Mr. Dependable

TVIRD driver-turned-road repairman struts his stuff – and how

His resume shows seemingly unrelated occupations: small-scale miner, driver, road maintenance foreman. But these jobs reflect the story of a man determined to rise above his humble beginnings, to keep on learning new things, and to contribute to a bigger cause; of a man who refuses to be idle. Eduardo Abiera, known among his colleagues and friends as “Pandong”, sometimes ruffles feathers, owing to his quick temper and sometimes unsolicited opinion on just about anything. But everybody agrees on one thing: Pandong is dependable.

That trait has served him well. A driver for about seven years at the Canatuan Copper-Gold Project of TVI Resource Development Philippines (TVIRD) in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, Pandong was always assigned to drive for the company’s top executives and managers. His familiarity with the roads in the Zamboanga Peninsula, particularly that of the route from R.T. Lim in Zamboanga Sibugay to Canatuan, helped him reach his destination securely and safely. That familiarly helped him get assigned to his current post as maintenance foreman for the roads between R.T. Lim and Siocon town proper – important thoroughfares to get to and from Canatuan and TVIRD’s copper and zinc concentrate shipment port in Sta. Maria, also in Siocon.

“He was always early for work; never late, really reliable,” says Fred Gonzaga, TVIRD Canatuan Power Maintenance Superintendent and Pandong’s former boss at the Mobile Department. “He has driven for years and has not been involved in any road accident.

“Some months back, there was a mishap involving a passenger bus along the R.T. Lim-Canatuan route after unusually heavy rains rendered the rough roads more difficult to negotiate,” Gonzaga continues. “We remembered then that Pandong would always give suggestions on how to improve and make safer the roads that he passes through almost every day for several decades now. He had mentioned that he was once involved in road maintenance while he was working with Zambowood, the logging firm that operated in and around Canatuan long before TVIRD came here. So after careful deliberation, the Canatuan management team decided to give Pandong a break from driving and the chance to implement his suggestions. He commands authority; his colleagues look up and listen to him. His dependability is undeniable. He was moved to the Civil Engineering Services (CES) Department to take care of road maintenance. The results, so far, have been impressive.”

Nestor Valenzuela, a senior CES foreman says Pandong has demonstrated competence in his new job. “From planning to implementation, from gravelling to the removal of blind curves to the placement of culverts (drainage) Pandong has done extremely well. He gives clear instructions to the people assigned to him, and he is a stickler for safety. To date, Pandong’s team has completed 70 percent of the repair works on a 12-kilometer stretch of road from R.T. Lim to Malubal. From there, they will continue to work on the Malubal to Z-Gold stretch, another 9 kilometers of road, towards Canatuan. This is the road used by TVIRD to transport many of its supplies. The way things are going, it seems that Pandong will also be tasked to oversee the road repair from Canatuan to Siocon in the west, which is 28-kilometers long.”

And Pandong seems to be enjoying every moment of it: “I am much happier now. I’m doing something different from what I’ve been doing for several years already. This only motivates me to further do my job well.”

Born 51 years ago to poor parents of Visayan descent in Malungon, Zamboanga Sibugay (formerly part of Zamboanga del Sur), Pandong says he was hired in the mid-‘70s as a helper for a contractor providing passenger bus services to Zambowood. There he met Mamerto Pequit, then a trailer driver of this company. Pequit recalls that Pandong became a lube man for Zambowood’s transportation and heavy equipment and a maintenance assistant in charge of restoring culverts. Because of his inquisitiveness, he shortly learned how to drive. After Zambowood left in the late ‘80s, Pandong had to look for a source of livelihood to support his wife and children. He boasts of becoming one of the first gold prospectors in Canatuan.

“We panned for ‘free gold’ along the river banks and creeks of Canatuan back in 1989,” he relates. “There were only a few Subanon IPs (indigenous people) here then. Most of them stayed in Bulubuan, another sitio in Barangay Tabayo, which encompasses Canatuan.

“I owned three tunnels as one of the 16 area owners (small-scale miners who own tunnels). There were about 150 tunnel holes in Canatuan that time, with some 2,000 small-scale miners, mostly transients, dotting the place,” he adds. “I also had ball mills with 12 drums. We stopped mining in 1990 because of low metal prices but came back in 1991. In 1995, I met Ramon Bosque.”

Bosque consolidated the mining areas and in October 1996 was granted a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) with the Philippine government as claim owner. Benguet Corporation acted as operator in that transaction. In May 1998, the government approved the assignment of the MPSA to TVIRD pursuant to the Deed of Assignment executed between TVIRD and Benguet Corp in June 1997.

Another downswing in metal prices compelled TVIRD to put Canatuan under care and maintenance, but the small-scale miners, including Pandong, continued mining in the area. In 2001, TVIRD made known its intention to proceed with its development plans for the area. Pandong led a group of small-scale miners who agreed to settle with the company.

In 2002, with the help of Pequit, who became TVIRD’s chief mechanic and subsequently head of the Mobile Department, Pandong was hired as company driver. “I’ve known Pandong as a hardworking and trustworthy man, that’s why I recommended for him to be taken in.” Eager to prove his worth, he helped the company over a 13-month period between December 2002 and January 2004 when TVIRD removed and reprocessed nearly 24,000 tonnes of mercury and cyanide contaminated tailings produced by previous small-scale mining operations. These tailings were relocated from uncontrolled ponds to engineered tailings impoundments constructed by TVIRD.

Pandong says the most unforgettable experience of his life came in March 2002 when an ambush incident occurred near the project site. He was driving a company vehicle when bandits pounced upon a TVIRD convoy that left two Subanons killed and three others wounded. Pandong managed to jump by the roadside cliff to avoid being hit by whizzing bullets.

“It wasn’t my time yet, but I’m thankful to God that I was spared,” he says.

“I have grown to love my work in the company. I always wanted to work in a big-scale mining company because the income is stable. With illegal small-scale mining it was only the transient capitalists – not the Subanon indigenous people – who earned money.” With TVIRD, he says he was able to send his children to school. His eldest child, Artemio, 28, is also a TVIRD employee working at the Mines Department while his second, Ariel, graduated from his Criminology course recently.

“I always tell my children to do their best in whatever they’re doing,” he says. “To those who are still studying, I always advise them to study hard. TVIRD will not be here forever so they must take advantage of the opportunity not all children like them are being given.

“I feel so blessed with the chance to work with TVIRD,” Pandong adds. “I am so grateful that I was given the trust and confidence to do what I am doing now. I will do my best to contribute whatever I can to help the company achieve its goals.”

A company executive relates an instance when, while being transported to Zamboanga City by Pandong, she noticed red strips of paper on the car dashboard. When asked what they were, he sheepishly explained that the papers contain orasyon, prayers, written invariably in Latin or pig-Latin, often used by some folks in rural Philippines for countering evil spirit, preventing physical harm or as an added ritual to many mundane events. He pointed out that the vehicle was not in good shape – it had been showing signs of breaking down – and that he believed the orasyon would help them get through their four-hour drive from Canatuan to the airport without a hitch. True enough, nothing untoward happened during the entire trip.

What appears to be superstitious to some has always worked for Pandong. He has lived through hard times. He has survived an ambush. He is a proud father to five children, all of them well taken care of. He, however, says he doesn’t leave things to chance. “I try to do my best all the time. In my own small way, I want to always be relevant to the people around me.” That, perhaps, best explains why, despite his foibles, Pandong will always be someone who can be relied upon. (Text by Rocky Dimaculangan, Photos by Benjie Macalisang)