Joseph E. Estrada, Mechanical Technician

Joseph E. Estrada is a native Sorsoganon who is fondly referred to as “Erap” by many since he shares the same name as the former Philippine President. He was the youngest of nine (9) siblings from a financially challenged family. At the age of 10, his family moved into Fort Bonifacio Taguig, Metro Manila in the hopes to find a better living and improve their quality of life. Erap has been a dreamer and innovator ever since. Eager to finish his education, he continued his studies and supported himself by working as a baggage boy in his elementary school days. Upon reaching high school, he started working as a “Pulot Boy” in the MOE-PNOC Lawn Tennis Court – former PNOC (now EDC) Head Office. Knowing the fact that his family cannot send him to College, he exerted more effort and continued to work in the morning and studied in the evening. Due to a poverty-stricken life, he has nothing in mind but the desire to experience a better life which pushed him to finish his 6 months of vocational Automotive Training at the Guzman Institute of Technology.

Because of Erap’s excellent attitude and dedication at work, one of the employees offered him a job at PNOC. That’s the beginning of his better life ahead. Erap began his career in PNOC EDC as Helper Mechanic in 1988 assisting the mechanic in the repair and troubleshooting of light, heavy and industrial equipment. After a year, he became a Lubeman and was eventually given a regular position. Currently, he works as a Mechanical Maintenance Technician.

With the turn of events and the change in his fate, he started forming his own family and married his wife in 1990, and then was blessed with two handsome and bright kids. His eldest is now a professional teacher in a state college in Sorsogon City while his youngest has graduated from Philippine Science High School and is now a scholar at UP Diliman taking Electronics and Communications Engineering. He is a very responsible head of the family who didn’t fail to provide for their needs. His past unfavorable experience inspired him to work harder and change the life of his family to a more comfortable life.

Erap is the current president of the Rank & File Union since 2018. As a Union President for five years, he maintained a fair and positive relationship with his colleagues and the management. He is indeed a reliable partner of the management in providing balance to the employee demands while maintaining a harmonious and healthy working environment.

Erap embodies the value of continuous learning. He was directly involved in several projects that contributed to the growth of the company. Among these is the PSV Holder/Support Project. This project started from a small idea and progresses through the test of time and skills of an employee. His decades of experience in maintenance steam field operations paved the way for his innovation in simplifying the activity of pulling out of the rupture disc assembly or the Pressure Safety Element (PSE). During PSE inspection and/or replacement due to its bursting, a crane or boom truck is necessary to lift the PSV and other accessories. Since EDC BacMan has only one boom truck and one crane that is being shared both by Power Plant (PP) and Fluid Collection & Reinjection System (FCRS), availability for immediate use is a challenge. More so, the positioning and permit processing for critical lift activities takes a longer time before they can be issued. The opportunity to return to service immediately is difficult to achieve because of this which would result in prolonged generation loss.

Using the excess materials from FCRS works, a PSV holder/support was developed thru the effort of Erap. This holder/support intends to support the PSV and Manifold assembly which is attached to the PSE. It eliminates the use of a boom truck or a crane in removing and replacing the said PSE. The innovation significantly shortens the conventional works and restoration time from about eight hours down to approximately one hour of work only. With this innovation, the approximate savings is computed based on the saved restoration time. The generation loss is equivalent to approximately Php 1.4M vs the one-hour loss amounting only to Php 171K. The materials used in making the equipment came from junk/scraps mostly steel plates and welded using acetylene gas. This holder was solely made by in-house Maintenance personnel. Its cost savings reached to approximately Php 1,487,120 (recurring savings yearly for its scheduled annual inspection and will compound every time it ruptures). The innovation was truly a success and a great contribution to EDC’s cost-saving initiatives.

Erap is known to be skillful, and innovative, and has vast hands-on maintenance experience. He was able to make an innovative project like this. His garnered technical knowledge makes him the usual resource person in work methodology execution and preparation.

Erap as described by his colleagues: He is an employee who embodies unwavering diligence and humility, consistently providing invaluable ideas that greatly improve the effectiveness of work. He selflessly prioritizes the needs of others over his gain or happiness. His workmates feel fortunate to have learned invaluable wisdom from him, not only in various aspects of work but also in cultivating meaningful relationships. Above all, his admirable character serves as an inspiration. They believe that his continued guidance and support will profoundly impact newcomers in their professional realm, fostering growth and success. (Jaylan D. Dajac - Maintenance Engineer).

“He can understand and appreciate the role of a Competent Person in every task with consideration to productive, efficient, and safety aspects. He can compromise, show respect to others and listen to the needs of every team member. “Sir Erap”, as what we call him as a sign of respect, actively seeks out and includes others in making critical decisions and solving problems creatively. He understands that having diverse opinions leads to optimal solutions. (Dominic S. Dela Rosa, Jr. - Sr. Enginer - Reliability)

Sir Erap is an enthusiast of teamwork who would rather share his expertise with less experienced teammates than brag about it. He is always ready to lend a hand when it is most needed. As a leader, he is passionate about his team members and creative in finding solutions to problems that aim to create a win-win situation. (Javier N. Rubis, III - Sr. Maintenance Engineer)

He is a highly dependable employee, and puts safety above everything, in all activities that he handles. (Lowell R. Hernandez - Supervisor)

Aside from being a competent person in his job, his loyalty to the company has never been questioned. Erap now celebrates his 35th year in service. He’s soon be retiring but his legacy will always be part of EDC’s history. EDC will be forever thankful and proud of him!