Its Now or Never

Case 2. R. E. CONSTRUCTION: It’s Now or Never

When Engineer Romeo Estabillo finished his Civil Engineering course at Mapua Institute of Technology, he took the board examination and passed it in 1981 wanting to start independently; he went back to his hometown (Santiago City) to organize his own construction firm. In his first few years of operation, he accepted contracts for the construction of residential houses, as he gained experience, his clients grew in number, and even the most prominent persons in the province of Isabela availed of

his services.

At the start, he hired two assistants to help him in his daily routine as a contractor. One of the two assistants, Mr. Silvino Santiago, was a third year civil engineering student who had stopped schooling due to financial difficulties. His main task was as draftsman. His duty was to produce all documents relating to the physical requirements of the various contracts entered into by his boss. Among these documents are the building plan, specifications, bill of materials, building permit, etc. His

additional duty was to assist Engineer Estabillo in supervising the foremen and workers at the various

construction sites.

The second assistant, Mr. Romulo Mamaril, was assigned to coordinate purchasing, bookkeeping, and other related administrative activities.

At the third year of operations, Engineer Estabillo was already directing operations in his newly constructed office inside his residential compound. By this time, two more female employees were hired to assist in the various tasks performed in the office.

By 1994, Engineer Estabillo reviewed his company’s payroll. It indicated that he has in his employ six full-time civil engineers, two draftsmen, ten administrative personnel, one messenger and one security guard. The foremen and laborers working at the various projects were contractual.

By June 1996, Engineer Estabillo felt that business was continuously growing, so he will have to secure the...