CDR CO.

100
The

OUTSTANDING FILIPINO
ENGINEERS

"By hook or by
crook whatever
humps I go through I
will persevere
because this is me
-This is my passion."

D E M A T I R A , M E R C A D O , P O B L A D O R , R E F U G I O , R E Y E S
fuel your
Passion
Education
Engr. Reynante M. Hernandez graduated
from the Technological Institute of the
Philippines - Manila. He got his bachelor’s
degree in June 1990. The same year, he took
his licensure examination, and ten months later,
he received his professional license.
Engr. Hernandez revealed that civil
engineering wasn't his first choice for a college
program. He wanted to become a seafarer or
join the military; however, Engr. Hernandez
revealed that because of the influence and
pressure from his parents, who wanted him to
pursue their dreams, he took up this college
program. With this, Engr. Hernandez admitted
that he had a hard time during his first year in
the program. He mentioned how he struggled
with certain subjects because he wasn't very
familiar with the topics. Moreover, he shared
how grateful he was when he was able to get a
passing grade because it meant that he would
be able to proceed to the next term. Eventually,
he liked and embraced civil engineering.
Affiliations
Since Engr. Hernandez graduated and took
his licensure examination; AGS Brothers
Trading and Construction immediately hired him
as a field engineer for one and a half years.
Cainta, Rizal, Philippines, was the location of
this construction company. He had the Shangri-
La Hotel in Ayala Avenue, Makati City, as his
first project in his practice. Later, he transferred
to another company, Yearwood Construction,
as a project engineer.
It was not long before Engr. Hernandez was
hired as a scaffolding engineer for Gemmo in
Libya and worked there for 17 years.
Unfortunately, a war erupted in Libya, so he
needed to leave and return to the Philippines.
Engr. Hernandez later went to Saudi Arabia
again for 1 year as a Field Engineer for Hyundai
Company. Not long after, Engr. Hernandez went
to Kuwait for another 1 year to work as a project
engineer for Hanhwa Engineering and
Construction. Then, he was hired and assigned
for 6 years in the Saudi Arabia branch as the
senior structural engineer by one of the biggest
consulting firms in Italy, Manens-Tifs. After 6
months of staying in the Philippines, Engr.
Hernandez and his family decided to stay in the
country for good. .
ing & S
Engr. Hernandez has
undergone training during
Train his days as a junior
kills
engineer such as
estimating volumes for
pouring of concrete when
making a foundation or footing, manually
concentrating elements of the foundation making
sure it is balanced (before the aid of programs
like AutoCAD). He was also taught the basics of
designing such as considering a safety factor,
wherein one must make sure that the building
doesn't collapse and that the costs for materials
used are within the budget. They were also
taught about the pros and cons of under-
reinforcement and over-reinforcement of steel
and concrete. He also encountered factors
concerning vertical and horizontal construction.
During his time as a junior engineer, he was
entrusted to be in charge of pouring concrete for
their project at Glorietta.
.SOME of the skills engineer Hernandez
has acquired was the ability to persevere and
never give up. When he made his decision to
become an engineer he did stop on what he
believed in. He learned how to have an optimistic
mindset and always looked forward despite the
inevitable challenges. When dealing with clients,
he is able to be professional and humble when it
comes to his clients’ demands. He is confident
when making decisions once it is resolved and
reassures the integrity of the project. Lastly, he is
able to manage his time for work and livelihood
by balancing his time for family bonding and their
church ministry.
 Later on in his career, as a civil engineer,
he became part of one of the biggest
consulting firms in Italy. Engineer Hernandez
was hired as a senior structural engineer in

AND WIN
this consulting firm and they worked on a

FOCUS
medical city project. One of the main
buildings of the said project was a hospital
consisting of 1700 beds. The other projects
involved was an 11-story building, 12 units of
a residential building, as well as a hotel; 7
units of 11 floors. Furthermore , they’ve also
worked on 147 units of single detached
residential houses.

HIEVEMENTS
AC
TS
PROJEC The first rewarding achievement he
attained on his after-grad engineering journey
was becoming as take one board exam
Engr. Hernadez's first-ever project as a
passer. He stated that since he is from a
licensed civil engineer was a renowned 5-star
family with low budget income he felt that he
hotel and world recognized establishment
could finally thank his parents' hard work and
named Shangri-La Makati. The said hotel is
sacrifices to keep him in school.
located in the central business district of
Makati City along the corners of Ayala and
For Engr. Hernandez the most fulfilling
Makati avenue. Since this is his first project
reward was when he established his own
he took it as a big step in entering the
company, ChristDanRey Construction, that
Engineering world and with all of his hard
later on bloomed and became a family
work he was able to successfully complete
business. He emphasized that his company
the project. Moreover, Engr. Hernandez was
was his ultimate goal because it further
employed by the company for 1 and a half
united his family, given that 2 out of his three
years.
children are studying engineering, and this
He was then transferred to another served as his way to give back to those in
construction company named Yearwood need.
Construction. However, his time there did not
last long as he was hired as a scaffolding
engineer in Libya for 17 years; wherein their
project was to construct and erect
scaffoldings, as well as conduct maintenance
STRUGGLE
work on and off shore. In addition, their
projects include hospitals, refineries, and
INTO
some other oil industries. They were also
involved in the construction of roads and
STRENGTH
bridges.
BELIEVE
YOU
CAN
Was there a time when you felt like you wanted
to quit? What did you do about it?
Yes, there was a period of time when Engr.
Hernandez felt like quitting as a first-year engineering
student. He felt like the course was extremely difficult,
and he never loved it in the first place. He became an
engineer because they wanted Engr. Hernandez to
profit from that proffesion and not end up like them.
But somewhat did Engr. Hernandez realized that he
adored being an engineer, that it piqued his interest
to the point that he wanted to continue even if it
wasn't his first choice because time is of the essence.
Engr. Hernandez realized how valuable the path is,
and so he pursued it, because he believed that it
would give him the long-awaited moment of victory.
excelled both his physical, and mental capacity to
what kept you going despite the difficulties
in your studies ?
want to impart to the
Despite of the difficulties Engr. Hernandez
endured, there are several things that kept him
pursuing in his studies. At foremost, it was
because of his family; they were the ones that
kept him going the most; the enthusiasm that he
have maintained since then is because of them.
Moreover, it was because Engr. Hernandez grew
up in a poor household, where finances were a
concern, but he never gave up. He wished that if
he was given a chance, he would want to see
brighter days ahead of him, an aspiring future
where money wouldn't be a problem, and by the
thoughts of it, he thought of it as his lifelines, and
look where it landed him, the route of victory.
WHat is t he greatest lesson that struck you
in your engineering journey?
According to Engr. Hernandez, the greatest
lesson that struck his engineering journey was to
never hope for another chance of doing things all
over again. The line of work he experienced is both
a simple and difficult task. Wherein he experienced
successes and failures along the way, and that no
matter what happened, he accepted whatever
outcome there is in his journey because he’d known
that he will grow from it, because of accepting his
reality, the level of professionalism inside of Engr.
Hernandez grown and flourished through that
the highest level.
what lesson do you
young students of civil engineering?
The only lesson that Engr. Hernandez wanted to
impart to every student of the civil engineering
society is to always, always be humble. Yes,
according to him, reaching the point of becoming a
full fledged civil engineer is an exceptional
achievement in life. It feels as if all your hard work
finally paid off from studying, and by means of
sharing your work towards your contributed projects
that will prove to be for the betterment of our society
and the country. Always keep your head in a solid
position, neither too high or too low but at an angle
where you are one with the people and with all other
professions.