Remembering Susie G. Tabing-Dams, a poor barrio lass who made it big abroad

By Wilfredo G. Tabing

“Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it”

A poor barrio lass from San Dimas, Malinao, Aklan dreaming of becoming a stewardess eventually turned out as builder of airports.

She is the sixth of the seven children (four boys and three girls) of Roque Tabing and Iluminada Garmino who are farmers. At the age of four, she used to go with her father climb the coconut tree clinging at his shoulders. This must be the reason why she's fascinated with flying and not afraid of heights.

Life in the mountain was so hard then, that having three meals a day was already a feast. They often have to survive on root crops like “camote”, bananas, cassava, etc. Once a week, her elder brothers have to walk eight kilometers to the town to sell root crops so that they could also buy rice and fish. Because of so much hardship her older brothers and sisters were forced to work at an early age or sometimes beg from relatives.

When she was five years old in 1965 her mother suffered severe anemia. Her ailing mother was brought to Bacolod for treatment leaving all of them, including their 6-month old brother, to the care of their aunts and relatives. It seemed only miracle made them survive.

Desire to learn

In 1967 they were all reunited in Fundidor, Molo, Iloilo City through the help of her cousin Atty. Constancio Legaspi. That time she had the chance to start schooling at the I. Arroyo Elementary School in Arevalo. Her family still experience hardships as they have to stay in a single room cum sari sari store by day. But the family was happy despite the situation because they live together.

Susie finished her elementary in 1973. Though not garnering top honors the signs for greatness were there due to her diligence and having been inclded in the top 10 of the class. This would continue when she enrolled and graduated at the Iloilo City National High School in 1977. In between studies she is very active in school as well as social activities, joining KB, beauty contests, etc. She was a wide reader and with great desire to learn.

In 1974 tragedy struck her family when her elder sister died at the age of 18. That time almost all of her siblings quit school. Luckily her eldest brother, the family breadwinner, was able to work in Bacolod as a mechanic at the shop of Atty. Legaspi.

While working for their eldest sister and with financial support from an older brother who was able to work in a bank, she enrolled in National College of Business & Arts in Manila in 1977 taking up Commerce. The following year, however, she returned to Iloilo and enrolled at the University of Iloilo to continue her studies. In 1983 she took and passed the CPA Board Exam.

 Shining star

In the same year she married a German national, Hans Jurgen Dams, an airline supervisor whom she met and known thru pen pal. The couple lived in Germany, where her star literally shone. She enrolled in a university to study the German language and after a year she graduated not not only with flying colors but with various scholarship grants from several universities. She, however, opted to work as Executive Secretary for VP at the PCIB in Frankfurt due to her earnest desire to help her family in the Philippines.

After a year she was hired by Northwest Airlines as Accounting Clerk then promoted as Senior Clerk the following year. Three years later, when United Airlines opened an office in Frankfurt, she was hired to take charge of designing and creating their accounting system. Her success at the United Airlines was phenomenal. She was promoted as Accountant after only two years. Later she was again promoted as Manager-Accounting for Germany and Austria. In between her promotions, she was awarded the “TEAM SPIRIT AWARD" and later as “EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR" for Europe in 1991. She was also sent as representative for United Airlines during the Airlines Convention in all of Europe where her budget proposal was selected as the best. She was consequently dubbed as the "Budget Expert" among airline companies. She was immediately promoted as Financial Controller of United Airlines for Atlantic Division—covering Europe and Africa and has to be based in London. She has to travel to and from home in Frankfurt every week.

Headhunter's target

Her achievements in United Airlines and her reputation in the Airline Conventions as budget expert as well as her studies at the World University in Frankfurt taking up MBA, made her a target for headhunters. She was offered top positions by multinational corporations like Northwest Airlines, Nike-Europe, Warner Bros. - Europe and Fraport AG (to manage the NAIA III terminal project).

She opted for the Fraport project in 1999 simply to be near her loved ones. The decision was both rewarding and painful. Rewarding because she was housed at the posh and exclusive Ayala Alabang Village together with some relatives where the company pays its rental allowance at P150,000.00 a month. Painful because as director and project manager of the new airport terminal, she was torn between her company policies and bickerings among politicians. The project was almost finished when it was stalled in 2002.

She was then recalled to their Head Office in Frankfurt in 2004 and given the position as Project Director, Global Investment & Management to handle the company's project in Turkey and Peru.

Hidden illness

She was at the height of her successful career in life when sometime in December 2004 she collapsed in Hong Kong. Only to find out by her physicians that she had a brain tumor that is already in an acute stage. Since that time she remained bed-ridden.

And last May 18, 2005 she finally came back to her Creator's arms. She was 45.

Family's pride

She is the pride of the Tabing Family, the pride of Aklan and Iloilo City where she learned the realities of life, the pride of public schools and university where she studied. The pride of the Filipino race where her achievements abroad is phenomenal and inspiring. She is also the pride of The Garmino clan where she was given the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD as the THE MOST OUTSTANDING DAUGHTER of the clan given last July 10, 2004 at Balete, Aklan during their 2 nd Grand Reunion.

It will take another two or three generations in order to duplicate or surpass the achievements of SUSIE GARMINO TABING-DAMS, a poor barrio lass who made it big abroad.

(The author is the elder brother of the late Susie G. Tabing-Dams. He is currently the Head of Internal Audit Group and Bank Compliance Officer of Queenbank, Sky City Tower, Mapa, Iloilo City.)

*The remains of Susie G. Tabing-Dams will be airlifted to Iloilo City on June 3, 2005 and will be laid at the St. Anne Parish Mortuary in Molo. Interment will be on June 11, 2005 at Forest Lake.