This is my first official post for my new home. Anyways, go… and read on.

If you happen to pass by Pasong Tamo cor. Estrella St in Makati (that’s right after 3 blocks from Buendia), you would notice that there’s this one building with the signage “Datronics.” So what’s the story behind this and why am I making a blog about it? Actually, wala naman. Hehehe kidding! The truth is, Datronics is where my Papa used to work way back when I was still in grade school. Yup! Pretty long time ago! And frankly, after 2 -3 years that Papa left the company, it closed shop. And it’s hard to believe that after all these years the signage is still there. I thought of making a blog in tribute to my Dad who worked really hard for the company he was once part of.

"it was there since my gradeschool days..."

As far as I know, the company closed in the early 1990′s because of financial factors and as always, bosses. It was managed before by a brother of Sen. “Manong” Enrile, who was actuallyknown in the elitist circle. They were, in fact, the first carriers of Compaq computers then, when Compaq was relatively new in the market. The company used to be housed at FM Lopez building in Legaspi village (Eurovilla area). When I was a kid, Papa used to fetch me and my late bro Jon from Don Bosco and then we go to his office to stay a bit while Papa finishes some stuff. Come to think of it, Datronics was just near the school so it’s easier for them to fetch us (Dismissal before was around 3pm). Another thing, Papa’s office is just one floor up from Mama’s office then CIS, where she works. O di ba very convenient indeed!

When we get there, of course, the first thing that we’d want to play on was the Compaq PCs then. To describe it, the PC is like a big rectangular suitcase, with the handle becoming the keyboard. So the rest of the big apparatus makes up the monitor, CPU, and all others. Do you get the picture? Literally, it’s considered the first Compaq laptop in a bulge. But mind you, I enjoyed playing Galaxians and the ever famous Pac-man game. I remembered once, Papa, being dedicated and all, sometimes brought one at home for him to continue his work as accountant. I never realized how much he did love working at Datronics. In fact, he was one of those employees who were given a break and if not, most trusted by the bosses. And in all those years, his dedication paid off in having us go to a nice private school (which I never knew that tuition was a bit steep) and graduate from it. I knew Papa was happy there. And because we were kids back then,  we never saw that, except the fact that Papa let us sometimes play Pac-man on the other units while he work at his station. After a while, he would already pack up and move to where we are so he would also have his turn to beat the 5 ghosts while munching all the pellets in the process. I even remembered Papa relating to us that they even came up with a Pac-man competition, where top contenders vied for something (sorry matagal na yun I can’t remember na yung prize). You see, Papa, even if he was busy most of the time computing numbers and all, was also a very good Pac-man player. He’s the only one I knew who brought the game to a whole new level.  Can you imagine reaching 60,000 points+ in just a single game? Talk about talent… and practice!

Anyways, when we moved from Don Bosco to MaSci, Papa was still with Datronics. A lot of good things were derived from his stay there. I knew we were able to have a car, got some extra furniture, and had an extra Compaq laptop to tinker and play with. But as years went on, Datronics’ performance was not anymore at par with its competitors. Apart from the rising competition, there were rumors internally. Then “Manong” bro resigned. The company then moved from Legaspi Village to finally in Estrella (see pic above). Of course, following suit were other employees who felt the company is about to “cave in”. Even those people who were kababayan of Papa from Batangas (whom he recommended for hiring) suddenly were retrenched. Eventually, Papa decided that it’s best for him to find another work because there were no more better opportunities the company would want to explore into. And so, Papa left the company. It took him a few months after before finding a new one. And then after a few years, Papa heard that the company indeed closed. It was a sigh of relief for him that he was already out of Datronics when it “rested in peace”. But i guess the memories and the good things that it gave him were something he would always remember. I for one am grateful to Datronics. Because it gave Papa a great sense of achievement and direction. And of course, for the good things it gave us when we were still growing and studying.

So that’s the story of Datronics. If ever you happen to pass by that area, try (as in try nyo lang) to take notice of the signage. At least now you would know the story of that company. The reason for the signage being there helped me remind of how far Papa have gone and been successful after that. It served as a landmark for me that makes me smile everytime just recalling of the good things I experienced then. For that I am thankful. But to be simple about it, I guess, the owner of the building doesn’t have the ounce of strength to ask someone to take it down, though the company has been non-existent for so many years now.