Regencia was only 13 years old when he left his barrio in Marinduque to work for his uncle who owned his own small printing press in Sta. Ana, Manila. For two years, he went to his classes in Emilio Aguinaldo High School and then dashed off to the printing press after lunch, running errands for his guardian and delivering boxes of receipts and standardized forms to the old man’s customers. At the age of 15, the young Regencia decided to live on his own, hinting that the relationship with the older relative had soured.