BAGUIO CITY – City officials and employees recently paid tribute to City Engineer Edgar Victorio Olpindo who retired from government service after more than forty one years in the local government.
City Budget Officer lawyer Leticia O. Clemente, who is also the president of the Association of City Executives, said that Engr. Vic is one of the many officials and employees who rose from the ranks over the past several decades.
She added that the city government was the first and last employment of Olpindo and that it is just fitting that he should be awarded the coveted loyalty award.
The city budget officer noted that after passing the board examination as an engineer, he was immediately hired as a casual emergency civil engineering aide in 1983 at the City Engineering Office where there were only a few engineers occupying plantilla positions.
She claimed that it was only in 1992 that permanent positions were created to absorb most of the engineers on casual status and from thereon, Engr. Vic was promoted to higher positions and successfully capping his career as the City Engineer.
According to her, he is probably the only City Engineer that is the complete opposite of all the other city engineers the city ever had.
Clemente pointed out that Engr. Vic, as he had been known in the local government, is soft spoken and always has a smile that makes him look approachable. He is also a very patient person, so patient that one cannot almost guess what would actually cause his ire.
City officials and employees congratulated Engr. Vic for having been able to cope with the requirements of the new brand of leadership, a drastic change from what he had been introduced and gotten used to.
“Most importantly, looking at your composure, you have kept much of your sanity and youthful looks to start your new journey in life,” Clemente stressed.
She stipulated that Engr. Vic had etched a new brand of leadership complete with friendship and respect and his staff will surely miss him.
Further, she pointed out that it is always hard to let go of a team member who has a solution to a problem, up his sleeves.
She asserted that Engr. Vic introduced the concept of a complete street in the city where these are streets that are designed to be safe for all users. People who walk, bicycle, take transit or drive, and people of varying ages and levels of ability where said streets also consider other uses like sidewalk cafes, street furniture, street trees, utilities and stormwater management.
“We can see the bike lanes along main thoroughfares and around the city. Our sidewalk pavements were improved, landscaped and vegetated. A notable project was the Carantes and Diego Silang streets where these were transformed to a walkable street with street furniture and murals on buildings,” she added.
Clemente said that the city government should now pursue the complete street concept that was started by Engr. Vic. Hard as it may seem, it is the call of the times, because the city needs to ensure safe access and mobility.
The ACEX heard that these projects had been complimented with designated loading and unloading zones within the central business district area and around the city.
Moreover, the construction of concrete waiting sheds is a very welcome development which are essential public infrastructure that need to be resilient against the seemingly more devastating and extreme weather events. It is most beneficial to protect, especially children and the elderly.
Under Engr. Vic’s watch, Clemente underscored that the development and transformation of the Irisan dumpsite into an ecopark was completed where it was a final stamp ending open dumping as a solid waste management practice in the city.
She emphasized that there are a lot more in the pipeline where Engr. Vic was one of the key movers such as the Session road rejuvenation project, Luna Terraces site development and others.
However, he also did not forget his own department, the City Engineering Complex, that has undergone a major facelift, making it a work environment that supports employee wellbeing and productivity. By Dexter A. See
