Labor of love

If there’s a piece of advice that Philippine labor attaché Joan Lourdes D. Lavilla could give to Filipino nonresident workers here in the CNMI, it would be to remind them to always keep in mind the primary reason why they came here to the island.

Lavilla said that Filipino workers should never forget that they came here in the first place to support their family. She said it breaks her heart whenever family members in the Philippines seek her office’s assistance just to determine the whereabouts of their family members here in the CNMI.

“It is indeed heartbreaking to find out that some Filipinos tend to neglect their families back home,” she said. “I hope they’d be true to their original goals when they left the Philippines,” she said.

Lavilla said she feels burdened by the prevailing situation of some Filipino contract workers here in the CNMI who continue to abandon their responsibilities back home.

“Invest and maintain a good relationship with your family because, in the end, your family will always be the ones helping you in times of your own need,” she said, adding that the love of their families would always be there when they have to go back to their hometown in the Philippines.

Lavilla has been working as the Philippines’ labor attaché here in the CNMI for two years now. In that span of time, she said it has been a very rewarding experience for her because she also stands in the front line in extending assistance to Filipinos in need.

A day is never normal when there are no Filipinos asking her office for help. She said she always makes it a point to listen to the inquiries or problems of Filipinos visiting her office at the Nauru Building in Susupe.

THE NATURAL SCIENTIST TURNED LABOR OFFICER

Lavilla, turning 45 this month, took up a Natural Science degree at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. She said she had always wanted to become part of the medical world but due to the limited financial resources of her parents at that time, she opted to take up a course that she believed would cross both lines.

“Natural Science course can either get me into further medical studies or I can be a researcher if I don’t make it,” she said.

After finishing the course, Lavilla had a short teaching stint at the same university for one semester. Then she transferred to the U.P. Manila campus to also teach.

That teaching career came to an abrupt end when she was offered a job to join the then Ministry of Human Settlement’s Processing Center, a government agency under the project of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos. She couldn’t recall anymore the years she spent in that office. “It was a long time ago,” she quipped.

After several years in that department, she finally went to the Human Settlement Development Corp. until it was finally closed down when the regime of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos ended.

Her career, however, blossomed as she continued to work for another government agency, the Department of Trade and Industry, in 1989. She worked as an officer at the Office of Operational Planning until 1997.

She was then transferred to the Department of Labor and Employment’s International Labor Affairs Services where she was appointed as Labor Representative to Saipan in 2003.

When she learned that she would be working in the CNMI, she said she was excited because it was her first out-of-the-country deployment. She already knew some information about the islands because the Commonwealth is also part of the reports on labor conditions.

She loves her work on the island as she has direct interaction with the Filipino population, unlike her previous work where she merely sat behind a desk. She said she now enjoys being in the “frontline,” providing services to the Filipino community.

A LOVING MOTHER AND WIFE

Though she admits that cooking is not really her forte, Lavilla said she compensates through “division of labor” at home. She loves her husband Ariel’s luscious cooking, so when he cooks for dinner, she takes on the duties of washing the dishes and doing her share in the kitchen. She said her husband makes the best pancit molo and Arroz Valenciana.

Their 13-year marriage has brought them a loving son they call Kenji Riordan. Lavilla’s son, now seven years old, currently studies at the Mount Carmel School.

During her spare time, Lavilla spends it with her family, spending quality time with her husband and child. Her family loves to frolic in the beaches of Saipan.

She used to read a lot but, due to her hectic schedule, the last book she got hold of was The Tao of Negotiation. Lavilla said she prefers self-enhancement books rather than fiction. She also likes to flip through the pages of women’s magazines.

A TRAVELING AMBASSADOR

Lavilla said she enjoys traveling, although her past sojourns were mostly in Asia. Her work has already brought her to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal.

Among the places she has visited, it was her short visit to Bali, Indonesia that struck her the most. She said she couldn’t forget the most beautiful sunset she has ever seen in one of the resorts in Bali, where hundreds of tourist gathered around just to marvel at the unique solar show. She was impressed with the resort’s dining set up when she was there.

One thing that she misses right now, she said, is the leisure of doodling with pencils and charcoals again. She said she used to do sketches and portraits.

Lavilla said the last artwork she did was a portrait of her best friend way back home. “That’s one thing I truly want to do again if I’d have time,” she said.