President's Corner

Dear Colleagues in Rotary,

Good afternoon! Welcome to the 36th Rotary Club of Manila Weekly Meeting on Zoom. Wishing all of you good health, prosperity, peace, happiness, positive attitude and gratefulness!

Let us face today’s issues with grit, vitality, enthusiasm, perseverance and compassion for the lonely, the sick and the seriously ill. We, Transformational Rotarians, are called to do our best in nation building.

Last week, we miscalculated the number of CoVid-related deaths which skyrocketed to several hundreds in a day and breached the earlier record of 10,000 daily patients. We have to stay strong as this epidemic has worsened because of the new strains of coronavirus discovered. We need to seek God’s intervention through prayers and fasting. Now is the time to manifest our motto: Service Above Self.

Malacañang has announced the second extension of the community quarantine in the NCR until the end of April. Safety is first priority! We are in need of cheaper alternatives that can sustain and strengthen our immune system. We cannot go on like this if our economy is not moving the way it should be. People need jobs. Entrepreneurs must strive to survive and thrive in a crisis, and the government should excel in servicing the needs of businesses, industries and investments.

Early this morning, April 15, 2021, at 12:30 am, we had a very special meeting hosted by the Rotary Club of Washington D.C. through the efforts of IPP Jackie Rodriguez with the Circle of Centennial Rotary Clubs and the Rotary Club of Manila Ambassadors of Goodwill present. The Guest of Honor and Speaker was none other than our very own PVP Babe Romualdez, our current Philippine Ambassador to the United States of America. This was attended by the Rotary Club of Shanghai and the Rotary Club of Kolkata. More or less, thirty-two (32) RCM members joined the midnight event.

Our Weekly Membership Meeting today formally starts at 12:30 pm. During our Weekly Membership Meeting last April 8, 2021, we welcomed our Special Guest Speakers from the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines led by Dr. Allan Landrito, Dr. Benigno Agbayani, Dr. Randy Nicolas and Dr. Homer Lim. It was a resounding success, achieving for the first time the highest number of guests at 300, not including, those who watched the live streaming on Facebook. We had the highest number of Rotary Club of Manila member attendees, the highest number of Rotary Clubs present from all over the country and the longest membership meeting that lasted until 3:40 pm! Thanks to Director Hans Palacios who coordinated the event and, as usual, the team led by Chairman IPVP Hermie Esguerra for producing the event.

We are following up an appeal for Baby Neal Javen Maniego, 1 year and 10 months old, and verified by the Social Welfare as being indigent. The Philippine Heart Center has approved him to qualify for Z benefits which will significantly reduce his surgical cost to Php 345,000. Baby Neal is booked after April 19, 2021 at the Philippine Heart Center. Rtn. Jun Aventura, Chairperson of Save a Heart/Rotary Little Heart Committee, initiated the fundraising. We encourage all our members to support this project. So far, we have raised only Php 120,000.

Thank you so much for all your support during these trying times. Keep up and never give up!

Your Servant, President Robert “Bobby” Lim Joseph, Jr., President RY 2020-2021 (101st President)