SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A mechanic from one of the locator-companies in this free port has been honored as one of “The Outstanding Workers of the Republic” (Tower) for 2019, the first Subic Bay Freeport employee to receive the award.
Roberto Duran Jr., who works as pipe repairman at the Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corporation (PCSPC), became one of the seven workers from among the more than 43 million Filipinos in the labor force to be given the award this year.
The other awardees are Benigno Acasio of Manila Water Co.; Isaiah John Duyag, Nestle Philippines; Gerald Taguiam, SIA Engineering; Johnny Talaban, NOCECO; Allan Unabia, Wyeth; and Robert John Uy, Moog Controls.
Duran, who left his family in Cagayan province to look for a job in Subic, first landed as a contract worker at the PCSPC. His job included sweeping the street in the PCSPC compound and assisting other workers.
But his dedication to work soon earned him the trust of supervisors who helped him get hired for a regular position. He is now in charge of the maintenance and repair of assets such as pipelines, valves, meters, and pumps.
“Being away from my family is hard to bear. But I really thank this company for the trust and continuous training they provide for their employees which I used to reached where I am today,” Duran said in Filipino. “I have a wonderful job that helps my family and sends my children to school.”
On Monday, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) also honored Duran during the flag-raising ceremony.
SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Support Services Ramon Agregado described Duran’s award as “a clear testament that local workers are not only the best in the Subic Freeport, but also among the best in the country.”
PCSPC Human Resource manager Catherine Tipan-Stewart said the management regards Duran an inspiration to his co-workers: a young father who started out simply wanting a job to earn money to send to his wife and children in Cagayan, but ended up as an outstanding worker in the company.
“He started out as all-around worker doing anything he was told to do. But with a strong desire to learn, he soon picked up other skills, got the chance to become part of the maintenance team, and later got promoted to become industrial mechanic,” Stewart said.
She added that in the 19 years that Duran had been with PCSPC, he had not only shown devotion to duty and enthusiasm for work, but also ingenuity that contributed to the efficient repair and maintenance of assets with minimal disruption to everyday operation.
Duran’s outstanding performance not only earned him recognition at PCSPC, but also from the SBMA which chose him in November last year as one of the Ten Outstanding Freeport Workers for 2018. Six months later, Duran became a Tower awardee.
The Tower Awards, which was founded in 1975 by the Rotary Club of Manila, honors the nation’s most outstanding non-supervisory workers and recognizes their importance and contributions to the economic and technological progress of the country.
It also serves to inculcate pride in excellent and outstanding work, and helps develop critical, innovative/inventive and creative thinking at the workplace and a mindset for quality and productivity in the workforce. (Dante M. Salvana)