reflect.

“'Hala, ginawa ba namin ’yung trabaho namin?' May ganu’ng self-awareness na. 'Do we serve our purpose, kasi ang daming namamatay?' Mari-realize mo na typhoon in and typhoon out, it’s really something you cannot avoid, talagang may casualties. Nasanay na lang tayo na may namamatay. Pero parang hindi ba dapat nasasanay na tayo na may bagyo, so dapat wala nang namamatay?" Rojas said.

(Did we do our job? There was a self-awareness already. Did we serve our purpose? Because so many died. You realize casualties are a reality. We're used to seeing people dying in storms, but shouldn't we be used to the storms by now that no one is supposed to die?)

Now, with a wider platform as resident meteorologist of one of the country's top news sources, Rojas hopes to bring this same awareness to even more Filipinos.

“Minsan, hindi natin na-appreciate ’yung ibang weather systems kasi hindi tayo naapektuhan. Nagti-tweet lang ang tao na ‘Baha!’ o ‘Walang pasok!’ kapag directly affected tayo. But for other people in other parts of our country, it could be life or death. It made me realize how important my job was. Binigay N'ya sa akin ’yung perspective na: ‘Take your job seriously, kasi people’s lives depend on you.'"

(We don't grasp some weather systems because they don't affect us. But in other parts of the country, those systems could be a matter of life or death. It made me realize how important my job was. I was given the perspective of "I should take my job seriously because people's lives depend on me.")

His passion comes alive when he explains how the weather has far-reaching consequences on many people.

"’Yung aftermath, ’yung 2 months na wala kayong kuryente, ’yung 2 months na nakasalalay kayo sa relief goods, or walang supplies sa tindahan so kailangan onti lang ang kinakain. Doon ako nakaka-relate sa mga dinadaanan ng bagyo. Kasi na-experience ko ’yun at a very young age,” Rojas said.

(The aftermath - the 2 months you don't have power and you have to rely on relief goods, you have to save up on food because there are no supplies in the stores. I can relate to that struggle, because I experienced it at a very young age.)

For Rojas, he finds fulfillment in what other people may consider mundane, such as informing friends and colleagues whether or not tomorrow will be a rainy day in Tagaytay so they can better prepare for a wedding they will be attending.

"It’s all about safety. That’s where I find meaning in meteorology," he said, hoping to use his platform on ABS-CBN to raise more awareness to how weather directly affects people's lives.

But Rojas acknowledges he is still adjusting, saying the newsroom is a new environment to him.

“This is a very lonely job, because I’m alone. Sabi nga ni Kiko (assignment editor Francis Faulve): ‘You’re in your own world. We don’t understand what you’re saying, you have to layman-ize pa.’ Doon kasi, you say one thing, everyone will get it na (in PAGASA, you say one thing and everything will understand what you mean)," he said.

For the past week, he has been training in the newsroom alongside news writers and editors. He collates data from PAGASA and leads the whole production process until his segment airs.

"I write the script. I edit the script. I have it checked," he shares. "I coordinate with the graphics artist kung ano ang ipapakita (to know what we need to show). It’s all me. Kung may mali (If get things wrong), it’s also on me. In a way, extension ako ng PAGASA sa TV Patrol with ABS-CBN as my employer."

Rojas said he is grateful for the support he has been getting from his new colleagues, segment producers and researchers he had been in contact with when he was a PAGASA resource. He recalled that first live anchoring on TV Patrol Monday night wracked his nerves.

“Yung mga kasama ko, talagang mga pillars ng broadcast media (I'm with pillars of broadcast media). The pressure was really on,” he said.

The nerves were calmed, though, thanks to his family's support, especially from his father in Catanduanes who, Anna shares, cried upon seeing Rojas on the screen where the livestream of TV Patrol was playing.

"Sobrang proud kami. Sobrang saya and sobrang excited. It's a bigger platform. Mas marami s’yang mase-serve, mas marami s'yang mae-educate about the weather. (We're so proud, excited, and happy. He can serve more people, educate more people). We felt na nasa tamang (he's in the right) platform na s’ya now," Anna said.

Monday night's live anchoring brought with it overwhelming support from Rojas' friends, family, and supporters offline and online.

“Despite the lack of franchise, ’yung reach, digital at least, and ’yung longevity nu’ng show, so may credibility ang TV Patrol. I also want to be able to explore things I wasn’t able to explore in PAGASA," he said.

Recognizing the responsibility now on his shoulders as the sole meteorologist in the ABS-CBN newsroom, he still recognizes the footsteps he must follow.

“I’m standing on the shoulders of these giants that came before me, and I have a blueprint of what I’m about to navigate," he said, acknowledging the contributions brought to the field by Nathaniel "Mang Tani" Cruz.

"’Yung influence n’ya kasi (with his influence), kids are becoming more interested in the weather, in the sciences. Kids, their imagination and their interests are piqued because of what they see on TV.”

Rojas said he is glad with the freedom granted to him by his news bosses as he plans to carve his own path.

"[They] told me, 'You’re going to be you. You’re not going to be 'the next Kuya Kim', you’re not going to be 'the next Mang Tani' or 'the next Ernie Baron', you’re going to be you, because you’re different from them'," he said.

"And I want to be Ariel. And hopefully, I’ll be able to deliver."