Abe Baonguis: 29 years of serving Unicef
ABRAHAM “Abe” A. Baonguis could not have foreseen when he joined the Philippine office of Unicef that he would come to mark each work anniversary alongside the commemoration of the treaty that represents one of the most radical shifts the UN agency has seen in its history.
When the 54-year-old executive assistant of the Deputy Representative joined Unicef on June 9, 1989, he had no inkling the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the document that turned Unicef from a developmental organization into a human-rights agency, would be adopted by the UN General Assembly a mere five months later.
But whether this happened by chance or by design, he considers the fact that his entry to Unicef coincided with the adoption of the CRC as a highlight of his 29-year stay in the agency.
“When I celebrated 25 years with Unicef, I celebrated it at the same time as CRC’s 25th anniversary,” Abe said.
Abe holds the distinction of being the longest currently serving staff at the Unicef Philippines. Joining the agency at age 25, he was among the youngest recruits of the Unicef Philippines at that time, but he was no greenhorn. A working student since he was 18, he brought to the table work experience from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Land Bank of the Philippines, and short stints abroad as well as with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Unicef offer came one month after he had started at WHO, Abe said.
“[The] WHO was already going to renew me for another 11 months when I got the call from Unicef,” he said. “When Unicef accepted me, I was happy because it was going to be a permanent post. Of course, I was also sad because I had already built rapport with the people at WHO,” he said.
At Unicef, he started out as secretary of the Papua New Guinea-Pacific desk when the sub-office was still operating out of Manila. He later became secretary to the senior program coordinator. The post would be renamed executive assistant of the Deputy Representative.
“Before I knew it, 29 years have passed,” he said.
Abe started working under a Filipino boss, but would later be under expatriate superiors—an experience not new to him, but one that nonetheless helped mold his outlook at work. Expats, he noted, have a maximum tenure of five years, after which they would be reassigned elsewhere.
Because of this, he said, he has adopted a more flexible philosophy at work.
“I have different bosses here because that’s the nature of the post. Isa sa mga philosophies ko noon, kung ano ang kanilang tugtog, siya ang sayaw ko. [It became one of my philosophies then that I would march to their beat], meaning I would be the one making the effort to adjust to my bosses, because they have different ways of doing things,” he said.
On a daily basis, Abe does administrative work for the deputy representative. Checking his boss’s calendar, hotel bookings, coordinating with his counterparts to schedule high-level meetings, and assisting during workshops are all part of his work.
Although he comes in early to avoid the notorious Manila traffic—he can be seen at his desk at around 7 a.m., having left his Imus, Cavite, residence at around 5 a.m.—he takes home his laptop, especially during weekends, to ensure that he is on top of his work.
“Sometimes, at night, you check e-mails because sometimes you get urgent messages. Even during the weekends, you have to check because sometimes, your boss, during the weekend, could have instructions. So when you come in on Monday, there won’t be any surprises,” he said.
Abe admitted that the daily commute could take its toll, but the family man said he would rather brave the traffic every day to go home to his daughter—a registered nurse—and three-year-old granddaughter than live close to the office and go back to an empty place.
“I’m thinking, we at Unicef advocate work-life balance, and you won’t apply it to yourself?… My granddaughter will be three years old by December. She is one of the joys of my life right now,” he said. “When I see her, my exhaustion dissipates, [especially] when she calls out, ‘Grandpa!’”
Abe, who considers it an achievement to be the most senior personnel at the Unicef Philippines in terms of tenure, said his work can be a “roller- coaster ride,” but added there were many things that made him stay with the agency.
From a practical perspective, he earns enough at Unicef so he no longer had to contemplate going abroad to provide a decent and comfortable life for his family.
He also said the friendships he cultivated in the agency—especially with older colleagues who took him in when he had just started—have been priceless.
“The people I worked with then, the friendships I had then, until they retired, we still continue to communicate. And I’m so happy because I learned so much from them, not just in terms of work, but also about life in general,” he said.
The camaraderie fostered by Unicef through annual management retreats also gives him a sense of belonging, Abe said, as the fashion-design graduate proudly said he is a “Hall of Famer” for the “Best Dressed” award given out during the meet.
Abe said that working for a UN agency not only lends a certain prestige to his job; it also allows him to be part of meaningful endeavors that help the country.
“One of the reasons I stayed is the purpose of Unicef—to help children, our advocacies for mothers. We are doing something for the Filipino children, for the country. The advocacy is already there, and I am part of it,” he said.
This culture of intentionally putting children first, he noted, seeps into his personal life.
“I’ve given more importance to children and mothers. I have become more compassionate toward them,” he said. “When my daughter got pregnant, I told her, ‘When you give birth, you need to breastfeed,’” he added.
Abe said working for the agency has placed him in a position of being able to help when calamities strike, adding that among his most unforgettable moment at Unicef was when he delivered relief after Tropical Storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana) inundated Metro Manila.
“I cannot forget it was flooding in Pasig; it was pitch dark. There were no lights because we had lost power. Our truck that carried supplies had to turn back because of the flood. What we did, we took those makeshift boats dragged by people who were neck-deep in water,” he narrated.
“It was a very eerie feeling. I was scared, but at the same time, I felt I had a purpose. I had to reach my destination so that the supplies could reach the children.”
He acknowledged getting burned out from time to time, but said he finds ways to deal with it. He also said he gets a sense of accomplishment in being able to deliver on his job, and is gratified when his efforts are appreciated by the agency.
Next year, Abe will be marking his third decade with Unicef. He is on the retirement path, though he is yet uncertain whether he would retire at 60 or if he would wait to reach the mandatory retirement age of 65.
Abe is looking forward to the next chapter of his life.
“Now, it’s on my mind to start saving so that aside from the retirement pay, I would have my own savings,” he said.
He has things planned—for one, he is looking forward to putting his training in fashion design to good use. He is also planning to finally take advantage of his unused lifetime membership at Slimmer’s World.
“For retirement, you should be doing things. Otherwise, you’ll get Alzheimer’s [disease] or dementia. I’m going to retire at Unicef, and then after that, I will do what I’ve always wanted to do but could not because I’ve been busy with Unicef,” he said.
He also said, however, that nothing is set in stone—he could end up winning the lottery, or meeting his life partner, he noted. Everything will depend on what God wants him to do so he continues to pray for guidance, he added.
“At 54, I live my life one day at a time,” Abe said.
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