Stage Riggers: Master Stage Maker to International Performers

Beyonce, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Bocelli, Buble, Groban, Boyz II Men, Incubus, Linkin Park and Michael Jackson are just a few of the world-famous music celebrities to have graced the stage in the biggest events and concerts in the Philippines. Behind the glitz and glamour of these successes was none other than Emmanuel “Manny” Inumerable, who set the stage for the country’s top events to emphasize the artists’ musical prowess.

Just as the artists are passionate with music, so is Manny with the structures that he builds to showcase the creativity and talent of his clients. Despite owning the pioneer stage rigging company in the country and having over 20 years of being in the business, Manny still makes sure to inspect each project structure that is built from the lowest level to the top as if he was still just learning. On his spare time, Manny amuses himself and allows the child in him to come out with glee as this unassuming man shares his passion for tinkering with and restoring vintage cameras with anyone who cares to drop in for a good talk.

Manny had always been very creative even when he was a child. That trait never faltered and that is what took his now established company called Stage Riggers Inc. (formerly EBI Engineering and Construction) to the top of the country’s stage rigging industry which Manny built. Like the molding and shaping of each metal part in his stage setups, Manny’s persona and business had to pass through difficult times.

After he graduated from UST College of Engineering in 1975 and became a civil engineer the year after, he worked in various construction companies and design firms, tragedy struck. Manny lost his job in 1986 because our economy then was almost at a standstill and there were hardly any big construction going on. Manny had a family and could not afford sitting around and doing nothing. He knew that resilience was his only option. And that was what Manny showed.

“I rented a burnt down old building in Mandaluyong and built a small garage where I started a construction group to do small construction work. My office table was plywood on top of scaffolding. My office had no walls and every time it rained hard, the creek beside our lot would overflow and water would creep into my garage,” Manny recounts. “My beginning was very difficult. I had no money to start with. My parents were not rich and nobody would lend me money simply because I had no property or collaterals to mortgage. I would save every peso I could from the small projects that I get and buy equipment for future use,” Manny candidly confesses.

Then fate started setting the stage for the success of the man who worked hard and rolled with the tides.

“I got into the business of building stages through my high school classmate Luigi Tabuena who happened to be the half brother of Martin Nievera. Luigi would produce the shows of Martin and I would build their stage,” narrates Manny.

Just when everything seemed bright for his future, fate tried testing Manny once again. This time, it came with tanks and a coup. But once a commitment to a project is done, Manny delivers no matter what.

“One of my most unforgettable experiences was February 22, 1986 when I got a call from Malacanang. They wanted me to build a stage for the Marcos inauguration. By midday, we mobilized to build a stage in front of the Maharlika Hall. Around 5pm, I overheard that Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile had turned around and were holding up in Camp Aguinaldo. At around 9pm, tanks rolled into Malacanang and poked their canons in front of our stage. I got worried and told my guys to finish our stage fast and move out. Past midnight, I crawled out of Malacanang in my VW beetle like a rat amidst the amassing people and the barbwire barricades. When Cory became president, I tried to get back the stage platforms and scaffolds I left behind but I could not,” says Manny. Not being able to do so put a big dent on Manny’s business since he had very limited resources.

Three months later, Manny’s prayers were answered. “I got a call from the group of Jim Paredes of the Apo Hiking Society and asked me to build a stage for President Cory. I said I could not because all of my equipment was being held in Malacanang. They told me to see Colonel Gazmin of the PSG and when I saw him he gave me back all my equipments. I was so grateful because it gave me a new start in my stage business which I thought was lost. After that, we did the stage for the First Edsa Revolution Anniversary. Johnny Manahan called the shots during that big event and he told us to build a huge stage at the corner of Edsa and Ortigas where the Robinsons Galleria is now located,” Manny narrates vividly, not forgetting anyone who had helped him through the ordeal as if it had all just happened the day before.

Truly, Manny and Stage Riggers Inc. have come a long way from where they started. Far from the scarcity of its past, Manny’s company is now dubbed as the first professional stage rigging company in Manila. It has become the country’s entertainment industry’s solution to high-standard staging needs for both local and international artists’ performances and top events. Manny’s creative mind and innovative technology has led him to revolutionize the stage rigging in the Philippines. He not only sets up stage riggings now but also rents out equipments such as stage panels and platforms, scaffolding and lighting towers, steel and aluminum trusses, chain hoist motors, revolving platforms, elevating platforms, speaker platforms, flying systems, self-climbing roof systems, vanishing curtains, grass matting, crash barricades, railing barricades, carpets, photo boards, black cloth drappings, temporary roofing structures, bleacher risers, camera platforms and dance floors. And his clientele has grown from small construction projects to the biggest concerts, theater productions, special events, product launches and even advertising projects featuring almost all the leading brands, companies and productions in the country today. He is now also offering the new stage rig aluminum decking and has developed the wide-roof systems that you see in top concerts such as that of Christina Aguilera. Manny’s company now also manages its own fabrications and has become the client’s well-loved member of the Advertising Suppliers Association of the Philippines and the Technical Guild for Entertainment having been a major rigging supplier for the Ad Congress this past decade. He says what sets them apart from the rest are the high standard and innovative special effects and stage automation that they offer. Yet Manny still has not stopped dreaming. He still dreams of making bigger and grander projects like the top ones in Las Vegas.

As for the secrets to success in this type of business, Manny says they are, “Determination. Passion. And really enjoying what you do,” because after all these are what really keeps one going despite the difficult challenges.

“I like challenges. It gives the chance to be flexible to change,” and by “change” Manny means last minute changes indeed if the situation calls for it regardless of taking apart a whole stage and building it right back up for new provisions again in time for the show.

For some more words of wisdom from a man who has been to hell and back in business, Manny says, “safety is our utmost concern so we really train our people,” and “try to keep one step ahead of what your clients will be needing. Bring up ideas on how they can make their events better.” Clients appreciate this trait in Manny because he has passion for what he does and it extends to the projects of his clients. Though at the end of the show, he feels a little sadness at taking down the setups that he worked at a long time for, Manny becomes extremely happy knowing that his clients’ shows had been very successful and he has helped building it.

Observing Manny as he talks and moves about, attests that for this man it’s not about the money that his business rakes in. But more importantly, it is about the passion of taking apart the problematic aspects and rebuilding a better structure for his family and the industry–much like what he does with his most prized collections of vintage cameras and gigantic event structures.

Manny also wants to help strengthen not only his company but the stage rigging industry in the country as a whole. He says he is willing to help standardize the quality, pricing, and the professionalism of those like him in the business for the benefit of not only them but of the country as a whole.

“I am really happy that eventphilippines.com is aiming to also uplift the standards in the events and promotions industry. My wish for you, for us, is to be successful in this endeavor.”

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