FOUR SUBIC VOLUNTEER STORIES

FOUR SUBIC VOLUNTEER STORIES
By: Jimmy L. Mendoza


Story #1

In my sixth month as volunteer Administrative Officer of the SBMA Public Works Group, I came home one night to find my wife in a bad mood. She confronted me with: “I have been packing your lunch and giving you transportation money for the past six months, including weekends. Ano ba ang pinakain ni Chairman Gordon sa iyo at ayaw mong tumigil? Dati-rati nung kalaban mo si Gordon ganoon na lang kung atakihin mo siya, ngayon lahat ng panahon mo ibinigay mo na sa kanya at wala namang bayad.”

I somehow already sensed this confrontation coming. My wife’s earnings as a market vendor have considerably diminished after the closure of the U.S. naval base, and with two kids going to college, she was having a hard time making both ends meet.

But having been married to her for twenty years, I knew exactly what would appease her. So I said, “You know the story of life. I have spent more than two decades as an activist, trying to ‘Serve the People’; and what have I accomplished in terms of improving their lives? Some of the people I recruited to our cause have even perished in it….. But Chairman Gordon, has given us another opportunity to ‘serve the people’; this time, with concrete results. ….We have already provided jobs to many people in the first few companies that have located in the Freeport. Their blessings should be enough consolation for our temporary sacrifices……. You should see the dedication and determination of all the other volunteers in trying to resuscitate our city’s dying economy. It is unbelievable the way Chairman Gordon has persuaded all these people to take a leap of faith and dedicate themselves to this great undertaking. This is history in the making and I have to be a part of it.”

Then the clincher: “At the pace things are going with the SBMA, and with so many investors set to start operations, our local economy will perk up sooner than later, and your earnings shall increase again. Besides, unlike in my previous activities, you don’t have to worry about my personal safety and security anymore.”

That did it! With my wife’s support, I was able to complete one year of volunteer work, and I stayed with the SBMA for as long as Richard Gordon was its Chairman and Administrator, a total of six years. It was a period of difficult challenges, extreme pressures, tension and aggravation. But yet, it was such a thrilling and productive six years that I felt I have done more in that period than in the past two decades of my life. And, more importantly to me, I know it was then that I have truly, selflessly served the people.

By the way, in the last few weeks when we were holding nightly vigils around Building 229 to resist President Estrada’s efforts to oust Chairman Gordon, my wife would bring us food in the evenings and join our group at the barricades. She would often catch some sleep on the couch in my office and leave us at four o’clock in the morning, just in time to open her store in the market. One particular evening, she sensed from my group’s conversations that the prospects of Gordon being retained were not good. With a worried look on her face, and talking to no one in particular, my wife sighed, “Dios ko, ano na kaya ang mangyayari sa SBMA kapag nawala si Gordon?”




Story #2

The phenomenon that has come to be widely known as “The Subic Miracle” is made up of countless, various miracles: big and small; some awesome, some funny, some inspiring, while others were just downright silly.

It seemed that in the SBMA under Chairman Dick Gordon, the order of the day was for everyone to perform his or her own miracle. The completion of the Subic International Airport in record, no make that “miracle” time, was one of them. The phenomenon of reckless drivers and traffic violators instantly converting into disciplined, safety-conscious citizens as soon as they enter the Freeport gates was considered a miracle, although some thought it was magic that did that.

But to me, one miracle stands out for the lessons in leadership that it had taught me. It is one that Chairman Gordon himself performed, and I privately think of it as “The Miracle of the Youth Volunteers’:

One of the things that first struck me when I joined the SBMA was the predominance of the young volunteers. I saw very few of Mayor Gordon’s (he was then both City Mayor and SBMA Chairman-Administrator) usual political leaders and they were assigned only minor tasks. Except for some former U.S. Naval Base workers, most of the more responsible positions in the organization were occupied by young volunteers – most of them fresh college graduates, many with very little or no job experience at all.

The SBMA was bubbling with youthful energy and idealistic enthusiasm. The demeanor and the look on the faces of those young people left no doubt as to their sincerity and determination. But to me then, that was no cause for comfort as I watched many of them fumble in their jobs, with their ‘hit-and-miss’ methods of work.

My concerns were aggravated when the young people who were handling the privatization of the water utility told me that they knew nothing about utility operations. I was particularly irked by this one young volunteer who could only answer, “Because that’s what Chairman Gordon wants”, every time I asked him why we should be doing this or that. Based on my experience, I thought most of the positions these “upstarts” were occupying required at least a couple of years on-the-job experience.

The question in my mind then was: ‘Does Dick Gordon know for certain that these are the guys that could help realize his vision for Subic, or is he just taking a gamble on them?’

As weeks and months passed, things started to become clearer me. I realized that the Chairman had opted for the education, youthful energy, dedication and enthusiasm of the young volunteers, rather than experience. Much was being said about Gordon’s micro-managing style then, but I thought he had to, given the inexperience of his staff.

The frequent meetings at the Command Center were most revealing of the Chairman’s style of leadership. They often consisted of a motivational speech – sometimes a reiteration of the common vision - then a scolding and criticism session, and then a detailed discussion of each Department’s tasks. The Chairman relentlessly exhorted every one to deliver more, better, and faster results, and anyone’s best effort was never enough.

“You don’t walk on the halls of this building; you strut!!,” he once barked at the flabbergasted youth.

It was as if the Chairman was trying to squeeze out to the very last bit, everything that was good and noble in all of us. I concluded then that Chairman Gordon hated mediocrity so much that he decided to wage an all out war against it.

What was amazing was that the volunteers took the scolding and criticism like a badge of honor. They so loved and respected the Chairman that they seemed to savor anything that the Chairman dished out to them, be it praise or criticism. Those who were not scolded actually felt they were less important to the Chairman.

At the Chairman’s constant prodding, more things did happen better and faster at the SBMA. Within a year, the “miracle” began to unravel. The airport and other important infrastructure were built; more investors located and more jobs were created; and the conversion of the former military base into a world class industrial and tourism complex was almost complete. Almost all of these major developments bore the imprint of the young volunteers.

But to me, the more interesting “miracle” was the professional maturity shown by the young volunteers by this time. The enthusiasm and determination was still there, but an added aura of confidence was obvious. The transformation from ‘bumbling greehorns’ to matured professionals in so short a time, was, to me, really amazing. I literally watched Pierre Ordonia grow from a clueless Head of Labor Disputes Office to a confident and effective Manager of the Labor Department. I marveled, as an initially confused Jasmine Santos successfully coordinated the smooth privatization of the water utility; and so with all the rest of the young volunteers – from negotiating with the big investors, to the drawing up of major contracts.

All of these was due to the dynamic and effective leadership of Chairman Gordon, with whom one year of association is worth ten years of experience.

I was left with nothing but a deep sense of gratitude, respect and admiration for those young volunteers, as I continue to marvel at the “miracle” that I’m sure deeply touched their lives, as it did mine.




Story #3


Malamig ang hangin sa gabing iyon noong Pebrero, 1996, subalit sa loob ng pabrika ay wala akong nararamdaman kundi init na nakakahilo. Magsasara ang Subic Star, ang pabrikang gumagawa ng sapatos na Reebok, at kami nila Atty. Manny Quijano at Pierre Ordona ay alalay kay Chairman Gordon habang siya’y nakikipag-negosasyon sa management upang mabigyan ng malaki-laking separation pay ang mga manggagawang mawawalan ng trabaho.

Tensiyonado at mahirap ang negosasyon. Natagalan bago napapayag ni Chairman Gordon ang management na dagdagan ang separation pay ng doble sa itinatakda ng batas.

Matapos naming pulungin ang mga manggagawa ay niyakag kami ni Chairman Gordon sa kanyang opisina upang pag-usapan ang pangkalahatang kalagayan ng paggawa sa Freeport. “Ano ba talaga ang mga problema natin sa labor?”, bungad kaagad ni Chairman pagkaupo namin sa paligid ng conference table.

Sumagot ako, “May mga kumpanya na minimum wage lang ay di yata kaya, o ayaw bayaran. Karamihan sa kanila ay tinuturing pa naman nating “pioneer investors”. Ako’y nagugulat at ngayon ko lang nalaman na mayroon palang foreign investors na ganyan.

Nagpaliwanag naman si Chairman: “Sino ba naman sa atin ang may karanasan sa ganitong gawain? Ako nga noong umpisa, sa kagustuhan kong magkaroon kaagad ng trabaho ang ating mga kababayan, ang tinatanong ko lang sa mga prospective investors ay kung ilan ang mabibigyan nila ng trabaho. Kapag halimbawa’y sinabing dalawang daan, pinapipili ko na kaagad kung saan gustong pumwesto. Kaya siguro may nakalusot na mga ganyang kumpanya.”

Nagpatuloy siya, “Pero tayo namang lahat ay natututo sa karanasan. Napansin niyo ba na simula nang pumasok ang Acer at Thompson Audio ay puro medyo malalaki na ang mga bagong investors? Di na kasi katulad noon na halos nagmamakaawa tayo para lang pumunta sila dito. Ngayon kilala na ang Subic. Marami na ang dumarating at pwede na tayong maging mapili sa mga investors.”

Si Manny Quijano naman ang bumulong sa akin, “Sabihin mo kay Chairman yung lagi mong sina-suggest sa akin.”

Nagsimula na naman ako, “Boss, ang isang problema natin, may pekeng union organizers at leaders sa labas na sinasamantala ang kalagayan sa ilang pabrika at sinusulsulan ang mga manggagawa na mag-unyon at labanan ang kanilang employers. Puspos at masugid ang kanilang pagtatangkang kontrolin ang mga manggagawa, at medyo nahihirapan kami sa pagkontra sa kanila. Iniisip ko Boss na unahan na lang natin sila sa pag-oorganisa ng mga unyon upang maiwas sa kapahamakan ang mga manggagawa, tutal ang pag-uunyon naman ay constitutional right ng mga manggagawa at palagay ko……..”

Biglag pinutol ni Chairman ang aking salita, “Don’t lecture me about workers’ rights, I’m a lawyer and I know all of that! Let me tell you about our predicament: When investors come here, one of their main concerns, next only to the costs of rentals, utilities, etc., is industrial peace. They are afraid of labor unions. So we have to guarantee that there will be industrial peace, otherwise the investors won’t locate here and all our efforts to create jobs will be wasted.”

Nag-isip sandali bago nagpatuloy si Chairman: “Alam naman natin Jimmy, na kaya nag-uunyon ang mga manggagawa ay mayroon silang mga problema at ang tingin nila ay ito ang solusyon. So the challenge is for us to create a situation where workers won’t feel the need to organize unions. Your office should act like a big brother to the workers, an office they can always rely on when they have problems. Just always maintain a proper balance between the interest of the workers and that of their employers.”

Medyo nag-isip ako ng malalim sa huling sinabi ni Chairman. Tumanda ako na naniniwalang ang tunggalian sa pagitan kapital at paggawa ay likas sa kanilang relasyon at irreconcilable. “Napagabigat na hamon,” naiusal ko sa aking sarili. Subali’t para sa amin noon, ang utos ni Chairman ay batas na dapat sundin kahit parang imposible.

Pagkatapos noon, talagang pinilit naming gawin ang gusto ni Chairman na panatilihin ang industrial peace habang sabay na pinangangahalagahan ang kapakanan ng mga manggagawa at ng kanilang mga employers. Iyon na yata ang pinakamahirap na balancing act na ginawa namin nina Pierre at Manny Q. Nandiyan yung palawigin namin ang mga gawain sa labor disputes conciliation- mediation, nandiyan yung mag-organisa kami ng mga Labor-Management Committees, masinsin na monitoring, at kung anu-ano pa.

Hindi madali ngunit nagawa naming panatilihin ang kapayapaan sa paggawa, sa buong panahong nandoon kami sa SBMA.

Ngayon, kapag nagkikita-kita kami nila Manny Q at Pierre, di namin maiwasan na masayang gunitain ang “six years of uninterrupted industrial peace” sa Freeport, at ang mga samut-saring naranasan namin mapairal lamang ito sa utos ni Chairman Gordon.




Story #4

“Langya kayo, bakit kayo lang ang di nasermunan ni Chairman”, ang pa-galit na kantyaw ni Delia Santiago ng Ecology Center sa aming dalawa ni Pierre Ordona, pagkatapos ng staff meeting habang palabas kami ng Command Center sa Building 229.

“Secret”, ang pilyong sagot naman ni Pierre.

Ang hindi alam ni Delia, kapag may mga tasks kami na pumapalpak, o kaya’y hindi namin magawa, kami na mismo ang nagrereport kay Chairman bago pa bago mag meeting at bago niya matuklasan ito, o mabalitaan sa iba. Pangkaraniwang ginagawa namin ito sa hatinggabi kapag patapos na ang araw ni Chairman at wala ng maraming tao sa sa kanyang opisina. Kung boboldyakin niya man kami, at least kami-kami na lang ang nandoon, at hindi sa meeting.

Kaya nga minsan, bandang alas dose ng hatinggabi ay nandoon na naman kami’t nakapila para kausapin si Chairman tungkol sa isang problema. Buhay na buhay ang paligid na para bang alas nuwebe pa lang ng umga. Mula sa aking kinauupuan ay natatanaw ko sa hallway ang mga young volunteers na mabilis na naglalakad, habang ay iba naman ay labas-masok sa mga opisinang nasa gawing kaliwa. Sa mismong harapan ko ay subsob sa trabaho sa kani-kanilang computers ang tatlo pang volunteers.

Alam kong wala namang graveyard shift dito, ngunit bakit ganoon na lang ka-busy at buhay na buhay ang lugar. Ang tingin ko tuloy ay napaka surreal ng eksena o kaya’y nalipat ako sa ibang dimension.

Kinalabit ko si Pierre, sabay tanong ko sa kanya, “Pierre, sa palagay mo kaya, mayroong iba pang opisina ng gobyerno sa buong Pilipinas sa oras na ito na kasing busy at buhay na buhay gaya dito?”

Lumabas na naman ang pilyong ngiti ni Pierre at ang sagot: “Tata Jim, sa palagay mo kaya, mayroon pang ibang Dick Gordon saan mang lugar sa Pilipinas sa oras na ito?”