AAA CEMEXME v 13 for press.pmd - Cemex Philippines

20 CEMEX+ME 1st Half of 2004 /MANILA, PHILIPPINES
He then asks the helpers to
mix the cement such that it
will dry easily if not plastered
quickly enough. But,
since there would be too
much cement to use up and
too much wall space for just
one mason to plaster,
helpers are required to
follow the mason’s example
and plaster another portion
of the wall, with the
foreman (Mang Rolly
“Lahat ng trabaho [sa site] ay nakasalalay sa
balikat ng isang foreman… Kung ano man
ang mangyari sa trabaho, ang foreman ang
lalapitan ng project engineer, `yan ang
sisisihin.
himself) standing watch to
supervise and correct what
is being done.
After watching Mang
Rolly at work with his men, it
became easy to see how he
quickly climbed the construction
ladder. Instead of
being an imposing figure on
the site, like a general who
would metaphorically whip
his men into shape, Mang
Rolly was a patient teacher
and guide, someone who
understood his men’s
concerns and adjusted to
their learning pace.
“Madali raw akong magdala
ng tao kaysa ibang foreman,”
Mang Rolly shares the opinion
that others have expressed of
him. “Hindi ako masyadong strict
(at) magaling akong magturo ng
tao… Hindi ko kasi sinisigawsigawan
ang tao ‘pag hindi
marunong (People say that I lead
Building Building homes homes for
for
Mang Rolly’s job isn’t just
about building homes to
earn a decent income and
feed his family of eight—
he also does it to help
others like himself restore
their dignity by getting
decent, affordable homes
of their own.
Like Mang Rolly, Glenda
Velez and Abner Galora were
practically homeless—they had
built makeshift homes near the
train tracks in Cupang and Tramo,
but a series of fires in 1997 and
1998 razed their “houses” to the
ground. They were literally living
on the edge—being “along da
people better than other
foremen… I’m not too strict
and I teach people well… I
don’t shout at people when
they don’t know what to do).”
Other foremen, he shares, are
sometimes antagonized by
their men because of their work
attitude and manner of relating
with their people. But he believes
in being patient with his workers,
especially if they are going
through personal problems that
may affect their work behavior.
He went on to explain
some of his other responsibilities
as a construction
foreman—such as taking a
regular inventory of all
materials and supplies on the
site, supervising the work of
the construction team, and
handling the workers’
payroll—and we teased him
about being “the boss”. The
modest bisaya smiled and
riles”, as a popular TV show once
put it—so the Muntinlupa Development
Foundation (MDF) decided
that they, along with 425
families who lived by the railroad,
should be relocated to a safer
place. They chose a site in United
Bayanihan Village, in San Pedro,
Laguna, as the relocation site.
With funding from the
Japan for Poverty Reduction
Fund, and through the partnership
of the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), the MDF, and
Habitat, construction for the 427
families of the Cupang-Tramo
Neighborhood Association and
the Maralitang Nagkakaisa sa
Tramo (MANATRA) began in
December 2002.