by Jun Berong

Cagayan de Oro City (1 February) -- NO less than Commissioner Elberto E. Emphasis of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) recently handed the certificate of commendation to Engr. Aurellano V. Vicerra Jr. of the CICT-Telecommunications Office (CICT-Telof) regional office in Cagayan de Oro City for outstanding performance.

CICT-Telof-10 Regional Director Dimnatang M. Radia, Asst. Regional Director Mindaya K. Disangcopan, and division chiefs assisted Commissioner Emphasis in personally handing the commendation to Vicerra in simple ceremonies, January 20.

Emphasis promised Vicerra first priority for foreign trainings and promotion where he qualifies.

In response, Engr. Vicerra thanked Telof officials and employees for giving him such award. He said he did not expect to receive the award because he was just doing his job with determination and sincerity. He acknowledged the help of his superiors and co-employees for the achievement.

Vicerra aired his elation, adding it encouraged him to do even more and dared his colleagues to continue doing their best in their respective areas of responsibility.

An Engineer II, Vicerra is currently designated as chief of Telof-10’s Plant, Power and Transmission Section tasked with overseeing the operation and maintenance of the National Telephone Program Tranche 1-3 (NTP 1-3) Network of the region.

During the awarding ceremony, Engr. Raul E. Gadaian, Vicerra’s immediate supervisor and chief of the Operations Division, read some of the highlights of his accomplishments, which became the basis of recommending him for the award.

Gadaian said when the original billing system installed by the contractor Italtel for the Cagayan de Oro Telephone Exchange in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro failed, Engr. Vicerra conceptualized and developed a simplified and user-friendly billing system program, which he lent at no cost to Telof regional offices in Region 10 and 13.

When the billing system installed by Filmindsoft for Telof was interrupted due to some debugging activities, Engr. Vicerra again let the office use his program for free to serve as substitute.

Vicerra likewise did the programming and reconfiguration of the NTP 1-3 Switch and Transmission Systems for local and toll interconnection with both government and private telecom players in the region and other adjacent regions without tapping the expertise of foreign consultants as in other regions in the country.

Engr. Gadaian said Vicerra’s accomplishments have greatly enhanced the effectivity and efficiency in the operation and maintenance of the NTP 1-3 Switching and Transmission Facilities and the office as a whole, which can be translated into a significant amount of savings for the government.

Commissioner Emphasis, in his message, admired Engr. Vicerra for his exemplary performance and said he is the kind of government employee our country needs today. “We are proud of him, especially those who are from Cagayan de Oro where Vicerra hails... Men like Vicerra are our modern-day heroes.”

The commissioner said he considered the giving of the award to Vicerra a top priority that he cancelled all his other important appointments at the central office for the activity.