ARC’s ‘Ate Dorry’ bids Saipan goodbye

Aqua Resort Club sales and marketing manager Dorina Gabutero will bid the CNMI goodbye tomorrow after making the islands her second home for nearly a decade.

Gabutero, or “Dorry” to her friends, will be leaving Saipan and her top-level position at the Achugao property to be closer to her family as she will be assuming the responsibilities of hotel manager at the high-end Southwoods Golf & Country Club, located just outside of Metro Manila.

She admits that the Southwoods’ offer was too tempting to turn down, considering that the resort hotel is a mere 30-minute drive from her home town of San Pedro, Laguna, which would allow her to spend plenty of time with her family after so many years of working abroad.

“It is a win-win situation for me. I get to work and at the same time be with my family. I will be able to dedicate my free time to my kids before they even start thinking of having families of their own,” she said.

Gabutero is already planning all sorts of island-hopping escapades for her family on weekends and holidays. She will also be giving her daughter a hand in starting her own interior design company.

As for expectations about her new job, Gabutero said she is already looking forward to the challenges of improving the hotel side of what essentially is a country club.

“Officially, I will start on May 1, but it’s a holiday in the Philippines, so I will actually report on May 2. Having been chosen from many candidates, there is anxiety and eagerness to face the challenges that await me at my new job. But with the many years of hotel work experience—and I have picked up a lot of good advice from the many general managers I’ve worked with—I feel confident that I am now ready to move forward and face a new challenge in my career,” she said.

Still, Gabutero admits her leaving Saipan will be bittersweet. On one end, she is happy she will finally be with her family, but at the same time, she feels a tinge of sadness because she will be leaving a place she has grown to love and special friends she has nurtured along the way.

“I would miss the simple life and peaceful environment on Saipan. The waves splashing by the coral reef that I love to watch—we have to drive four hours in the Philippines before we can see the ocean. But most importantly, I will miss the many sincere and loving friends that I’ve gained during my almost 10 years of living on Saipan,” she said.

Gabutero continued, “Saipan is my second home. Inside and outside my work, I have circles of friends that treat me like family whether they’re Chamorros, Filipinos, or other nationalities. I’m at home with them because I feel their love and respect. I will surely miss people here calling me ‘ate,’ tita’ or ‘Ms. Dorry.’”

She also extended her heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the owners, management, staff, as well as loyal patrons of Aqua Resort for making her stint at the hotel a truly memorable and fruitful one.

Gabutero first came to Saipan in 1989 when she was hired by Aqua Resort to be part of the hotel’s opening management team. Five years later, she packed her bags home to work for Hyatt Regency Manila. In 2001, Aqua Resort came calling again and Gabutero was off to her second tour of duty in the Northern Marianas.

Asked if there would be a third tour of duty on Saipan for her in future, Gabutero only smiled and said that for now her main focus is on her new job and, for a change, finally spending time with her family.

She jested, though, that she wouldn’t mind coming back for visits, provided that all the arrangements will be done for her.

“I don’t know. When I left in 1994, I returned twice due to wedding invitations using one-pass tickets. If there’s something like that again, then I wouldn’t mind coming back,” she said.