Kudos to BENECO's Linemen

How I wish I could hug each of you, our 99 line workers, and say "oh man, you are one hell of a guy."

Because indeed, you are. Make no mistake about it, you are actually our backbones 24/7. The rant of typhoon Egay alone showcased the stuff you are made of. Her wrath was no peanuts – 192 electric poles went down, scores of transformers got busted and kilometers of cables collapsed. Yet you, our linemen, didn't blink. I could just imagine the wet and mud your hard soled shoes have to plod over to reach the battle site. You have to clear fallen trees, erosion and collapsed poles to make ready the restoration. Doing restringing, erecting poles and installing transformers amid the torrents are not easy. You actually did a yeoman's job.

No, to say that your job is par for the course is an understatement. There's more to it since we know that once you are dispatched, your lives are at stake. Those lines may innocently look dead when you approach them. But as I often said, electricity in invisible. It could run anytime and would spare no one to paralyze. That's aside from poles and objects that may go wayward and God forbid.

And yet we are just talking about Egay. We know the tireless efforts you have rendered in the past to bring back the light. There's no price tag to that. You are the keys to pacify the rant of consumers who sometimes, or is it more often, are unawares of our restoration protocol – the lingo of feeders, backbones, laterals, reclosers and sectionalizers. Without you, our being an electric cooperative would be meaningless.

That's why today, August 7, is your day. Today is not enough to calibrate the battery and the bravery you've got. But guys, this is your day. Admittedly, the cash and certificate each of you will receive are not commensurate to the muscles you have flexed over the years. But it is our way of saying thank you. You have always been there, be it 29, B8 or C8. And the same goes true for those who could not join us today since they are still in the remotes of Kapangan, Kibungan, Bakun and Buguias.

By the way, your call signs amuse and amaze me no end -- Falcon, Nevada, Virginia, Pentagon and Indiana, to name a few. If I get to wear that orange and blue coverall and my duo would be AMB, tag as us Blitzkrieg. Amy, Roy, Esteban and Percy, I hope you are listening.

To you, our BENECO linemen, we could not ask for more. You are our unsung heroes no more.