After 4 jobs, working student graduates from law school
• After taking four different jobs in a span of six years, Anna Mae Lamentillo finally received her Juris Doctor Degree at the College of Law, University of the Philippines Diliman.
“There were many times I
wanted to quit, take a break. Balancing work and law school was very difficult but it was a commitment, a promise I was prepared to deliver. Every day was a struggle so I worked harder to survive,” Lamentillo noted.
“My last conversation with my dad, Manuel Lamentillo, before he died was about law school. I promised him I’d graduate and so I gave it everything I got,” she added.
Lamentillo held four different jobs in four different organizations since she started in UP Law: United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Office of Las Piñas Representative Mark Villar and now, Department of Public Works and Highways secretary (DPWH).
“The challenges were different from one job to the other. When I was still with UNDP, since our classes end at 9 p.m., the only option was to take the last flight to Cebu at 11 p.m. and a connecting 4 a.m. flight to Tacloban. There were many days I’d sleep at the airport. I read my cases in moving cars, airport terminals – hoping to finish the coverage for my 6 p.m. class,” she said.
“At DPWH, every day is different from the other. The circumstances, the challenges vary from one project to the next,” she added.
Lamentillo recalled how the policy of impromptu, unannounced inspections began in DPWH.
“At the start of our stint in DPWH, one of the biggest challenges was completing the Maysilo project, which at that time was already delayed for two years. It was the first project Sec Mark provided an ultimatum to – the contractor must finish the flood control project within three months, by Sept. 30, or he must swim in the floodwaters caused by the delay. We would go to the site at varying hours – 11 p.m., 12:10 a.m., 5 a.m., 3 p.m.,” she said.
“When we open expressways, such as in NAIA, work can start as early as 12:01 a.m. On a normal day, I wake up at 5 a.m., start work at 7 a.m., leave the office at 4 p.m., attend classes at 6 p.m. and read my cases for the next day at 10 p.m.,” she noted.
Since 2016, DPWH has completed a total of 23,657 kms of roads, 4959 bridges, 8,941 flood mitigation structures, 137,098 classrooms and 129 evacuation centers.
Lamentillo is currently the chairperson of the DPWH Build Build Build committee.
She has been awarded the Veritas Medal by the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association-Philippines.
Previously, she was named by BluPrint as one of 50 ASEAN movers and shakers, by Lifestyle Asia as one of 18 Game Changers and by PeopleAsia as one of 2019’s Women of Style and Substance.