We’ve Got Your Back
The APMC Control Center was Ayala Land’s 911 during the lockdown—on call 24/7 to protect 250 properties and thousands of frontliners. John Judilla takes us behind the scenes.
by MARGA CONSTANTINO
Shouts of joy fill the Ayala Property Management Corporation (APMC) control center as staff members carry in foil-covered dishes with “special food” sent by colleagues who were working from home. The exclamations grow louder and more enthusiastic as they uncover juicy slices of tuna belly, grilled pampano, and steaming white rice. John Judilla, 46, basks in everyone’s joy as they celebrate this simple treat. They could take a break from cooking their own dinner at the office, and with their bellies full, they would be able to stay up and carry on their duties through the night.
Special delivery. Typically, the team on lockdown at the APMC would cook their meals in this area, with the window overlooking Ayala Avenue. But this evening work-from-home colleagues sent food to boost their morale.
Duty comes first
John, Safety Director of APMC, has been staying at the APMC control center at the Makati Stock Exchange with 16 of his staff members since the lockdown began in March. For the first 67 days, none of them went home. In June, when the quarantine was lifted and they were cleared by the COVID-19 tests, the team worked in shifts. John is grateful he can go home on the weekends to see his family, but he continues to sleep at the office during the work week to show support for his team.
““We don’t choose to stay in the control center just because it is our duty. We want to ensure that the business continues and that the other frontliners are safe.””
“We don’t choose to stay in the control center just because it is our duty... We want to ensure that the business continues and that the other frontliners are safe, and we can direct any response or support that they’ll need while they’re in the field. Even before the lockdown, there has always been a team that is on call 24/7 in case of fire, security breaches, or other emergencies.”
During the lockdown, their job became more difficult because of the limited manpower and the regular inspections of the 250 Ayala properties. They practiced simulation drills for worst-case scenarios that, thankfully, did not happen. “Definitely we have to perform drills, learn from the drills, and extract the lessons from the drills and apply them to our daily activities. It really pays to be prepared,” he said.
#AyalaCitizen Diary: While quarantined together, John encourages his team to enjoy “simple joys” to help relieve the stress of being away from their families. This includes catching sun (and a fantastic view) while hanging laundry on the roof deck of the Makati Stock Exchange; the daily banter after their staff meetings; movie nights and naps before their night shifts. Having followed health protocols, the whole team came out of quarantine in June and passed COVID 19 tests before going back home.
Keeping their spirits up
For John, his job did not stop at keeping his people on their toes. He knew that he had to look after his team and ensure that they didn’t burn out during the lockdown. He found little ways to boost their morale when missing their families became extra difficult.
Since the team was on call ‘round the clock, John gave his people the autonomy to decide on their work and break schedules..Though the team had a lot to do, he planned fun activities to break the monotony of their day-to-day tasks. They did laundry and sunbathed on the roof deck, they cooked family-style meals by the office window overlooking Ayala Avenue, and they celebrated each other’s birthdays by ordering fried chicken, pizza, and pancit.
Living in the office for nearly three months was no picnic, but through this ordeal, they too became a family.
24/7 malasakit
John and the APMC teams gave up the comforts of home and soldiered on to keep things running as smoothly as possible despite the pandemic. Though they missed their own beds and being with their families, they slept soundly because their efforts enabled others to stay home and stay safe “I am proud to say that 100% of our people never left their post during the crisis because of the malasakit, ” John said. “It was hard, but we would do it again.” #
PUBLISHED JULY 31, 2020
