With his two sons and wife sharing one roof since the Covid-19-forced lockdowns began, it seems but natural for Engr. Michael Barbieto to feel apprehensive about getting infected with the coronavirus when he drives to and from work at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Before the pandemic, this trip used to be a two-and-a-half hour crawl from their Fairview, Quezon City, abode. With the community quarantine restrictions, it became a leisurely 30-minute journey on the wheels — ironically, one usually spent in deep thought, with anxiety often overwhelming what should have been appreciation for the almost empty streets, something he never saw in his entire working life.
Asked how to explain his feelings, when almost everyone else is locked in their homes, the master of aeronautical engineering graduate shrugs his shoulders, not in submission, but more as a defiant gesture. “Mahirap ang napasukan ko [I got into a difficult job], pero ito ay privilege, ito ang sinumpaan kong tungkulin, kaya kailangan gampanan [but it is a privilege, a job that I swore to uphold and one that I need to fulfill].”
“Mike,” as he is called by friends and acquaintances, has been a Terminal Operations Officer, the official title of his job, at the premier airport for the last 25 years.
Mike’s job is commonly dubbed “Ramp Controller,” one who directs pilots and airplanes “that are on the ramp,” so they know when to start their engines, when to move out of their parking berth at the terminal, and when to taxi out. He gives orders by VHF radio to newly arrived airplanes when to come in and where to park. He does this while sitting inside a glass-enclosed “cab” seven stories high.
“I also have within reach telephones to coordinate the aircraft movement on the tarmac with members of the airport’s operations division, which designates what parking bay each aircraft should occupy.”
“There used to be hundreds of aircraft daily, but despite the lockdown, cargo airplanes and chartered flights and military flights keep us on our toes. This is a 24/7 job,” Mike reveals.
He has a commanding view of the surroundings with the ever-present “bino” (binocular) at his side to survey faraway subjects. He is surrounded by television monitors fed by CCTV placed in strategic areas of the Naia, to give him a clear view of the nooks and crannies that are beyond the range of his roving eyes.
According to the 57-year-old Barbieto, the Ramp Control position was created when the Naia became a complex of four passenger terminals and when the airplanes, helicopters and ground equipment were scattered over the huge compound of the then Manila International Airport, shared by Pasay City and Parañaque City. Before that, the Manila Tower — at 11 stories high — was sufficient to see and monitor all airplane-related activities.
Mike’s job is different from, but complements that of, Tower Controllers, who are authorized to command pilots when to take off or to land and to enter the taxiways before handing them over to the Ramp Controllers. Theirs is a highly coordinated activity. Both jobs require intensive training at the Civil Aviation Training Center. After the academic and practical studies, he said they had to hurdle a licensing examination conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).
He expresses constant fears about getting infected. “Sa totoo lang, natatakot ako [to be truthful, I am afraid],” he says, revealing his mixed emotions dealing with a deadly, unseen enemy that no vaccine has yet conquered. “I have a family to look after,” he adds. Still, in all these years of having been in a job that requires focus and attention, he has learned to control his fears and go about his activities without affecting his mental health.
“I exercise regularly to keep fit,” he volunteers. He said he is happy to come home and find that his wife and sons are with him, sharing meals and stories, and watching television together, safe and free from the highly infectious disease.
He says all of them wear home-made face masks — kami ang nagtatahi [we sew the masks ourselves]” — when any of them venture out to buy food and groceries. All of them religiously wash their hands or apply alcohol, constantly heeding advice of health authorities.
“Mahirap nang mahawa [Getting infected is a difficult situation],” he says.
“My eldest son is 22 years old, he is a customs administrator, while the youngest, at 18, wants to be a pilot. He enrolled at the Philippine State College of Aeronautics,” the same school where Mike acquired his master’s degree.
From his cab at Naia where he daily surveys the position of airplanes on the ramp, Mike’s eyes are also trained on a horizon far beyond the reach of his binoculars: the future that remains uncertain to everyone on the planet whose lives were upended by the pandemic.
Nonetheless, as a man who has trained himself to conquer his fears — besides controlling the ramp — he gives his all to his job, knowing how crucial it is in the hard-hit aviation sector.
The difficulties arising from Covid-19 and the extreme measures it has forced authorities to impose, such as the lockdowns, are also being eased, however, by some people whose work may not easily draw attention, but is nonetheless vital to making our lives as normal as possible.
They are the “backliners”—the grocery store staff and market vendors who make sure we can buy basic items; the farmers and fishermen who put food in our markets and groceries; the bank employees; the Customs inspectors who must quickly clear cargo, especially vital equipment and supplies to fight the virus; pharmacists, garbage men, and the engineers and workmen who must rush to build or retrofit off-hospital quarantine centers, among others.
They cannot “stay at home” because they have tasks indispensable in this crisis.
In this series, the BusinessMirror pays tribute to them.
In the spirit of bayanihan, the SM Group is actively supporting our frontliners in the fight against the pandemic. Since the Luzon-wide ECQ started, SM has reached out to over 100 hospitals and medical facilities as well as over 170 government and private institutions around the country donating food, PPEs, medicines, medical equipment and other critical medical supplies. These are part of P270 million contribution by the company to help the government and augment the frontliners’ fight against Covid-19.
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