THE MASTER BUILDER UP CLOSE

Written by Rizal Raoul Reyes / Correspondent

Wednesday, 13 May 2009 18:30

PROFESSIONALISM: one word that propelled DMCI founder and chairman David Consunji to the enviable role of master builder in the Philippine construction industry. One phrase, in turn, marks his outfit’s projects: excellence in construction. There is the FGU Building on Ayala Avenue and the Church of the Holy Sacrifice in UP-Diliman. And several more physical tributes to his mastery. “I am proud of the Development Bank of the Philippines [DBP] project because it’s a major manifestation of how we work. At that time, the DBP was the first building in Makati to install state-of-the-art security systems,” said Consunji in an interview with the BusinessMirror. Consunji became nostalgic when he mentioned the old Rizal Theater (now the site of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel), because DMCI introduced a new engineering design. “But I was also happy when DMCI won the bid to build Makati Shangri-La,” he fondly recalled. Indeed, DMCI has grown tremendously. It is now into property development, water utilities, energy and transportation. Still, it’s in the construction business where it made its biggest mark. Early years Consunji, who started as a concrete inspector, received P400 as monthly salary for his first job in 1952. He later established his own company in 1954, investing P700 for a secondhand concrete mixer to start his business. Interestingly, Consunji was also assisted by an illustrious aunt, Dr. Paz Mendoza Guazon (after whom what was formerly Manila’s Otis Street is now named), who happens to be the first Filipina graduate of the University College of Medicine and Surgery in 1912. She was also the first Filipina to get a degree of Doctor in Tropical Medicine and Public Health in 1916. Consunji said his aunt Paz had a great influence on him, especially in his younger years, looking after the young Consunji when his mother died. The University of the Philippines civil-engineering graduate recalled that banks did not give him a hard time when he was borrowing money for his fledgling business. “The banks processed my loans quickly, because they knew I am the nephew of Dr. Guazon.” His aunt Paz, meanwhile, kept on praying that her nephew would not do something foolish to besmirch the family name. “I often saw my aunt praying that I would not go astray,” he fondly recalled. Consunji, who’s turning 88 this year, said his aunt was concerned about his business because she had bad experiences with other contractors who were classified as the tableria-type because of their sloppy work and poor quality. “I assured my aunt Paz that I wouldn’t follow the nefarious practices of the people under the tableria system.” In this aspect, Consunji said he was motivated to pursue his goal to professionalize the industry, Meanwhile, Dr. Potenciano Guazon, his equally brilliant uncle, also helped him by referring him to other projects. Guazon was the first Filipino surgeon to perform the first sphincter-saving resection of the rectum in a female patient with rectal cancer in 1919. He was also the first Filipino head of surgery and chief of surgeon of the Philippine General Hospital. Among the major clients in his early years were Atlantic Gulf and Danarra. Joining the bureaucracy and going ‘underground’ Working in government as the secretary of the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications from August 23, 1971 to 1975 is considered by Consunji as one of his memorable experiences. Actually, his entry into the bureaucracy was accidental. “I was not planning to join government. The late senator Gil Puyat recommended me to President Marcos,” said Consunji. “I asked Marcos why he selected me to the post, one of the most coveted positions in government. He told me ‘the trouble with many people like you is that you think working in government is easy. Now, I am giving you the chance, why are you refusing it,’” said Consunji. After the talk with Marcos, Consunji told himself he will try it for six months. In one meeting, Marcos asked him about his impression of the department. “In a witty reply, I told Marcos I was surrounded by ‘enterprising’ bureaucrats,” said Consunji. Consunji also got exposed to the patronage system of Philippine politics during his stint at public works. He told Marcos that he had sufficient evidence to send to jail two prominent political leaders whom he discovered had committed anomalies in their infrastructure projects. “But Marcos told me we cannot go after them. He told me that he would not be in power without the support of people like them,” said Consunji. Another memorable experience for Consunji in the Marcos Cabinet was his lobbying to build a subway in Manila. He said he was able to convince Marcos of the feasibility of a subway during a one-on-one meeting. “He was convinced that a subway in Metro Manila would be a very good solution to the burgeoning traffic problem in the metropolis,” said Consunji. “I also told Marcos that putting up an [elevated] mass transit system would be detrimental because this will lead to the emergence of blighted areas,” added Consunji. Apparently, he was right, as Taft and Rizal avenues are undergoing this predicament right after the completion of the Light Rail System 1. Actually, economics played a vital factor in the subway construction. When he told former Prime Minister Cesar Virata that it would cost the government at that tine P6 billion, Consunji said Virata scratched his head and asked him how the government can pay such a huge sum for the project. The subway proposal also ran into bad timing because a similar Calcutta project was bogged by long delays before it was completed. Despite the complexity of the subway, Consunji remained optimistic that Filipinos were capable of putting up one just like their other Asian counterparts. His fondness for the subway project got some ribbing from former colleagues, particularly from then-executive secretary Alejandro Melchor. “Alex Melchor used to tell the Cabinet that Dave Consunji is going underground,” he fondly recalled. The real role of the infrastructure czar During his time, Consunji said the government had a clearer road map in infrastructure development. He said the 1935 Constitution gave a clear-cut role to the secretary of public works. He is responsible for building, developing and maintaining the entire infrastructure in the country. “Based on the 1935 Constitution, public works has that mandate. As a result, we have a road map on public works unlike today,” he said. Because of that clear road map, Consunji said C-5 and C-6 were already planned during his term as public works secretary. However, C-5 was completed when Marcos was no longer in power, and C-6 remains unfinished. He laments the anarchic situation on Edsa, which does not deserve to be called a highway. “It’s supposed to be a highway but not anymore, because there was no control in regulating the putting up of buildings, such as the malls,” he pointed out. Being an archipelagic country, Consunji said the development of roll-on, roll-off as a chief mode of transportation must be pursued because of the fact that many Filipinos cannot afford to ride in airplanes. Farmer Dave Unknown to many people, Consunji goes to his Davao ranch whenever he wants to relax from his work in DMCI and experience a change of atmosphere. In the ranch, he loves to look after his Brahman bulls and Long Horns. He developed the love for farming during Japanese time, when he learned to plough the rice fields. “I feel relaxed when I am staying in the ranch. It gives me a different aspect of fulfillment,” he said.