MikeLigalig.com

Article and Interview by Loy Palapos
Bohol Sunday Post

Times have changed, and so have people. Even in public service, which skeptics used to generalize as graft-ridden, the upsurge of positive observation and remarks has tripled. Especially in City governance.

For instance, there was a time several years ago, where the City Engineer's Office was condescendingly viewed as a trash can of unbiodegradable misfits, where unqualified appointees were dumped, for no other reason than political patronage.

My brief visit to the new Office proved that those "dangling modifiers" (in English grammar) are not there anymore, and the place, which used to sound like a public market, has a new ambience of orderliness and goodwill, devoid of the notoriety which it used to be characterized.

Meeting the City Engineer at her Office last Thursday, October 9, confirmed what I heard of the big changes that have taken shape at the CEO. The members of the working staff were busy, and gone was the unsettling buzz and ear-itching noise. In place was a work force performing their respective responsibilities. It was not even a planned encounter with the City Engineer, for I just dropped by her office without being invited.

The reception was friendly, for I know the City Engineer as a potent ally in the previous Sandugo celebrations. Even if in those years when she was not yet occupying the topmost position of the Department, she was the one who worked with me on engineering concerns: electricity, construction, decoration, physical arrangement, manpower, etc. and in all those years, I found in her a real Engineer who knew her job and has mastered the arts of motivating her staff.

Engineer Pianicita Sepe-Castolo (PSC) is a Civil Engineer from UB (1979). Enticed to teach right after passing the Board, she taught full time for only 5 months, for she got the job of Field Engineer at DPWH I. She continued to teach partime, until the burden of her main job had to be fully addressed.

To augment her management skill, she took and finished MPA (2000), together with her husband Electronics Computer Engineer Felix Castolo, now based in Ilo-ilo City. Admired and respected by her personnel and staff, she is a vital support to the success of the Lim administration.

LMP: There are people who perceived Engineering as a man's world. What enticed you to become an Engineer?
PSC: In high school, I always had top scores in mathematics. That was why when I went to college, I chose Engineering. Add the fact that my older sisters and brother took up engineering courses too.

LMP: When you started to study engineering, was there any problem or was it smooth sailing?
PSC: It was fun for me. I enjoyed dealing with numbers.

LMP: How long have you been working as an Engineer?
PSC: I've been working for 28 years already.

LMP: What would you consider as the biggest problem in your career?
PSC: Handling the people in the department because of their different characteristics. But I considered it as a challenge. That was why I took up MPA. Before, we used to have as many as 65 employees, but during the start of Mayor Dan Lim's administration, some of the employees were transferred to other offices. Others opted for an early retirement; about 30 percent of them.

LMP: During the previous years, the Engineering Office was considered as a dumpsite for casuals. Is it still true today?
PSC: Our department needs casuals because of our work in the field. It's important that we accomplish all the projects being assigned to us. But right now, we only have those who we really need in the office. We don't have casuals that are not utilized anymore.

LMP: There was a time, when this office was dilapidated. Now, it is already brand new. Does that make a difference when functions in the office are concerned?
PSC: Yes. People are more efficient and effective when their environment is conducive for working.

LMP: What are the present projects that you are working on right now?
PSC: The concreting of roads from the Tagbilaran Pier going to the Capitol Site, Mansasa and Manga districts.

LMP: I have heard that the administration would rather concrete roads so that no more repairs will be made. Is that true?
PSC: Yes, that's correct. Unlike before wherein the roads were in need of concreting again after 1 or 2 years. Right now, the concreting is permanent. We already have the budget intended for that. Our City Mayor would really like to have this project accomplished this year. In 2009, there will be 2 sections to be concreted. From the Pier to Gallares St., then to Calceta St. It's a cut-and-fill process; cut the higher portion of the road and fill-up the lower portion. We have so many projects to be started next year. Mayor Lim is convinced that the roads in Tagbilaran are in need of concreting.

LMP: What can you say about the way the City Mayor is handling the departments?
PSC: Mayor Dan Lim is indeed very good. He wants to be close to the Heads of the Offices so that there will be an easy flow of communication. He has very good ideas and is a visionary.

LMP: What is the structure of the City Engineering Office now?
PSC: Under me are the Engineer III and the Engineer II. The Administrative Department is headed by Engr. Pablito Corloncito. The Property Section is headed by Engr. Josephine Lopena. We have Archt. Romo of the Planning and Designing Section, Construction and Maintenance Division by Engr. Servando Acedo, Electrical division by Engr. Pilito Francisco and the Public Service Divison by Engr. Glovasa.

LMP: How many casuals do you have?
PSC: I only have 3 casuals. But the Electrical division has 12 because there are so many lighting problems in the different barangays, the offices in Tagbilaran and of course the traffic lights.

LMP: How do you go about with the other department heads, is it smooth sailing?
PSC: I don't have any problems when it comes to my relationship with the other Heads. I go along well with them.

LMP: How do you divide your time as a wife, as a mother and as an engineer?
PSC: I devote myself with my work and with my children. I am only connected with a few affiliations like the Bukas Loob sa Dios, elected as one of the Board of Directors of TACICO or Tagbilaran City Cooperative, and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) of which I'm the Auditor.

LMP: Combining all of these things, would you like to consider yourself as a fulfilled woman?
PSC: Yes, I am very fulfilled already.

LMP: What is your message to your constituents in the Engineering Department?
PSC: I want to have a very good result with regards to our projects in Tagbilaran City. And I am positive that this can be accomplished with all of your help.

Engr. Castolo is a caring wife, a dutiful mother, and above all, a career woman. How she balances her time, so that not on of her responsibilities is set aside, is the mark that sets her apart from the ordinary woman. At 24, her eldest is a Computer Engineer, the second (22 years old) is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The third in the family is a 15-year old fourth-year secondary school student; and the youngest (10 years old) is in grade 5. All of them earning their educational foundation at Holy Spirit School. A believer in education as a necessity for a better future, she has full trust that her children are on the right track, even if her husband is not with the family all the time.

It is this trust that inspires her in everything she does, even in her career of 28 long solid years. With a working force dedicated to their jobs, after the resignation of many unwanted surplus workers, she is convinced she is empowered to perform her tasks optimally. She credits Mayor Dan N. Lim for the "cleansing" of the City Engineer's Office. The move may have caused quite a sum for the present administration but, in the long run, it will prove that it was the right move. Why retain extra hands that are not used, nor minds that have long outlived their usefulness? But of course, the process applied was fair and humane, with those involved grateful for a graceful exit.

The confidence she now earns from the administration is the most potent driving force in the performance of her job. She is thankful to Mayor Lim for steering her way to a more productive career. As an expression of her gratitude to the present governance, she is convinced she and her staff will be more productive. She now comprehends how a belief in a leadership style could also inspire the best in her.
 

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