Sea bass regal and a Fellowship

A month ago, PDG Butch Francisco invited his Lead Team ("Lead the Way" club Presidents, RY 2006-07) for a dinner-fellowship, at a nice restaurant at Fort Bonifacio. That was our "belated" Christmas party gathering.


There were plenty of us Lead Presidents from our District who came, maybe about 35 to 40. And as usual, when old friends meet after sometime, the old camaraderie is immediately rekindled -- personal and professional updates left and right, laughter and jokes, picture-taking left and right.

From left: Amore Isip, Charlie Fuentes, Joey Lina, Luz Reyes, me.
Me, "Barbie the Pooh" Revadeniera, Charlie Fuentes, Efren. Among our classmates who showed up was good-looking Paolo Martelino. Paolo did not finish his term due to some internal club issues, so he was not able to attend many District activities during our term, did not attend other meetings and parties after our term. So a number of our classmates did not recognize him, they were whispering and asking, "Classmate, sino sya? ka-batch din ba natin?"

(Lorenz Tato, Amore Isip, Luz Reyes) My answer to some classmates was long-winded. I'd reply, "Yes, he was our classmate. He did not finish his term because he became a model for famous clothing brands. He's a jerk, he stole a number of modelling contracts that were offered to me, because everytime the shooting for the ads were scheduled, I'd get sick and Paolo would immediately jump in and steal the show from me!" hehehe, joke!

The food during our fellowship was great, there were 2 choices for the main course, but the most-requested was the sea bass. Really yummmmmyyyy! I kidded that "seabass regal" was really nice :-)

Gov. Butch and wife Maling remained as cool and friendly as before. They also brought various gifts to us. We also learned that night that Gov. is planning a career shift within 2 years. Everyone in the room expressed support for him, some already made unsolicited pledges.

We hope that Gov. Butch will be successful in his planned career shift. As for our batch, the friendship made three years ago among us should be a lifetime bond. I am very happy and proud of my friendly and warm classmates.

Mabuhay ang Lead Team ng District 3830!

Gov. Butch's bday party

Past Gov. Butch Francisco's bday bash last Friday, May 23, was... a bash!
Lots of guests, food, drinks, entertainment and fun!

Aside from the Lead Team, also present in other tables were some of his clubmates (RCMC), Pagcor guys, other friends. It was held at 7 Pecados, Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

As expected, classmate Joey Lina sang, 2 numbers lang. Gov's other clubmate, actor Ricky Davao, also sang 2 or 3 songs. Hindi lang pala sya pang-rape scene sa pelikula, good singer din pala sya. And there were 2 entertainers, Sitti Navarro and her band, then another singer guy (basta hindi sya si Otso Navarro, hehehe) that looked a bit like classmate Inky Reyes. And as usual, trying hard singers who are careful not to displace those professional singers because they might lose their job, naki-jamming kami -- ako at si tokayo Noy Indonto.

Gov. gave a short but sincere speech, thanking everyone who came, reminding them to continue the rotary ideals of "service above self".

The portion on Q&A was fun. First it was classmate Bing Villania who introduced that part of the night's program, then classmate Tetchie dela Cruz and I co-hosted the actual Q&A. Such questions can be so brutal, they can cannibalize a weakling and send tons of tears down their eyes :-)

Among the questions were: Can you please re-enact how you proposed to Maling? Maling was more Machiavellian, she grabbed the phone and answered, "correction please! I'm the one who proposed to him!" Lusot si Gov!

Just when people were slowly fading into the exit door, the 3rd band, composed of 50s and perhaps, a few 60s year old guys, came and hit lots of 60s and 70s music, like those by the Rolling Stones. So what do you expect the Lead Team who have been hyped and pumped up by several glasses of wines or other high-octane drinks? Danced on the floor and rock-n-roll the night away!

Lead Team’s Christmas '07 fellowships

Last December 26, the LT (Lead Team ha, not Tucio Tan or Lorna Tolentino, hehe) of our district held its 2^nd fellowships as IPPs, IPDG, and past district officers. It was held at the Music bar, Hyatt Casino in Malate, and hosted by Gov. Butch and wife Maling. Our first fellowship as IPPs (limited only to LPs) was held last September at San Lazaro leisure park in Carmona, Cavite.

Food and drinks. Just like the 2 Lead Team’s fellowships during our term, the “Governor’s Big Smoke” 1 and 2, yummy foodie and coldie drinkie were like Sun cellular’s unlimited call and text -- eat till you drop and drink till you get up, hehehe. Most were gulping reddie winey, or sanmig lights, but for me, I stick to the old tradition, sanmig heavy de pilsen...

RTV.PH. Before the real fun began, Gov. Butch, holding spouse Maling as if the Vikings from the Nordic mountains of Sweden are out to take her away, explained that apart from fellowships and friendship, the night was also to update us about RTV.PH foundation, obviously his second big project (the first being the lead Governor of our district). The foundation is now registered with SEC with paid up capital of P1M+, and will produce a series of tv shows about Rotary and other service-oriented initiatives by other groups, that will be aired on selected cable channels. He called on 2 classmates, Tyrone Payron, este Paynor, hehehe, and Lorenz Tato, the latter as the foundation’s treasurer.

Tyrone is working as the indefatigable coordinator for the foundation, and he mentioned that at least 2 cable channels, Destiny cable for selected cities in the country, and a regional cable that will show it in some East Asian economies like HK and Singapore, have expressed interest to air the foundation’s tv programs. So Gov. Butch, Tyrone and other guys in the team are soliciting content and program from us. Mind you, the program is a bit ambitious – one hour a day for 7 days a week! That’s 7 different shows and contents a week!

If any of you are interested to produce a one-hour program, say your pet project during your term, just email or text Tyrone. The easiest and cheapest way to do it perhaps, is to start with whatever video and photo materials that the foundation already has in its library, or any video or photo materials that you already possess. I suggested to Tyrone that perhaps the foundation should get a good director/s to help aspiring program host/s look more handsome or prettier, hehehe. Me, I’m thinking of producing one, but I will have to steal the thick album of pictures and digital copies of projects done by classmate Edwin Afzelius in his club, then I can pose as a club ex-President who did many of those projects. Har har har.

Games. The fellowship organizer, classmate Rose Acoba, prepared 5 or 6 games, with prizes for each set of winners for each game. The first and one of the funniest, was the “coin relay”. Ten people comprise a team, and they’ll pass the coins one by one (from the big P10 to the smallest P0.05 coins) to each other using their 2 forefingers only. Then there was the “dress me as a king” for 3 teams, and I don’t remember the other games. But they were all funny.

Singing and dancing. In-between the games, classmate Noy Indonto was the lead singer and rallied everyone else to either sing or dance on lively music from a ktv on the stage. The group singing was loud and funny. I remember I have danced with beauteous classmates Barbie Rivadeneira, Toni Francisco, Luz Reyes, others.

Raffles. The raffle items were fantastic. I won a box of apples, but I wanted that big box of various grocery items including a bottle of wine… tsk tsk tsk. Lucky for me, one of the winners of about 6 big boxes of grocery items was Lita Wells, and she said she wanted a box of apples because she already has several boxes of similar goods in her house. I heard her “misfortune” so I offered that we swap our gifts, she gladly accepted, and both of us were happy. See the beauty of free trade? Hehehe.

There were 3 mini-slot machines to be won too, and I happened to be the trying-hard MC for the raffles, and I announced that the machine will have a magic spell of handsomeness or beautifulness to whoever will be the winners. The 3 lucky guys I think were classmates Efren Rodriguez, Ces Singzon, and Archie Jimenez. Before the machines were given to them, I asked them to explain why they are handsome (hek hek hek) and I think they have a uniform answer, they’re handsome because their mothers said so! There were also give-away items like Pagcor umbrella and a calendar of PGMA.

Speeches. Aha, this one’s a clincher. Upon the suggestion of one classmate, I don’t remember who, and as an over-staying beer pumped-up MC, I asked our classmates to speak very briefly, 1 minute maximum, how’s life being an IPP. The first one I called was no other than the district’s “most outstanding President”, classmate Edwin. He murmured that he didn’t want to speak but because he’s afraid that I might post the event in our ygroups, he better speak up, hahaha. It wasn’t supposed to be “mandatory” as I have earlier suggested, but when classmates casually stood up to speak, then I urged everyone to speak. Si Efren ibang klase – if given the chance daw, he’d like to become a club President again so he can continue serving more effectively to our less fortunate countrymen.

Exchange gift. As evening turned to night, and as midnight was beckoning, the exchange gift was hurriedly done. The suggested cost was at least P300 for a gift. I brought a bottle of red wine, and got a bottle of red wine in return. Ang tawag siguro ditto ay “exchange wine”, hehe.

The cast. Those who came that I can remember were: classmates Lilibeth, Bing, Tess, Techie, Yolly, Letty, Fely, Toni, Barbie, Ana, Grace, Luz, Rose, Amore, Boboy, Edwin, Yasin, Noe, Jun, Lorenz, Ces, Tyrone, Efren, Archie, Teofy, Palmy, Charlie, Noysky.

Assistant Governors/District officers Edgar Castillo, Andy Fernandez, Nards Tanlu, Patti King, Lita Wells, Cora Tan, Baby Bunye, Paul Chang, Dino Francisco, a few others.

Special thanks really goes to the fellowships organizer, Rose Acoba! Madaming salamat classmate, for all those text messages of invites, updates and reminders. Malaki kinita ng Globe sayo sa mga texts na yon!

The Blackout. Ever-reliable classmate Boboy Intal gave me a ride to the venue, then seeing that I got a big box of prize plus other gifts, he offered to bring me home again. After unloading my things at home, there was a big black-out. Did Meralco’s power lines just snapped for no reason at all? Or did sanmig heavy just snapped my consciousness for no reason at all? When I woke up the following day, I was sprawling on the sala wondering what happened after I got out of Boboy’s car….

Rotarians in government

When you hear the word "government" , what's the first thing -- or word/s, or adjective/s -- that comes to your mind?

Public service? corruption? election? regulation? ...

For me, it's bureaucracy, then taxes.
Thus, I often cringe at the thought of long lines and lost hours, the taxes and fees to pay, when I go to certain government agencies -- DFA to renew my passport, LTO to renew my driver's license or renew my vehicle's registration, SSS to get a new ID or follow up my wife's maternity benefit, COMELEC for a change or transfer of precinct, etc.

So that sometimes, some of us wish that government is as small as a crumpled napkin so that we can flush it down the toilet. But government made sure that it is big enough, rather very big and very expansive enough, that citizens can't help but deal with it, no matter how bureaucratic it may be.

When my sister could not contact his driver for 4 hours after repeated calls (this happened a few months ago), and the driver did not call or text her, nor did he call her house or the office, her first suspicion was that her car was stolen, and the carnappers just dumped the driver somewhere. When I also believed that it was carnapping, the first person that I called up for help was classmate Lito Abogado, a former police official, now in the private sector. It turned out that the driver's cellphone was defective that day, he couldn't receive texts or calls, and he just waited outside the hotel where he was supposed to pick-up my brother in law, for more than 4 hours! So when we found the driver and the car, the first person that I called up was classmate Lito, saying that it was "false alarm".

When my club was looking for a list of public elementary schools in Taguig and their addresses, among the first persons that our club secretary contacted was classmate Grace Pagkatipunan, who works at the Office of the Mayor, Taguig City.

Before I went to Paranaque City Hall this morning to work on a request by my father in law in Iloilo, the first person I called up was classmate Ric Santiago of Paranaque East, to ask if they have any club member/s who work at the city hall. Ric said they have club members who are city councilors, but none as official or staff. He suggested one rotarian, a clubmate of classmate Lilibeth dela Cruz, who is the head of the city government's HR management office. He forgot her name, so I grabbed our district directory, and went to Pque city hall. Not that I want some "influential person" to help me immediately, as much as possible I want to go through the regular process. Only if I think that I get bad service that I would approach some friends or fellow Rotarians for possible help.

The staff at the city assessor's office was polite enough to entertain me. So I have nothing else to do except go back to Makati office. I said why not visit PP Sally Tongson, the chief of Pque city hall's HRM office. Her office is just on the 2nd floor and I was on the ground floor. Sally did not offer me Krispy cream dough nut or starbucks coffee or Italianni's paste, but a very warm smile when she welcomed me in her office. I had a brief chat with her because I knew that she has plenty of official functions to do, but I learned some important info. For instance, would you believe that Pque city hall alone has more than 5,000 employees? Excluded here are policemen, barangay officials and their respective barangay staff, etc.

Finally, our IPDG Butch, is also a government official, being the President of the government's casino and gaming corporation. His boss, the President of the Republic (and the first gentleman?) is mired in endless political and corruption scandals, so he has to keep his head above political and partisan battles, and keep his feet on the ground through his club and our district's various services to humanity.

Rotarians working in government (as regular staff or elected official) seem to be straddling on 2 different worlds. Rotary and other organizations rely on pure volunteerism, from regular dues and payment to community projects dictated by special needs. Whereas governments rely on coercion, from forced collections (aka taxes and fees) to projects that are often dictated by patronage and political horse-trading.

Nonetheless, I am lucky, or we are lucky, to have some friends, some fellow Rotarians, who stay in government, who are able to retain their professionalism and idealism, in an institution whose DNA is already pre-codified with waste and inefficiency. It is important that Rotary clubs where they belong should help them sustain their sanity and professionalism.

Mabuhay kayo mga kapatid!

Launching of "(a)Musings in the life of a Rotarian"

Last night was one of those nights where you treasure being a member or a past president of a Rotary Club. The event was the formal launching of the book, "(a)Musings in the the Life of a Rotarian", at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street, Fort Global City. Oh, there were lots of food, lots of drinks including my 2nd favorite low-octane drink, red wine (my 1st fav is beer, hehe), lots of music, lots of people, and of course, lots of book! Siyempre, bookstore ba naman ang venue :-)

The book has 4 chapters -- "Back to basics: a fresh look into the four-way test", "Service about self: Leading the Rotary Way", "Driving the Wheel: Musings in the Life of a Rotarian", and "Club Bites: Amusing Stories in the Life of a Rotarian".

IPDG Butch Francisco wrote the Foreword, chapters 1 and 2, gave brief intro about chapters 3 and 4, and the Afterword. That's why he's the chief author of the book. There are 34 contributors from our District, about half of them were Lead Presidents, whose musings and amusings were covered in chapters 3 and 4.

So, where's the fun? Aha, the fun came in the autographs and signing by each contributor who were there last night. For instance, classmate Boboy Intal (PNB banker) was not a contributor, but he bought a copy, and he approached each contributor to sign, if not write a dedication to him. For instance, I wrote to him (my contribution appeared on page 168, and I wrote in that page), "Boboy, PNB tayo! Poging Nonoy at Boboy! Olrayt!" hehehehe.

In classmate Doris Yu's copy, I wrote her something like this, "Doris, Yu are the face of fun and service in our batch...", and in return, she wrote in my copy, "Nonoy, you hold 'the funniest guy' in RY 06-07. Nice to be with you classmate". Doris, did you mean "handsomest" , not "funniest"? har har har.

In classmate Edwin Afzelius' copy, I wrote him something like this, "Edwin, one of the classmates I highly respect, fun to be with you." And in return, he wrote in my copy, "Noy, the most eloquent Lead Pres. It was great giving together. Thanks." Edwin, maybe you mean the most "flamboyent"? hahaha!

In classmate Letty Rellera's copy, I wrote her something like this, "Letty, Let the fun begin, and Let's have more fun!" (Note, I keep saying "wrote something like this..." because I don't remember exactly the dedication I wrote). Letty in turn wrote in my copy, "Nonoy, I will never forget your good humor." Letty, baka naman you mean my "good looks", not "good humor", hahaha, asa pa.

One female classmate is more brutal in expressing her enjoyment. Barbie Rivadenira wrote, "To my one and only boyfriend, hope you will cherish the memories. Thanks." Before she wrote that, I wrote in her copy, "Barbie the Pooh, you rivadeih ladieh, stay prettieh, sweet smilieh, hehehe". If I had know that she'd call me her boyfriend, I would have written, "Barbie my girlie", hek hek hek!

Won't enumerate here all fond comments, but really-really thanks for the heartful dedications from other classmates and friends -- Inky Reyes, Noy Indonto, Lilibeth dela Cruz, Patti King, Yolly Tan, Ric Santiago, Gov. Jimmy, my-sis ex-DS-Marycris oh-pleas, and many more!

Si Gov. Butch, simple lang ang dedication, sabi nya, "Dear Nonoy, thank you for the support in our book writing project. Couldn't have done it better!" Well, in the Acknowledgment at the back of the book, Gov. Butch mentioned me, Inky, Boboy and tokayo Noy. Oyy Gov, di ko nasulatan ang copy mo! Anyway, ganito ang isusulat ko dapat: "Gov Butch, you butchered the idea that Rotarians can't write their musings and amusings in a literary way..." ahh, saka ko na isulat ang mas mahabang dedication, hehe.

The host last night was Mr. Johnny Litton, he's a funny guy. RIPE DK Lee came past 7pm. Would you believe guys, that in his district in Korea, he was responsible for chartering 32 clubs with 1,000+ new members in one RY! That's how fantastic in Rotary marketing our next RI President is.

Gov. Butch said that this will be "volume 1". Meaning, there will be volume 2, and 3, or more! So for other classmates and fellow Rotarians who submitted articles but for some reason/s, their papers were not printed in this volume, your chance to shine in the succeeding volume/s will not be far.

The book is now available in Fully Booked, Cabman, the contributors, and in RTV.PH.

Lead Presidents' Fellowship at SLLP

At first, it was a suggestion by classmate Joey Lina to me last month that we Lead Presidents (LPs) should have a fellowship sometime in September, since we never had one since our term ended in June 30 this year. Then I posted in our ygroups Joey’s suggestion, then classmate Rose Acoba began a survey by text, of preferred date and place of LPs for the get-together. Then a place and date was chosen, another survey by Rose of who are coming for the headcount. And voila! A number of LPs, some with their spouses and guests, joined Gov. Butch Francisco and wife Maling, last Saturday, September 15, at the PAGCOR-San Lazaro Leisure Park (SLLP) in Carmona, Cavite. Buffet lunch was free, courtesy of SLLP.

And what a fellowship it was – lots of group pictures (as posted by classmate beauteous-vivacious Lilibeth de la Cruz), lots of kwentuhan, lots of laughter, lots of food, and more specifically, lots of horses and horce racing to see! Aside from free entertainment by 2 singers on stage, we also got a crash course for free, how betting in a horse racing game is made, what the numbers and statistics in those tv monitors mean.

But a fellowship is about us, our classmates, our Gov, and our clubs, right? Since 2 or 3 months ago that I have seen many of our classmates, some changes did happen to some of them. Much like climate change. In particular, I have thought that Hamas and the Palestinian militants have already won and Israel’s days are numbered in that part of the world. Why, oh why, you ask? Because the unthinkable has happened! Ces Singzon showed up with a rather clean face, meaning very little moustache! When he arrived, some of us asked him from what club he’s from because we hardly recognized him! Hehehehe.

Then a lady from a southern club came, with complexion much whiter than her previous white… Patty Naoe looked so bright to me, her face and skin and teeth (hehehe). I asked her, is it because as an IPP, she now has to go out less often on community projects and hence, have little exposure to direct sunlight? She shook her head in disagreement. She said that she has changed her bath soap, from bleaching soap to Tide and Mr. Clean! Subukan ko kaya ito, para pumuti din ako na parang bagong laba ang aking balat????

Yolly Tan came with a young pretty lady that looks like a model for shampoo or toothpaste. Turned out it was her youngest daughter! Yasin Badr came with his wife and a luscious-shapely-pretty young mestiza. I thought that this young lady is Yasin’s daughter, I was wrong. She’s the youth exchange lady from Brazil! Doris Yu came with her usual doorish-smileys face.

Other classmates who came were bubbly Techie de la Cruz, medically-legally-smiley Tess Sanchez, sheepish-smiley Letty Rellera, conspiratorial-smiley Palmy Layug, secret service-smiley Teofy Sanglay, playboy-loverboy smiley Raffy Tuvera, RTV-smiley Tyrone Paynor, balut-Pateros smiley Jun Alimpuyo, mucho-dinero-banker smiley Boboy Intal, tax-me-not smiley Lorenz Tato.

You notice I wore red t-shirt in the picture, right? Because my dynamic and friendly co-Red teammates were there. Likeveteran-traveler smiley Luz Reyes, cookie-culinary smiley Julie Rabie, and ballader-ktv smiley Noy Indonto. Other classmates are in the trivia, below.

A fellowship can never be complete without the presence and inspirational talk by our Governor. So Gov. Butch expressed his gladness that he saw once again the cheerful, spirited and good-looking LPs during his term, the never-ending challenge of service to others for the Rotarians, update about the Rotary TV (RTV) and… ta-dah, the book, our rotary book, “(A)Musings in the life of a Rotarian”, the only initiative ever done in Philippine Rotary, and possibly in the world – will be officially launched next month! And no less than the RIPE will be there to witness the event, yehey! So, Kudos to those who contributed to that first volume.

I say “first volume” because Gov. Butch’s plan is to come up with more books from more contributors from our District, and possibly from other District too. So for those who were shy to contribute their short story, despair not because you will have another chance to write your story too. Remember, this book is for circulation around the country, around the world!

Just when Gov. Butch was saying these things, spouse Maling was reminding her that the 1st race for that afternoon at 2pm, is about to start in a minute or two! So he gamely obliged and wrapped up his speech, in time before the horses were lining up in the starting grid. Maling cheerfully applauded, while DS Marycris Oh-pleas my-sis was looking and smiling too. Raffy and I bet a modest amount on the same number, 3-1 (or 1-3). And it was a great guess – our horses were 1st and 2nd, to the last! Hu-hu-hu-hu.

After the race, and after those who won among us have collected their winnings, we were toured to some housing projects by Canyon Ranche. Nice houses, nice interiors, nice view from a hill. Then we passed by the stables of horses, Eeehhh-eehhhhh-eehhhhhh!

The tour ended at 3pm, many of us bid goodbye, for now. As we will be seeing each other again on Oct. 16 for the book launch at Fort Bonifacio, our club’s turf, hehehe.

O sige, heto na ang…..Trivia!
(these classmates were also at our fellowship).

1) Who’s the lady who would sometimes look up in the sky and ask herself if the one being called is “Ako ba? Di kaya sila?” (Clue: her name is a famous flower).

2) Who’s the lady who, before she decides on something, thinks not only once, not twice, but more? (Clue: her family name is about thinking, pondering)

3) Who’s the guy who, when he was younger, would write his family name as “Magpor”? (Clue: his name’s first letter is as famous as Victory)

Answers to trivia:

1) Rose Acoba (hindi “sila ba” hehehe)
2) Amore Isip (hindi lang nag-dalawang isip, more thinking pa, hahaha)
3) Vince Magtoto (to + to = por, kaya “Magpor”. Hehehe, joke lang Vince)

Meanwhile, to other classmates who missed that event, kindly follow after me:

“I hereby resolve, as it is hereby resolved,
that I __________ (state your name),
will definitely join the next LPs fellowships.
This I say without any mental reservation,
So help me God.”

Olrayt!

A club handover

Upon the invitation of classmate Rose Acoba, I attended RC Makati Legazpi's club hand-over and induction yesterday at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. IPDG Butch and wife Maling were there. Of course Gov. Ato Magadia and wife Vicky; DS Ric dela Torre, other district officials. A number of PDGs were also there -- Govs. Tony Rufino, Sonny Coloma, Guiller Tumangan, Jun Cortez I think.

Among the classmates I saw -- Techie, Yolly, Ana, Barbie, Jo, Julie, Amore, Ces, Jay, Tyrone, and of course, Rose. Letty came late. Did I forget anyone?... I nearly did not recognize Ces, know why? He has a short hair and his beard was not thick!

Lots of Sharing Presidents there (incl. our club Pres. Owe), 3 jampacked tables. They seem to be a tight and happy group. Parang tayo din no'ng bago pa term natin, di ba.

So many other guests, like the koreans (almost 2 tables sila), their sister club from namsan, korea; sister clubs from Marilao, Bulacan and LB Makiling.

RCML Pres. Jun Puno's brother is singer Rico Puno. The latter sang a medley of some of his famous hit songs in the 70s & 80s. The voice and delivery is still there. Though his grin sense of humor is more vulgar this time, kaya enjoy ako, hahaha. For instance, he kidded Pres. Jun's clubmate, Cory Quirino, na "may suso na si cory oh", tawanan ang crowd.

On my way out of the hotel, I chatted with classmate Ces and district officers Fed Sapitan and Sue Sta. Maria. They waited for their cars. I told them I was waiting for my helicopter. Since my helicopter did not come, nag-jeep na lang ako sa buendia.

It's good to be invited in some club handovers and inductions even after our term as club Pres. Salamat uli, Rose.

Last club meeting this RY

Our last club meeting for this Rotary Year 2006-07 was a slam-dunkin entertaining one! No fireworks, yes, but there were lots of friends and guests, food and pulutan, beer and serbesa, red wines and giant wine glasses!

Last Monday, we had a joint meeting with RC Rizal South-west. Our classmate and my Red Teammate, Pres. Toni Francisco of RCRSW, was our guest speaker. She's our only classmate that I know who entered politics by running as congresswoman in the Malabon-Navotas district last May. Luck, or better, the politics of money and explicit cheating was not on her side though (she ran under the opposition) and she “lost”. So I asked her to speak about her experience and insights about Philippine politics.

Toni narrated why she suddenly decided to run for Congress, as late as last February only. Despite zero experience as a politician, and her family has never been directly into politics, circumstances compelled her to try her luck. Her main rivals are never from Malabon-Navotas, one is from Cebu , the other from Paranaque, suddenly went to Malabon-Navotas, mainly to protect their entrenched political interests there. The incumbent Congressman, a 3-termer and brother of her rival, was a cute Malacanang boy in Congress but was never cute in real performance in his geographical constitutency.

She mentioned that some community organizations that she's involved with, like the Kalipunan ng mga Kooperatiba sa Malabon (KAKOMA), asked her to run. The campaign period was a very exhausting activity. For instance, she'd go house-to-house campaign from 8 - 11:30am, 7 days a week, then caucuses and meetings in the afternoon until evening. But she noticed that about 2 weeks before the election day, she was the only congressional candidate doing the house-to-house campaign. The others have stopped doing this and reserved their energy and money in what’s more “crucial” – vote buying!

During election day, many of her supporters from poor neighborhood never got to vote for her. At P500 per voter in Malabon and up to P1,500 per voter in Navotas, some of her supporters received the money from her rivals, their fingers marked with indelible ink, meaning they cannot vote anymore and just stayed home. Those are several thousand votes for her that failed to materialize.

On “dagdag-bawas” (or vote shaving), Toni showed us pictures of 2 election returns (ERs) from 2 precincts. In one ER, the tally showed she got 55 votes; but just about 8 inches to the right of the same wide paper, her vote, the one signed by the election inspectors (the teachers), was only 5, her 50 votes went to the proclaimed “winner”. In another ER, her 32 votes in the tally became 12, her 20 votes went to another moneyed rival who also lost. So, what’s one lesson here? If you want to win in an election, spend on winning the hearts of voters, but spend MORE on bribing election officials!

After Toni’s talk, an open forum followed. One question was: if you want to change things in society, would it be better to bribe and cheat your way to victory, then change things using your political power; or run fair and clean, hope to win, then change things with little or no political and moral baggage? Toni replied that if she’ll ever run again, she’ll still choose the latter. Only that she’ll run wiser and experienced to guard her weak points. Now, that’s a true Rotarian, passing all the 4-way test! I also asked her if she has any regrets going through those hassles and still lost, she said No. For her it was a very educating and eye-opening experience, a very expensive one though.

After the adjournment around 9pm, that's where a riotous fellowships among members of the 2 clubs began. People exchanged more discussions, or exchanged calling cards and talked about business, or simply exchanged jokes. Toni brought red wines, my clubmates paid for the corkage, the waiters brought giant wine glasses, and we gulped the wines!

Our cluster AG, Edgar Castillo was laughing loudly; our respective PEs (and President by Sunday), Owe Lozada and Jorge Carmona, were discussing plans for more joint meetings during their term.

With that, my term, our term, is ending. Bonding with some classmates is always a very rewarding activity. I only regret that an evening where I also asked classmate Ces Singson to be our guest speaker a few months ago, did not materialize. I bragged to my clubmates that Ces is the most "gallant" president of our District this RY. It's just that some things in our club did not work right that evening.

Olrayt!