'Stucco ninja' Pinoy soldiers amaze U.S. troops in Balikatan 2015 in Palawan

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 18): 'Stucco ninja' Pinoy soldiers amaze U.S. troops in Balikatan 2015 in Palawan

“Stuccoing” is when construction aggregates, binders, and water are amalgamated together to form a material that is applied wet, and hardens to a very compressed solid on walls and ceilings to camouflage visually unappealing building sights.

And to Filipino construction workers, it’s a normal activity that is part of completing structures that does not earn so much attention.

But in the Engineering Civic Action Program (ENCAP) of the 31st iteration of the bilateral exercise Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) 2015 that is constructing classroom buildings in four sites in Puerto Princesa, it has become a source of amazement, admiration, and exchanged learning between participating Filipino and U.S. soldiers.

Lieutenant Commander Mike Guzzi, current operations officer of the Civil Engineering Corps (CEC) of the Naval Construction Group ONE, 30th Naval Construction Regiment of the U.S. Navy, cannot believe Friday how fast Pfc. Julius Cameon of the Engineering Construction Battalion (ECB) of the Philippine Army (PA), TSgt. Benito Maceda, and TSgt. Alan Magbanua of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) are “stuccoing” the classroom buildings that are part of the humanitarian assistance and training activities of this year’s Balikatan.

Guzzi said the shoulder-to-shoulder exercise is a great opportunity for U.S. soldiers to come to Puerto Princesa, Palawan to practice some of the skills that they have lost for the last 10-12 years stationed in other countries like the Middle East.

“This is a great way to re-learn, and practice things like concrete, making reinforcement bars, blocking, which are essential to the structures that we’re going to build in other places after Palawan,” he said.

“Re-learning,” he explained, means Cameon, Maceda, and Magbanua are demonstrating how to stucco the classroom buildings at high-speed without compromising durability, permanence, and climate change resiliency.

In fact, he said, they have labeled the three, and other Filipino soldiers as “stucco ninjas” due to their excellent skills in coating classroom building walls with fine plasters, and bravely going across high beams.

“There are two big things here. Number one is innovation. I’ve been amazed that sometimes the U.S. engineer, maybe, if he doesn’t have the right tools, looks like he cannot accomplish the mission. The Filipino engineer, he would say, I can work by getting a piece of rebar (reinforcement bar), and create a tool to get the project moving,” Guzzi told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) during a tour Friday of the classroom buildings in two sites in Barangay San Rafael, one at Sitio Sabang, Barangay Cabayugan, and in a high school in Barangay Sta. Lourdes.

More importantly, he said “what the U.S. soldiers are learning from their Filipino counterparts is the block and the stucco works.”

“Block and stucco… you know, we don’t have that opportunity in our projects to do that type of work. Here, the Filipinos are amazing; they can draw up stuccos quickly, and our guys are not nearly as fast,” he added.

Cameon said it is not easy to teach his U.S. counterparts. Lightheartedly, he enlightened that this is because his “English supply is limited, and his nose is constantly bleeding.”

“Mahirap dahil nauubusan ako ng English, pero kapag pinapakita ko na, natutuwa sila at naiintindihan naman nila. Bilib na bilib sila kasi mabilis kami mag-palitada (It’s hard because I always run out of English, but if I show them how to do it, they become happy and they understand. They are so surprised at our speed in doing stucco),” Cameon said, adding the U.S. soldiers are very eager to learn.

The fact that the Filipino soldiers are sometimes crossing the beams of the classroom buildings without using safety harnesses, or fear of falling, also dumbfounds them, said Sgt. Eric Schultz, on the other hand.

“We are learning a lot here, especially as far as block and concrete construction. There is a lot of improvising works, and there’s no one set of doing things. Everything we’re doing is a little bit different,” Schultz said, supplying that the Filipino soldiers’ ways of doing things in construction impress him a lot.

Pointing to the beams of the classroom building at San Rafael Elementary High School (SRES), he expressed that the manner the Filipino soldiers are able “to jump upon them, run around to get the trusses up real fast without safety straps are just remarkable, and something he cannot do.”

Guzzi and the other U.S. soldiers jointly constructing the classroom buildings with their Filipino counterparts are not the only ones astounded by the “unusual constructions creativities and skills” but also Brig. General Joaquin Malavet, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Malavet, who personally witnessed Cameon in an elementary school in Sabang with Brig. Gen. Guillermo Molina, deputy chief of the Western Command, had to give him a coin-like souvenir for his unbelievable and notable speed in stuccoing.

“It’s unreal how he’s doing it fast, and he’s teaching our guys here how to do it even creatively,” Malavet said.

He added that Cameon’s and the other two Filipino soldiers’ tolerance in showing the stucco and blocking techniques, and the graciousness and warm spirit that the communities are displaying resonate the true meaning behind the word “Balikatan,” which is “doing things together shoulder-to-shoulder.”

“I do believe that their warmth and their graciousness resonated. When we talk about Balikatan, and the meaning behind it -- shoulder-to-shoulder -- I don’t think it resonates any more than here in Palawan,” Malavet said, adding they demonstrate the strength and perseverance of the Philippines and the U.S. in making the world a better place.

Molina further expounded that “in talking about Balikatan, talking does not only mean about situations that might happen in the future. It is also about communities that might be affected by divergence and how to help them through civic action programs, like the ENCAP of Balikatan.”

“It’s good to know that the sites for the classroom buildings were selected by the teachers, the principals, and the community folks, and even the students. That is good because they saw the need,” he said.

He stated that more than the cost of the classroom buildings is their “value and importance.”

Each 7x18-meter classroom can accommodate 50 students, who would have a difference in their lives because they will learn, and receive education in a relaxed atmosphere, according to the WESCOM deputy chief.

At the Sta. Lourdes National High School (SLNHS), Malavet and Molina were also surprised to learn that parents, students, and teachers are volunteering their services to help the U.S. and Filipino soldiers meet their end of the month of April deadline.

SLNHS teacher Elizabeth Dasmariñas was there to guide volunteer students in coating metal trusses with anti-rust dyes.

One such student was 19-yr. old Gringo Galia, who graduated in high school from SLNHS.

Galia said it is not only him, who volunteered to help his “U.S. and Filipino soldier friends” to build two classroom buildings in his former high school, but also his parents.

“We thought it would be nice to help out here to finish the construction of the school buildings on time, and to give our share to our community. I graduated from this high school, and I am happy that there will be more classrooms for our students from the Balikatan,” Galia said.

All constructions should be finished end of the month, said Guzzi, for turn-over to the administrations of the selected elementary and high schools.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=754015