Grains - 3rd Quarter : 2012 - NFA

Features 37
A retired employee I will be,
at the close of business hours of
October 23, 2012. By then I have logged
more than three decades and a half of
government service. I started working
with then NGA as a Casual Field
Investigator at P23.00 per day.
To my recollection, I had been
assigned ‘in the interest of the service’
to five different departments and four
different executive offices, aside from
my appointment as the NFA Council
Secretary for two years. And I am also
concurrently the Corporate Secretary of
the Food Terminal Incorporated, a
subsidiary of NFA, since 1997 up to the
present. All my assignments are here at
the Central Office. Once I desired to be
assigned at the Field Office, but the
chance never came.
Even as I only have the NFA
Central Office as my place of
assignment, working with the NFA gave
me the opportunity to see different
places in the Philippines, as I from time
to time, went on travel to our regional
and provincial offices. My travels
enabled me to meet new
acquaintances, aside from my coemployees
in the Central Office. Many
of them, whether assigned here at the
Central Office or at the Field Offices,
became not only my acquaintances but
my friends.
As they came from different
backgrounds and persuasions, relating
with them broadened my knowledge on
human relationships. I came to learn
how to appropriately fine tune my
behavior as I relate with them. It was a
learning that became an asset of mine.
Basically knowing with whom I was
working, lessened the burden of my
work, as I slowly climb the NFA
corporate ladder. This circumstance has
constantly reminded me to sincerely
perform my work, lest I betray the trust
and confidence that my co-employees
have entrusted upon me.
As an aside, sometime in July
2001, when I underwent a quadruple
heart bypass at the Philippine Heart
Center, the outpouring of prayers and
financial support of NFA employees was
tremendous. And my wife was
surprised by the show of support, as
they came not only from here at the
Central Office but also from our offices
from tuguegarao to Jolo and Tawi-Tawi.
I told her, “Ma, the outpouring of
support is a classic proof that NFA
employees are indeed friends when we
needed help”.
Working with NFA undeniably
enabled me to earn a decent living, pay
for our children’s education, have a
house of our own and enjoy the
amenities that came with it. As a
matter of fact, I owe it likewise to the
management of NFA that I was able to
see the United States and other Asian
countries on several occasions.
In retrospect, I now thank the
Almighty, who in His eternal goodness
had given me the graces to remain true
to my oath as a public servant. And not
only that, He also had already provided
for, as early as the initial date of my
government service, what I will reap as
my retirement
benefits.
What
or how will I be
after NFA?
I will
be working
with the office
of my late
father-in-law.
By that time,
my boss will
not be an
administrator
but my
commander in
chief, a lady
boss whom I
married 37
years ago.
Photo by Nilo Manongsong
Atty. Rafael t. Flores:
R etiring with a smile