ETERNAL GARDENS AT 45: STAYING TRUE TO THE VISION

August 11, 2021 PILIPINO Mirror

Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua dreamed of bringing first class memorial parks and services to Filipinos to help ease the pain and grief of losing a loved one. To turn that vision into reality, he opened the very first Eternal Gardens memorial park in Baesa, Caloocan City in August 1976.

After 45 years, that same vision of the founder continues to strengthen the men and women of the company, and fuels their passion to help more Filipinos provide the most fitting final resting place for their dearly departed.

Realizing the vision

It is only recently that Filipinos started to accept the significance of pre-need memorial planning or buying a memorial property before there is a need for one. Back in the 70s, being a memorial salesman was one tough job because nobody wanted to spend money on something that has anything to do with death. For conservative and superstitious Pinoys, even the thought of buying a memorial lot ahead was avoided as they believed it might invite bad luck or attract death to the family.

The prevailing insights of the Filipinos on memorial planning back then was one of the biggest challenges that Ambassador Cabangon Chua had to face and overcome. In developing beautiful memorial parks, he also made it his mission to open the minds of Filipinos to the benefits of purchasing a memorial property even before the need arises.

Driven by his great passion for service, Ambassador Cabangon Chua established Eternal Gardens with the help of some like-minded leaders to whom he shared his vision and, in turn, believed in his mission. And the rest is history.

This history began with the opening of the park in Baesa, which was realized notwithstanding the resistance from the residents of the area. Three more parks emerged within the first decade of the company from 1976 to 1986: the parks in Dagupan City, Pangasinan; Biñan City, Laguna; and Balagtas in Batangas City.

The next park to open was the one in Lipa City, Batangas in 1992. The company needed to slow down in order to build up its strength and resources during its second decade. During this period, the management focused on developing strategies to improve its services and learning innovative ways to expand its market and attract more potential clients.

Having gained enough stability, Eternal Gardens opened two more parks in its third decade from 1996 to 2006: Eternal Gardens Naga and Eternal Gardens Cabanatuan.

From 2006 to 2016, Eternal Gardens has already opened a total of 10 memorial parks as it added three more to its growing chain of branches: Eternal Gardens Santa Rosa City in Laguna, Eternal Gardens Concepcion, its second branch in Batangas City; and Eternal Gardens Cagayan de Oro, formerly Green Hills Park, which was acquired by the company in 2014.

The latest branch of Eternal Gardens to open is located in Cabuyao City, Laguna, which was launched in 2018. This brings the total number of Eternal Gardens parks to 11.

Overcoming a global crisis

Much like its maiden year, the previous year has been full of challenges for Eternal Gardens brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the organization was able to maintain its sustainability despite the odds because of the resilience of the Eternalites who stayed true to their commitment of providing excellent memorial care services.

Rather than being beaten by the onslaught of restrictions of the global health crisis, Eternalites did not stop from seizing the opportunity to sell memorial products. They found ways to reach their clients without having to go out and risk their health. They made use of the internet, particularly social media, to communicate with their clients, as well as with their colleagues. They used their time at home completing the government-imposed community quarantines to learn new skills that would be useful in their career as sales associates. As a result, they were able to successfully close sales and reach their goals despite the absence of their usual sales activities.

Eternal Gardens also enhanced its digital services in order to continue serving its clients during the strict community quarantines. The company set up partnerships with banks and other online and mobile payment channels to give their clients the convenient and safe option of settling their dues online. The company’s official social media channels were also utilized for better communication and information dissemination.

The management of Eternal Gardens was quick to implement the necessary health protocols at the parks and offices for the protection of its clients and employees. These health and safety measures are still being observed by the company today.

The efficient response of the company to the pandemic was the key to its smooth transition to the new normal. “Of course, it was difficult at the beginning of the pandemic. But we were very clear about our vision, what we want to achieve as a company, so we got to work immediately and came up with a strategy to overcome the effects of the pandemic,” said Eternal Gardens president and chief operating officer Numeriano B. Rodrin. He added that “with the cooperation of everyone, our plans were carried out smoothly, and now we are working to get back to normal very soon.”

Going beyond the vision

Today, Eternal Gardens has already attained the founder’s vision to maintain leadership in developing and maintaining the best memorial parks in key provinces, through its 11 beautiful and well-maintained parks. Likewise, the company is successfully fulfilling Ambassador Cabangon Chua’s mission of reshaping the outlook of Filipinos towards pre-need memorial planning through constant propagation of its many benefits.

However, the buck does not stop here. The company is determined to go beyond the vision in the quest to provide the best and complete memorial care for every Filipino family. It vows to expand even more and open more parks to reach more Filipinos, and to constantly improve the quality of its service by giving clients nothing but the best.