Slumber Party with the Lady Boss
During the lockdown, BPI branch head Jaybee Manuel opened the bank’s doors to her clients, and her home to her employees
Words by RHYS BUCCAT
It was 8 AM. Three women stepped out of their car, their banter echoing in the empty Binondo streets. The once bustling commercial district was deserted, its stores shuttered down during the Luzon-wide lockdown. But for Jaybee Manuel, head of BPI Binondo Plaza-San Lorenzo Ruiz Branch, and her two bank tellers, it was business as usual.
When the lockdown was first announced, clients implored Jaybee to keep the bank branch open for essential transactions. “Thankfully, the management allowed us to open in April, even for just three days a week.”
Upon receiving the management’s go-ahead, Jaybee called her staff to identify who was willing to be part of their skeleton workforce. She was overwhelmed by the response she received.
“Everybody was afraid [of the virus], but still willing to go to work,” she said. But without public transportation, many of them had no way to navigate through Binondo’s winding streets to the San Lorenzo Branch. “We needed to think of ways for them to reach our workplace.”
Determined to find a way
Young bank tellers Christine Joy and Angela were sharing an apartment in Sta. Mesa, Manila. Christine Joy, who lives in Caloocan, used to backride on her father’s motorcycle until the government stopped this mode of transportation. Staying with Angela was the best solution she could think of.
The choice to serve. BPI only needed 25% of its workforce to run the branches that remained open during the lockdown. All of the frontliners had volunteered to stay at their posts—reflecting what BPI EVP and C00 Mon Jocson called “a culture of malasakit.”
“On our first day of reopening, I heard them talking about the difficulty of preparing their meals,” Jaybee said, adding that she also started as a teller 25 years ago. “I knew the struggle, so I went out of my way to make an offer.”
Jaybee asked the two ladies to call their parents and ask for permission to stay at the Manuels’ residence in Paranaque. Jaybee then asked one of her two sons to temporarily vacate his room to accommodate their guests.
“I also called my husband, and he was happy to share our home,” Jaybee said. “Sabi ko, ‘Daddy, finally may baby girls na tayo!'” And yes, they treated the girls like their own.
#AyalaCitizen Diary. Hazel, Christine Joy and Jaybee linger over the dinner table, sharing stories and career advice. “I am not just their boss, I am also their Nanay,” says Jaybee.
A boss in pajamas
“It was like a slumber party,” Christine Joy said. She described the Manuels’ residence as very homey. They would have meals together, pray together, and have hours-long chikahan after dinner. And, for the first time, they saw their boss in pajamas.
“Malaking tulong po siya sa amin,” she said. “Welcome na welcome naman kami sa kanila. Pati ‘yong family niya, talagang tinanggap kami na parang part of their family.”
Christine Joy particularly liked Jaybee’s career advice. She had shared how she persevered from being a young promdi to becoming a branch head of one of the country’s biggest banks.
““Dapat laging handa ka. Our presence is much more needed by our clients during these times.””
In their late-night conversations, Jaybee would also stress the importance of commitment to service, especially during crises when people feel uncertain about their future, and banks play a huge role in keeping the economy running.
“‘Ready today, ready tomorrow’ is our mantra in BPI,” Jaybee said. “Dapat laging handa ka. Our presence is much more needed by our clients during these times.”
A manager—and a mother’s—heart
Asked how she feels about the experience of opening her house to her staff, Jaybee answered, “For me, maliit lang na bagay.”
As a branch head, she doesn’t see herself as the lady boss who just sets directions and gives orders. “I am also their nanay,” she quipped. “It is also my duty to keep them safe and help them as much as I can.”
The two tellers stayed at the branch head's house for a total of nine days. Christine Joy says she will never forget this experience, and she plans to emulate this in the future when she herself becomes a lady boss. #
PUBLISHED ON JULY 13, 2020
