STANDING BY THE CONSUNJI FAMILY NAME
SINCE HE WAS RECOMMENDED BY CHANCO TO HIS FRIEND, IT MEANT THAT HIS FORMER PROFESSOR BELIEVED IN HIS CAPABILITY TO DELIVER.
The family name Consunji conjures up all kinds of images, but those who knew David M. Consunji in his time only had the highest respect and praise for the man who founded the eponymous engineering construction conglomerate, DM Consunji Inc. or DMCI, and who served as the Secretary of the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communication from 1971 to 1975.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines, he started out after the war repairing the houses of his Tiya Nena. Next, he worked for his cousin, Ricardo “Carding” Consunji, who was also a UP-trained civil engineer.
In his memoirs, A Passion to Build, A Memoir of David M. Consunji, David wrote, “It was Carding who taught me to make an estimate, how to make a summary of items of work for a project, how to prepare for a big one, and how to manage a construction project. When I joined him as an apprentice. He had been in construction for 10 years and I remember him telling me how sick and tired he was of estimating. He would say, ‘Sawang sawa na ako.’ But I never grew tired of it. I found it fascinating. I would spend many nights doing just that — making an estimate. Carding taught me also how to be able to lay out a building site and other countless details.”
Learning from the Swiss professionals
Next, he landed in a job as a concrete inspector for the Kuenzle and Streiff, a Swiss importer/exporter that was the general manager of Alhambra Cigars. Again he learned a lot as he “saw how they laid out the building, how they did the excavation, the protection walls on the street and the control of water, the laying of the rebar, the pouring of the foundations — I saw all the basics, as if I was attending my own personal seminar in concrete construction.”
But if he learned the basics of construction, more valuable for him was the job being “an occasion for me to mix with the workers — the carpenters, masons, rebar men, electricians, plumbers and so on. I learned how to talk to them about their tools, the way they did their job, and what they knew. The ability to mix with all kinds of people is a vital skill for any builder. You need that human touch.”
A big bonus came by way of learning from the Swiss managers “who were always professionals… On the first day, when I came in at seven in the morning, the top Swiss manager said that I was late. He said I was a member of the management staff and I should come in 15 minutes early, so that I could address all the people under me.”
Happy Mr. Marcelo
A big break came for him by way of his UP Professor Eduardo Chanco who was looking for a civil engineer for Peping Marcelo, the owner of Marcelo Rubber Company. Marcelo was then the rubber-shoe king. He needed someone who would build a new four-storey concrete building.
Since he was recommended by Chanco to his friend, it meant that his former professor believed in his capability to deliver. To make sure he drew the right plans, he showed them to Dear Juinio who said that “all my plans were all right but he also encouraged me to review my engineering subjects so that I could gain more confidence.”
The long and short of it was after 10 months, he finished the job. He recalled, “Mr. Marcelo was very happy with the results and he increased my pay to P600.”
First contract
David’s first contract was the construction of the Coca-Cola plant in Tacloban, Leyte. Dr. Felipe Adriano, then San Miguel vice president, invited him to bid for the project. David related, “I said it might be too big a job for me but he insisted that I try. And so I did. I got a set of plans from their engineering department and came up with a bid. My bid was only P300 lower then their longtime builder, Chua Tsai Gat, but Dr. Adriano said I would probably get the job. He told me to wait for Don Andres Soriano, their boss. When Don Andres arrived from the United States, indeed, he awarded the project to me.”
(Next week: Building Makati)
A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, HE STARTED OUT AFTER THE WAR REPAIRING THE HOUSES OF HIS TIYA NENA. NEXT, HE WORKED FOR HIS COUSIN, RICARDO “CARDING” CONSUNJI, WHO WAS ALSO A UP-TRAINED CIVIL ENGINEER.