MANILA, Philippines — As the U.S.-based IBM Corporation celebrates its centenary this year, the company trains the spotlight not only on its technological inventions, global accomplishments, and significant contributions to the countries that it has served since 1911. IBM has chosen to share the stage with IBMers, the employees who help the company survive and bring it to greater heights today.

A big part of this celebration are the IBM alumni, former employees who continue to be proud of IBM long after they have left the company. With their spirit of volunteerism and big heart to help the underprivileged, these ex-IBMers are certainly leaving a legacy behind.

In the Philippines, a group of ex-IBMers called Blue Genes gathered in a virtual community to network, form linkages, share IBM memorabilia, and help celebrate the 70th anniversary of the company in 2004.

Richard P. Burgos, then IBM Phils.communications manager, discovered a dearth of historical data, documents, and memorabilia about the company, seeing the need to reconnect with former employees who would most likely have in their possession some valuable objects and information that might be shared for the upcoming celebration.

Strength in numbers

In the U.S, it has been customary for IBM to reach out to ex-IBMers and tap them for business opportunities.

“When people leave IBM, they continue to have a very high regard for the company. That is what we call an intangible asset that we needed to tap for the business. Initially, it was a business to business motivation. Big companies especially in the U.S. are taking advantage of that intangible asset in terms of relationships that former employees have with the old company. Even schools today are mining the wealth of possibilities in relating with former students,” says Burgos.

Finding ex-IBMers in the Philippines proved to be difficult at first as Burgos didn’t even have a complete record of the alumni. So they tapped informal sources such as the secretary of a former general manager and newer alumni who had mailing lists of ex-IBMers.

True enough, Burgos says these people still had their old payslips with them, old IBM machines, company medals, pins, old photographs, and the best stories about their stay in IBM!

New values

The first ex-IBMers reunion in the Philippines took more than just reminiscing about the good old times. It was an occasion where Blue Genes was formed, tapping the spirit of volunteerism that has been every IBMer’s trait.

“The objective of that reunion is a consultation. Just as IBM Philippines was diversifying and changing its corporate values, we asked the ex-IBMers things that matter most to them and how we could translate these to a new value formation to adjust to modern times. We also filtered the most relevant and important ideas from that conversation and presented it to management for action,” explains Burgos.

During that gathering, the ex-IBMers all agreed that a new expression of the values must be created.

“Before the three expressions of the IBM value system were “Excellence in everything we do; Top customer service; and Trust and respect for the individual.” Now, it’s not enough to just trust and respect that person. He or she also has to be responsible. Top customer service is now also defined as dedication to every client’s success. We just don’t want to be attached or associated only to the big clients but to all clients who need our services. We are an innovation company but we innovate in ways that will not only help our business but also the world,” he relates.

More importantly, the creation of Blue Genes called on ex-IBMers to apply the same enthusiasm, dedication and service that brought these values to life in making a difference in the depressed communities in the country.

IBMers are nation builders

Just like the company which has introduced machines and equipment such as the typewriter, time and tabulating equipment (also the Manila City Hall clock tower), and the IBM computer, ex-IBMers are big on nation building.

Blue Genes, for one, provides volunteer support to IBM’s corporate community relations projects spearheaded by the IBM On Demand Community program. It has also tied up with various institutions like Gawad Kalinga, Shoe Mart, Rags to Riches, and STI in providing livelihood and education opportunities for the residents of IBM’s adopted community in Paradise Heights, Building 17 in Smokey Mountain, Tondo.

While the IBM Club composed of employees helped residents beautify their homes through physical rehabilitation, Blue Genes, meanwhile, focused on providing financial support for the livelihood of the mothers and school supplies for the students.

Blue Genes members would also host monthly birthday parties and graduation events for the children. Graduates are treated to field trips to the Manila Ocean Park while students are taken shopping at the start of the year to SM Mall of Asia to personally choose their school shoes.

Blue Genes also provided the uniform of the softball players in Smokey Mountain and donated bats and other equipment they may need for their games.

The mothers, on the other hand, are given sewing machines for use in the rug-making business they entered into with Rags to Riches. They receive a commission of P18 for every rug that they finish.

Just this schoolyear, Blue Genes also sent four scholars to school (two in high school and two in college). The tuition for the college scholars taking IT courses are shouldered by STI-Recto while Blue Genes provides P1,000
monthly allowance, school supplies, shoes and bags, as well as a mentoring program once a week to guide them in their studies.

Lives about to change

If not for Blue Genes and STI, 17-year-old Razel Yagyagan says she would not be able to go to college. The third in a brood of five, Yagyagan’s family barely survives with the meager salary that her father earns from driving a jeepney and from the food being sold by her sickly mother. If all things work out, Yagyagan would be the first in her family to graduate from college four years from now. Hence, she has sworn to do her best in school to be able to support her family someday and return that big favor to Blue Genes.

Robert Dorothy Pacaldo, on the other hand, is lucky enough that his parents work hard just to be able to make ends meet for him and his five siblings. His mother, Emily, made it her goal not to let her children work as scavengers at the dumpsite. So they endured a hard life just to be able to send all children to school, even if it meant letting the children skip meals in school just to save the transportation allowance.

But in his sophomore year, Pacaldo dropped out of school just because he didn’t like his English teacher.

A year later, he realized that education is still his only way out of poverty so he promised to do well and concentrate on his studies this time. Now a college scholar of Blue Genes and STI, Pacaldo is determined to graduate, find a good job, and help his parents send his other siblings to school.

“The objective of our scholarship support is really social contribution. It is not an academic scholarship that requires them to have a grade of 95. It’s a bridging program and they should just enjoy fair opportunity. The only requirement is for them to pass and be good examples to the other scholars. We want to give them a chance to uplift their lives,” says Burgos.

Hopefully next year, Blue Genes will be able to get more scholars who can go into other courses like Education. And hopefully, these beneficiaries will become nation builders themselves, just like how they have seen it in Blue Genes.