Rotary Club of Manila Charters Rotaract Club of De La Salle-College of St. Benilde

More than a year ago, I was approached by members of our Rotaract Club of De La Salle University Manila in one of our weekly luncheon meetings before the beginning of the All Star year of Rotary Serving Humanity and they intimated to me the desire of their friends from the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde to establish a Rotaract club within their midst. I was an incoming Director of our club then under Community Service B which had New Generations Service under it and I saw it fit to bring the matter up with then All Star President, now IPP Teddy Ocampo and he immediately agreed with my proposal for us to be the sponsor of this Rotaract club. Thus, on the First Special Board Meeting of July 14, 2016, I proposed the matter to the Board of Rotary Year 2016-2017 to which they immediately gave their stamp of approval.

However, before we could fully implement the chartering of the club, we realized there were alot of documents to be submitted for accreditation with the Student Involvement Office (SIO) of the college such that a later date became the appropriate time for history in the making. On January 13, 2017, Charter President Arthur Karl “AK” Paras, a BSBA Export Management student of the college, submitted a letter of Intent to Mr. Dexter Basunillo, the Coordinator for Student Activities of the SIO for the club to be classified as a special interest organization and to be, accordingly, accredited by the college. Lo and behold, August 11, 2017, the SIO of the college granted the club’s accreditation. This year, the club will be led by Great President Reuel Dan Barrales.

Thereafter, on August 15, 2017, an orientation was conducted at the college with IPSDG Oliver Alvarez, a Past District Rotaract Representative, Past Rotary International President’s Representative for Youth Service, a former member of both our sponsored clubs, the Rotaract Club of De La Salle University Manila and the Rotaract Club of Manila who is now a Past President of the Rotary Club of Manila Magic, Rotaract Club of Manila IPP Kristine Karen Reyes, Rotaract Club of Manila Secretary Alain Wilbur Ganipan and I were in attendance. IPSDG Oliver Alvarez led the orientation before I spoke briefly about our club, the First Rotary Club in Asia. At that point in time, I was unanimously chosen as the Club Adviser.

The following day, August 16, 2017, our club paid our sponsorship at BPI and thereafter, we marked history with the signing of the official papers by our Great President Jimmie Policarpio last August 17, 2017 with three of its charter members in attendance and in the presence of our other Rotaract-sponsored club, its neighbour, the Rotaract Club of De La Salle University Manila. Two days, later, during the Long Live the Bayanihan Spirit! 6th Magical Benefit Dinner Induction and Induction Ceremonies of the Rotary Club of Manila Magic, Great District Governor Emmanuel “Loy” Cosico sealed the fate of the Rotaract Club of De La Salle-College of St. Benilde as the newest member of Rotaractors under the wings of the Rotary Club of Manila, the First in Asia by affixing his proverbial signature on its charter papers in the presence of CP AK Paras and myself. The papers had been accordingly sent to Rotary International as we now await the Charter Certificate of the club.

The last Rotaract club we chartered, the Rotaract Club of Manila, was way back in 2001. Certainly, this comes on an auspicious occasion as we celebrate 50 years of Rotaract in 2018, the staging of the Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference (APRRC) in Manila likewise in 2018 and that this adds another feather in our cap on the way towards our club’s 100 years in 2019 which coincides with the centennial of the Rotary movement in the Philippines.