“Galing Pinoy” awardee to build training school

The growing demand for welders and other metal fabrication skills abroad pushed Cebuano “Galing Pinoy” awardee Edward S. Dampor Sr., to construct a training school here.

Dampor, the first recipient of the Technical Education for Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) “Galing Pinoy” award, will build a P100 million three-story school that will produce graduates who will operate the machines, such as the centralized gas pipeline system that his company, Brilliant Metal Craft and Machine Design (BMC) has developed.

The 450-square meter school located on C. Borces Street, Cebu City will have the capacity to accommodate about 5,000 students for day and night classes.

According to Dampor, the school will provide opportunities for Cebuanos and other students from Visayas and Mindanao to work here and abroad, as welders are now one of the sought-after skills in the world.

Welders overseas earn around US$600 to US$2,500 a month. Strong demand is in countries like Australia, Denmark, Canada, and others.

The centralized gas pipeline system, an imported technology which Dampor innovated, is now used by more than 20 hospitals and health clinics for their oxygen supply to patients in Visayas and Mindanao.

He said the system allows hospitals to save P500 for every cylinder of oxygen, as it reduces the percentage of left oxygen in the tanks from 15 percent to five percent.

“Hospitals are now providing oxygen through centralized pipes. Patients will just have to press a button from the wall and the oxygen will come out. No subject in College is teaching the skill to maintain the system. Hospitals hire engineers but they are not experts on this system. BMC will produce these skilled graduates for the hospitals,” he said in an interview.

The 450-square meter school located on C. Borces Street, Cebu City will be able to accommodate about 5, 000 students for day and night classes.

Dampor said that BMC has sent two batches of welders to Canada, Denmark, and Japan. Some BMC graduates are also working in ship maker Tsuneishi Heavy Industries and Magsaysay Shipping Co.

Tesda awarded Dampor, a Filipino inventor, the “Galing Pinoy” award, an award higher than the “President Ramon Magsaysay Outstanding Filipino” award, an award given to outstanding Filipino workers who serve as an inspiration and model to other workers through their significant accomplishments and contribution to the community.

One of his inventions included a machine that can shred infectious hospital sharps into pebble-sized pieces.

Dampor, who also wrote the first Filipino-authored book on welding techniques, has humble beginnings, earning his way through school by being a barber.

He landed a job at Picop in Surigao as helper to a welder mechanic. On his return to Cebu, he worked as a maintenance welder at Coaco.

To enhance his knowledge on welding, he enrolled in the basic welding course initiated by the Cebu City’s Department of Manpower Development and Placement. He gained more experience when Coaco sent him to different project assignments in the country.

The desire for greener pastures drove him to Dubai, where he advanced his welding experience by working with Dubai Aluminum Co. Inc.