President's Corner

Warm Greetings my dear RCM Brothers!

Last week was a dreamlike experience. Seeing everyone in a live GMM, albeit with half of us on Zoom, was a very much missed and welcome experience. Thanks again to our dynamic RCManila Foundation, Inc. Chairman and Programs Committee Chairman PE/PVP Hermie Esguerra for organizing such a flawless hybrid meeting and, of course, the two sumptuous cochinillos. We will target to have these meetings at least once a month provided the CoVid-19 situation continues to improve. A lot of our members have gotten the hang of doing Zoom meetings and some have come to prefer this manner of weekly meetings. We are also assessing the high technical costs of having such hybrid arrangements. Let’s see how this will all pan out.

There was a very interesting “Fireside Chat” Session held last March 8, 2022, with quite a number of our members. There were also other prominent friends and guests of the club. Our very own Rtn. Vic Garcia, Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines to the Russian Federation, gave a very insightful talk on the situation in Ukraine. His experience and grasp of the situation out there was a result of many years of his being Ambassador to Russia not too long ago. The projections were quite incisive and very credible based on His Excellency’s comprehensive knowledge of the Russian culture and political inklings and nuances. There were possible worst case scenarios which he painted and in his own words capped off with …“God forbid. God forbid.” Indeed. We look forward and pray for rapid resolution of this volatile situation and hope it no longer escalates.

The other day, our district has extended invitations to join the DISCON which is being scheduled for April 22-23, 2022. We should cover at the very least one table (10 seats) so please sign up to join soon!

Today, we will also be bestowing the Rotary Club of Manila Ambassador of the Year Award to our very own Ambassador PVP Jose Manuel “Babe” G. Romualdez. Ambassador Babe already has many accomplishments in his current post as Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America. Kudos Ambassador Romualdez! You do us all proud!

As we hear the Classification Talk of our newly inducted Rotarian STAR Rtn. Rolando Hortaleza, let us enjoy and learn about the success formulas of this distinguished gentleman who will bring more dynamism to our beloved club!

Have a great, happy and healthy week ahead! God bless us all!

Humbly yours in Rotary, FSZ

Felix Francisco S. Zaldarriaga, President RY 2021-2022