PANAY NEWS SEPT. 4, 2013 PEOPLE POWWOW HERBERT VEGO From underwriter to book writer HE has blazed an enviable trail in the insurance industry – from a plain underwriter to assistant branch manager of Insular Life. He did so well – as in turning a moribund branch into a money maker -- that he could have zoomed further up the corporate ladder. But he retired at age 52 in 2001 because he and his wife Mariquit or “Wakit” had decided to be with his son Junjun, a computer engineer in New York City. It was there where Rolando Y. Dy Buco – Bando to friends -- assumed a new professional identity as book writer. He wrote not just one but two books – By His Touch and By His Ways. Years had passed before I last met Lando and Wakit by chance at SM City-Iloilo, where they gave me a copy of each book. First, let me briefly extol the author for his second book, By His Ways, a compilation of eight chapters, each with five Bible-based personal reflections “to serve the purpose of delivering its message by the wisdom learned through experience and not on the basis of church doctrines.” Its non-sectarian, what with Rev. Gerardo G. Nable (a Baptist pastor) and Fr. Renato C. Cuadras (a Catholic priest) penning its foreword and back-cover text, respectively. In his preface, Dy Buco challenges the reader to join him in a journey of faith, hoping that the book would “reengage the mind of the reader to some issues at hand and set out to adopt a pattern resulting from it for inner development.” It’s the first book By His Touch that really touched me, especially because it tackles the question that boggles most successful professionals, “Is this all there is to life?” In the introduction to the book, Dy Buco confesses,"I was ushered into questions about my own existence as I approached the peak of my career curve. The trappings of success and my intense focus on material pursuits did not erase the deep loneliness I felt upon looking closely at myself and evaluating my identity." The book By His Touch (published by Hyena Press of Los Altos, California) is divided into three parts. The first chronicles the ordeal and miraculous healing of his daughter Melody, a.k.a. Shasha while suffering from “communicating hydrocephalus”; the second, his professional ordeal as insurance man; and the third, his “divinely-inspired reflections and poetry.” While I agree that faith in Divine Providence healed Shasha from hydrocephalus and, much later, breast cancer, I would rather not comment in deference to non-Catholics who might interpret it differently. After all, many others of different sects and religions have received the same gift of healing. And so I would rather summarize that portion of the book that depicts the author’s struggle to rise above obstacles, starting from the day he married Marikit in San Jose, Antique in 1973 at ages 24 and 23, respectively. An AB-political Science graduate of the University of San Agustin, he was then a struggling insurance underwriter in Iloilo City; she, a government employee. After bringing into the world five children – Rolando Jr., Roland Lester, Credence, Melody and Claudine Marie -- Wakit flew to New York for a more gainful employment while Bando relocated to Roxas City to assume supervisory position in the same insurance company. The promotion enabled him to obtain a loan with which to buy a house in Iloilo City, plus a car and other trappings of wealth. Wakit, after working for only 11 months in New York City, returned home for whatever business she could start with. Without asking his permission, she borrowed a substantial amount from a rich lender to invest in foreign exchange and jewelry buy-and-sell. But a good intention does not always end well. It was a bitter misfortune for the better half that her two business ventures failed, sinking her in a million-peso-plus debt. In his desperate hour of need, the husband bought three shares of sweepstakes tickets. He had never before won, but this time he hit a minor prize of P2,400. While the amount was peanuts compared to their indebtedness, it delivered the message that God was just around the corner. The idea of selling their house to his sister Zenaida suddenly entered his mind. The latter bought it for P860,000. But the amount was not sufficient to repay their debt, for which Wakit had already been criminally charged with violation of Batas Pambansa 22 over her bounced post-dated checks. A philanthropist friend, the late Hilda “Nena” Dioso Ong, saved the couple by lending enough money to pay their balance to Tim, the previous lender. Meanwhile, all seemed well on the working front in the summer of 1992 when Bando took on a new managerial assignment at Insular Life’s Bacolod City branch. Not a “yes man,” he would not implement a company-authorized promotional gimmick, Operation Lambat, that allowed agents to draw cash advances with which to pay the insurance premiums of their family members, earning him the tag “bad team player.” Eventually, however, he gave in to pressure, which unfortunately resulted in near insolvency due to massive cash withdrawals. Ironically, it was Bando who bore the brunt of his subordinates’ mistake. An envious colleague of his level even made up yarns to discredit him, resulting in his reassignment to the most unproductive branch in Surigao City. Refusing to be intimidated, he overturned that branch’s reputation as “graveyard of insurance companies” by increasing productivity by an unprecedented 307% over the previous year’s. That feat catapulted him to the position of regional head for North Mindanao, based in Cagayan de Oro City, which he held until his optional retirement in 2001. I have given the bird’s eye view. You may enjoy an expanded view by reading Rolando Y. Dy Buco’s two books. It is available by bulk and individual orders. Since he’s just a text message away, you may reach him by cellular phone: 09219957365. /PN
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 06:50:35 +0000
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