We have just kicked off a new round of our “Stop TB Now,” the program by which the Club seeks to save young children from the debilitating effects of juvenile tuberculosis, a.k.a. primary complex. This is the third round of treatments funded by a USD85,000 global grant released by The Rotary Foundation (TRF) to the Club during our 50th year, when Eddie Yap was president. Its implementation began in 2016-2017 during the term of PP David Ackerman and was carried through last year during the incumbency of IPP Jun Jun Dayrit. This new round, launched on September 29, covers 100 children in four barangays in Baliuag, Bulacan—Makinabang, Piel, Sta. Barbara, and Sto. Cristo in partnership with RC Makati Business District and RC Baliwag. Present at the launch were Pres. Liza Timbol, CP Mache Ackerman, and IPP Tess Castro of RC Business District and members of RC Metro Baliwag headed by Pres. Malou Sta. Juana. Ann Mache Ackerman delivered an inspirational message, while Dr. Carol Dellosa of RC Metro Baliwag gave an overview of tuberculosis—its causes, symptoms and treatment. RC Metro Baliwag provided snacks and lunch for the kids and parents, as well as prizes for the games. They also hosted lunch for the Rotarians. RC Makati, for its part, gave the children slippers left over from the Usbong Katutubo event held on September 20 in Porac, Pampanga. The Baliuag run brings to 767 the number of children so far treated under the global grant, which includes kids in San Andres, Manila; San Martin de Porres in Parañaque; Calapan, Oriental Mindoro; Baliuag, Bulacan; Alabang; and 30 other NCR communities in Luzon; and Dumaguete City; Tacloban City; Bacolod City in the Visayas. Opened to other clubs, it had three other clubs in D3830 signing up as participants: RC Alabang; RC Makati Business District; and RC Palanyag-Paranaque. The program prescribes a cocktail of medicines to be taken by patients every day without fail for six months, until March 2019, after which they shall be weighed to see if they have attained the desired weight for their age. The method of dispensing the meds is the directly observed therapy-short course (DOTS), which directs a person to personally dispense the medicines to the patient, to make sure the meds are taken every single day. Missing a day’s medication puts the patient at risk of developing multi-strain TB, which is drug resistant and requires a more stringent and costlier treatment.

It's like a blind person who can see for the first time. That is what it was like last Saturday, April 21, for the Aeta community of Alunan in Tarlac when lights were turned on in their houses, a gift from Project Liwanag, an NGO dedicated to lighting up communities in remote areas that had been in the dark, literally, all their lives. Project Liwanag (PL) is a grand undertaking by a group of young men and women who, having seen first hand how lack of illumination deepens further the dire situation poor communities find themselves in, have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in their lives as catalysts. One of the drivers of the group is Raphael Galvez, son of Ai-Ai, who a few weeks ago opened our eyes to their project and solicited the Club’s help. Impressed with the project, our members responded, signing up for pledges that totaled P151,000 after only a few minutes. It was, as it turned out, the start of the Club’s involvement in the project Last Saturday, Pres. Jun Jun & Cecille Dayrit and Jun Jun’s brother Ignacio, together with Ai-Ai & Rose Galvez with their children, and Drexx Laggui and his kids motored to the project site-- Sitio Alunan, Brgy. Sta. Juliana in Capas—to see for themselves how the project is impacting lives. Also making the trip were Mark Banal, Mark Cato, Prame Cato, Daisylyn Pacquiao, Johannalyn Pacquiao, Luigi Cato, Kristelle Johnson and Elena Gana, members of the RC Makati-sponsored Rotaract Club of Makati. Situated in the middle of a Abellen mountain range, Sitio Alunan has a population of about 1,100 persons, or 210 households. Some 106 households have been energized under the project. In addition, 621 households in eight communities now have solar lighting; 136 Aetas now have birth certificates; five gabi (rootcrop) plantations, two banana plantations and two people organizations have been put up. The project has also built a community school and a water project that provides clean water; there is also a nutrition program for the children. With the support of its sponsors, One Meralco Foundation, Meralco Corporate Partners, and RC Makati, Project Liwanag hopes to light up more communities and open the people to opportunities for a better life.

The Covid-19 pandemic, with all the limitations it has imposed on us, expanding the list of things we cannot do and places we cannot go to, could very well be an excuse for us to slow down or even to all together stop. Instead, it has spurred us to hasten our pace, to think up more ways to get things done, to stretch our mental and heart muscles as well as our resources to bring more help to more people. The pandemic has brought home the message that Rotary allows no rest (it’s a 24-hour job, as a past president once said and as Pres. Peter Manzano is now discovering) and that the more difficult the situation, the harder Rotarians must work. Indeed, that we must work more than ever the harder times get, particularly for the people who depend on us for help. This year, Pres. Peter decided to spread our service wings wider to reach more of our kababayan who have been most impacted by the losses brought on by the pandemic, losses that have made it more burdensome to put food on the table and maintain the little roof above their heads. His preferred manner of spreading RCMakati’s wings is by partnering with other clubs on projects under Rotary’s 7 Areas of Focus. On such project is Bike2WorkBuddies, a livelihood project designed to benefit low-income families in Paranaque-- heads of families, breadwinners, displaced workers who need a bicycle for their chosen self-employment, government employees like barangay tanods, security guards, janitors, street cleaners, construction workers, restaurant cooks and service crew, market vendors, and ambulant vendors, all known to walk to and from work. Launched last October 3rd at the BF Homes Pavilion in Paranaque City, Bike2WorkBuddies (B2WB) is a joint project of RC Makati with four Paranaque clubs—RC Paranaque Metro, represented at the launch by Pres. Wheng Reyes and PP Lilibeth dela Cruz, RC Paranaque Metro South, represented by Pres. Rose Velarde and IPP Brenda del Rosario, RC Paranaque Midtown, represented by Pres. Nicole Balinas, and RC Paranaque St. Andrew, represented by Pres. Dani Delfin. Also present with Pres. Peter Manzano were First Ann Pam and Rtn. Sonny Tambunting Jr. The project has several components—one, the donation of brand-new bicycles to 55 beneficiaries selected by the participant RCs; a rapid savings mobilization scheme under which the recipients will donate amounts to build a fund to be used for community projects; community service under which the recipients will be invited to volunteer in Rotary projects. Total budget for the project is P340,000, half of which was RC Makati’s contribution, with the rest shared by the four other participant clubs. The bikes, all brand new, are MARU Yamato 26” standard size carbon steel frame, 7 gear, with a V brake; equipped with standard safety helmets, lights, and bike locks. The beneficiaries are required to complete a learning session, online or face-to-face, on responsible cycling and sign an undertaking to abide by the Rotary Cyclist’s Creed. They shall also attend a one-day seminar to get them oriented on the Rapid Savings Mobilization Campaign. The funds generated by the savings groups shall be used as a “pay-forward” scheme for the continuation of the “Bike2Work Buddies” project; they may also opt to use part the funds to develop entrepreneurial activities for their respective groups.

Last Thursday, September 26, Pres. Peter Manzano and PVP Sherwin Torres of RC Makati Southwest launched a joint project – Basic Education and Literacy Project to provide material assistance to a school in Rodriguez, Rizal and a community of the Dumagat/ Remontado tribe. Marking the kick-off was the turnover of a check for P50,000 from Pres. Peter to PVP Sherwin in the presence of PP Hermie Patrimonio of Makati Southwest and First Ann Pam Manzano. Also turned over was the first batch of printed learning modules. The project calls for the provision of printed learning materials to the 250 students of the Puray National High School and tablets to a select group of poor but deserving students belonging to the Dumagat/Remontado tribe and the Puray High School. The tribal families are among the country’s poorest of the poor. Subsisting on a measly P200 a day from planting bananas and making charcoal and selling them in the neighboring town of Montalban, it is clear that their financial standing does not allow them to provide for their children’s school needs, particularly in these demanding pandemic times. Seeing how dire their situation is, the two clubs decided to pool their resources and band together to help ease their plight. Per agreement, Makati Southwest will provide 14 tablets to selected and deserving students and pay for the printing of modules for Math, Science, Filipino and English subjects.

It is not usual to find Makati Rotarians at the far side of town, such as at the University of the Philippines Oval in Diliman, Quezon City, but there they were, in the middle of the expansive field, at mid-afternoon on August 26—Pres. Peter & Pam Manzano, PP David & RCMBD CP Mache Ackerman and nine others. It must have been something special, a pretty important event. It was, actually. It was the launch of “Light It Forward,” a project that aims to light up the world where it is dark, where electricity has yet to change lives and lifestyles with the convenience it brings. CP Mache’s club, our daughter club RCMakati Business District, is spearheading the project. It is almost unbelievable that in this day and age, dominated by technological advances that boggle the mind, there are still places that live in darkness. Imagine 94 million people in the world have no access to electricity. And 16 million of them are on our own shores, our kababayan. The mission of “Light it Forward” is to provide lamps to communities to whom darkness is a fact of life. The primary beneficiary is the Usbong Katutubo Aeta Community in Porac, Pampanga, which was the recipient of a package of humanitarian services delivered by a group of Rotary Clubs from District 3830 during the term of PDG Al Montecillo in 2018-2019. With support from Rotary club and corporate sponsors, the project shall provide solar lamps to light up the homes of Aeta families as well as common areas such as streets. That solar lamps are being used is significant as it shows the proponents’ grasp of the need to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It is a take-off from “Liter of Light,” a brainchild of Illac Diaz, also of RCMBD. At the launch, solar lamps shall be used to form drone shots that carry messages of hope and images of the Rotary wheel and the Philippine flag as part of a public image campaign in support of front-liners in the fight against the pandemic and of those who have succumbed to COVID-19. The lamps would then be collected for distribution to unlit communities. RC Makati has signed on as a sponsor, with a donation of 80 lamps valued at P130K. Other levels of support for Rotary Clubs are P65K/40 lamps for host clubs, P8K/5 lamps for co-hosts, and P1,600/1 lamp for an advocate. The other clubs/organizations that have signed up are RC Makati Nielsen, partner; RC Makati Premier District and RC Bonifacio Global City, co-hosts; and Happy Heart Foundation, Triumphus, Kyani Caring Hands, Rotaract, Interact, Walk the Talk, UNESCO and UP, partner organizations. Also in attendance were CP Carol Mercado and IPP Kate Bellosillo of RCM Premier District, Illac Diaz, Mica Torres-Cruz, Lesley Geronimo, and Rio Ciocon of RCMBD, Daniela Torres-Cruz of RAC RCMBD, and Bert Madrigal and Kiko Diaz of the UP College of Human Kinetics.

Pres. Peter Manzano and PE Louie Aseoche motored to Sucat, Paranaque last Thursday, July 23, to pay a visit to Stepping Stone, the school for special-needs children that the Club has been supporting for decades and is committed to support in years ahead. The reason for the visit was to turn over to Stepping Stone President Rodrigo Segura a check for P500,000, the first tranche of the Club’s P1.2 million donation pledge to the school for the upcoming school year. Also present at the turnover were Executive Director Dayal Nandwani and Academic Head Joana Brion. The donation is earmarked for expenses in connection with requirements for the new online learning scheme that is to be put in place this coming school year, a system prompted by the stringent health protocols called for by the Covid-19 pandemic. After the check turnover, the guests were given a tour of the three-story school building and the facilities the school offers for a wide spectrum of special education services—occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, special and regular classes. The school also offers Tesda-accredited vocational courses for Barista, Cooking and Housekeeping, training that has led to some graduates being employed in hotels and restaurants. A Center for Excellence in Special Education, Stepping Stone “takes care of children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, using or modifying the general education curriculum to meet the child’s individual needs.” The school’s primary objective is to teach the students life skills and basic literacy that will enable them to develop into functioning members of society. The school grew from the Makati Research and Development Center (MRDC), a special education school owned and run by the Rotary Club of Makati in the 70s and 80s.

Following the timeline we had set for the three-part joint voter registration program we forged with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), we launched the voters’ registration assistance campaign last Saturday, October 10, at the San Ildefonso Parish in Brgy. Pio del Pilar, Makati. The PPCRV is the designated citizens’ arm of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the national elections of May 2022. Pres. Peter Manzano was there with First Ann Pam for the launch. Also in attendance were Dr. Arwin Serrano, PPCRV trustee; Pres. Jun Obong of RC Paranaque Central and Pres. Cath Ronquillo of RC Makati Olympia; Fr. Antonio Molavin, S.D.B, San Ildefonso Parish Priest; Atty. Anthonette S. Aceret, COMELEC representative; and Pres. Prame Cato, IPP Kash Gana, PP Rose Pama and Mark Cato of the Rotaract Club of Makati (RAC Makati). An orientation program started right after the 8:00 AM Mass celebrated by Fr. Molavin, with Pres. Peter breaking the ice with brief remarks welcoming everyone and giving a briefer on the project—its participants and objectives, followed by messages by Fr. Molavin, Dr. Serrano, and Atty Aceret. Pres. Peter, who had expected a turnout of 30 max on the project launch, was pleasantly surprised to see 127 would-be voters from Brgy. Pio del Pilar and neighboring Brgy. Bangkal lining up to register. The 8-11 AM schedule stretched to 3:00 PM because of the large number of applicants. The RAC Makati Rotaractors busied themselves attending to the registrants, handing out application forms (three copies per registrant) and health declaration forms and lending assistance with accomplishing them. The applicants were either first-time voters, transfer voters, or those requesting reactivation after failing to vote in the last election. After making sure the applicants carried valid IDs, the Rotaractors saw to it that the applicants were transported to the Comelec office for the required biometrics signature and photo. The Club had provided two vans to shuttle the registrants to and from the Comelec office. Mindful of the Covid 19 health and safety protocols put in place by the Comelec, rules were complied with to the letter: strict temperature checks that disallowed anyone with a reading of 37.5 from coming into the designated area; social distancing that limited the number of applicants; and hand sanitizing with alcohol.

The damage wrought by Typhoon Ulysses on Cagayan and Isabela was so severe that it warranted a second mission to the place. The RCM disaster relief team had been in Tuguegarao, Cagayan on Nov 17 to deliver much needed essentials to families who had lost much and recovered little from the floods that had inundated their city.Pres. Peter Manzano & FA Pam, together with CoS Ron Dotaro and John Palmiano, left Manila at 10 PM on November 25 for another tour of duty, and arrived at the Isabela Provincial Capitol at around 10AM the following day. It was non-stop service, with the team hopping from one town to another to hand out relief goods-- in Tumauini, 400 bags of goods to as many families; then to Sto. Tomas, 275 bags. After lunching on pancit Cabagan, they proceeded to San Pablo to distribute 210 bags, then moved to Cabagan Municipal Hall to turn over the 1,200 01PRES. PETER HITS 3 BIRDS WITH ONE STONE IN BAGUIO Looks like there’s no relief in sight for Pres. Peter & Pam Manzano who continue to crisscross the country to push the Club’s relief mission for communities and families impacted by natural calamities. After a frenetic schedule of relief missions that saw them moving from one end of Luzon to the other, they drove to Baguio last Sunday, December 6, for another relief ops, this time for Covid-19. Joining hands with the Pres. Tolitz Villanueva of the Rotary Club of Baguio Summer Capital, they handed out 100 to page 09pairs of slippers donated by Taba Samson and boxes of bath and laundry soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, and blankets donated by Ann Jean Chavez. The goods given away, valued at P100K, on the Isabela leg came from PN Mike Escaler-- 38 boxes of Alaska milk, 18 boxes of Birch Tree powdered milk, 13 boxes of Star corned beef, 15 boxes of San Mig coffee, and 30 boxes of Lucky Med instant noodles.Driving further north to Tuguegarao where they spent the night, they met up with RC Tuguegarao Rotarians for a fellowship dinner, which occasioned the signing of a memorandum of agreement on their participation in our voters’ registration campaign. Heavy rains greeted Day 2 , Nov 27, of the Cagayan/Isabela relief mission as the team travelled more than an hour from Tuguegarao through rough and muddy roads to the designated site in Baggao, on the eastern side of Cagayan. The town, they found out, was one of the hardest hit in Cagayan, with many casualties. In partnership with RC Tuguegarao, they distributed 400 bagsof relief goods to as many families in Brgy. San Jose, Baggao. The relief mission was also in cooperation with Shell dealers in the area who gave away mats and blankets. Next and final stop for the mission was another visit to the Cagayan Provincial Capitol to turn over to Provincial Administrator Da r w in Sacramed 420 sets of mats and blankets and 10 water filters donated by Johnny Sy , for distribution to areas that could not as yet be reached by land.

On 30 November, Pres. Peter Manzano joined Rotary Homes Foundation trustees, including Chair Emeritus PDG Sid Garcia, for the ceremonial ground-breaking for a new Rotary Homes site in Putatan, Muntinlupa. The occasion was graced by Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi.The Putatan site, the 3rd site for Rotary Homes, has space enough for 39 housing units as well as a multi-purpose center. The other two sites, both in Paranaque, includes a 4.2 hectare property donated by the Paranaque government under former Mayor Jun Bernabe.Launched in January 2011, Rotary Homes has so far built homes for 300 families that had taken residence in the banks of the moribund Paranaque River, worsening its pollution and hastening its death. Houses are built from donations from corporate sponsors, private individuals, Rotarians and Rotary Clubs, including the Rotary Club of Makati.An active supporter of the project, RC Makati has so far donated sums for the construction of 14 houses. This year, Pres. Peter Manzano’s board has earmarked a budget for the construction of 20 homes. The significance of Rotary Homes and its twin objectives of reviving the dying Paranaque River and building a community for its erstwhile residents was dramatized last year when the Rotary Club of Manila, on the occasion of its 100th year, awarded it a Centennial Award for Outstanding Service Project.

Pres. Peter Manzano revived the Paul Harris Kitchen two Saturdays ago to bring much needed help to some 200 families who had losttheir homes in a fire on March 9. The empath in him prompted Pres. Peter to move fast to bring relief to the people who had been made homeless and who likely had been unable to save their belongings or anything of value. As fast as he could, he mobilized a kitchen brigade among his family—First Ann Pam and their three children—and neighbors at Merville Park Subdivision, to whip up meals for the individuals who had been temporarily sheltered in two public facilities. On March 13, a Saturday, Pres. Peter personally led the distribution of 500 packed meals to the fire victims— 300 to the evacuees housed at the Aurora Quezon Elementary School, and 200 to those huddled at the Leveriza Covered Court. The relief mission was done in coordination with the Rotary Club of Paseo de Magallanes. Pres. Peter also gave away 500 bottles of Balipure purified water, donated by PP Tito Panlilio, and 1,000 RC Makati facial masks.

The partnership between RC Makati and the Office of the Vice President that merges the Club’s RCM Learning Center and the OVP’s Community Learning Hub received an affirmative boost on January 21st when Pres. Peter Manzano & First Ann Pam joined Vice President Leni Robredoon a visit to two of the facilities in Lucena, Quezon. The objective of the visits, both unannounced, was to personally observe the operations of the Centers and how the students are making use of the devices and modules in the blended learning environment.The two facilities are recipients of the Club’s donation of 117 Dell desktop computers to the OVP last December—five units serving some 139 learners in Brgy. Talao-Talao and seven units supporting over 151 students in Brgy. Cotta.The hubs are designed to assist learners who have no access to the educational materials, devices and internet connectivity required for distance learning. The hubs are manned by volunteers who conduct regular tutorial lessons for the students; operations are supported by the barangay, which shoulders the cost of utilities like electricity and internet service. RC Makati and the OVP plan to put up more RCM Learning Centers /Community Learning Hubs in places across the country to help ensure the success of the distance learning scheme.

On January 8, Pres. Peter & First Ann Pam, together with their children, paid a visit to RC Narvacan to turn over 20 Samsung tablets for the use of as many poor but deserving students in their distance learning classes. This project is under the umbrella of RC Makati’s “Education Under a New Normal.” Our clubs are connected by our shared interest in and concern for education and the environment.