It was a night he would never forget, with so much tragedy just a week before Christmas. But it was also a moment of grace, just as it was an opportunity to help.
On December 17, 2021, PLDT Division Head Coordinator for West Visayas Fixed Field Services Eduardo “Godoy” Cepriano and his team braved the devastation left by Super Typhoon Odette to bring back communication and connectivity in severely impacted towns in Negros Island.
To reestablish the link that serves many communities in southern Negros, Godoy and his team had to tread through a mountainous portion of Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. They reached the site in the evening of December 17. The team quickly went to work and didn't stop until it was repaired in the early morning of December 18.
“The area was very dark when we reached it. It was also flooded when we got there. We were the only people there at that time,” Godoy recalled. “We were uncertain what will happen to us that night, but we pushed through restoring that major link to bring back communication and connectivity in Odette-hit areas in southern Negros,” he said.
Godoy said that the success of their operations in Western Visayas would not have been possible without his team’s contribution and dedication. “As PLDT employees driven by the company’s core value of ‘malasakit’, we are doing our best to restore our services even if it means risking our safety. We will continue to work hard to help reconnect the communities severely impacted by Odette. That has been our commitment,” he said.
They were able to restore affected areas in Iloilo before Christmas, while communication was brought back in southern Negros before the new year. Godoy also handled the restoration efforts in southern and central Cebu together with his team composed of PLDT engineers from Iloilo Province, Roxas City, and Negros Island.
These efforts form part of PLDT and Smart’s #SafeandSmart advocacy which promotes preparedness and immediate response through network resilience, continuous availability of communication services, and relief assistance to help communities mitigate disaster risks.
