President's Diary

My dear fellow Manila Rotarians,

Last week has been an eventful one for many of us at the Rotary Club of Manila. From the 5-day Community Service Caravan in Occidental Mindoro which began on February 27 and concluded on March, I traveled to Hong Kong on March 4 together with our RC Manila delegation to attend the 53rd Charter Anniversary of our sister club, the Rotary Club of Kowloon East. Not to mention the few meetings I attended in between. Here's a glimpse of all the events, activities and meetings I attended as the President of the Rotary Club of Manila.

Day 3 of Community Service Caravan in Occidental Mindoro

Wednesday, 1 March 2023

7:00 a.m. - Breakfast at the Windmill resort

9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We travelled from SDG Mary Mae Rodrigo’s Windmill Resort in Abra de Ilog to San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (it was a four-hour trip).

Unveiling of Rotary Wheel and Four-Way Test Marker in Calintaan, Occ.Mindoro

Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 1:15pm

We did the unveiling of the Rotary Marker in Calintaan with the entourage from Manila, members of RC San Jose (RC Manila’s daughter club), and Mayor Santiago “Sony” Villar Javier Jr. of Calintaan.

Rotary Club of San Jose Marker in Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro

Courtesy Visit to Atty. Rey Ladaga, Mayor of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro

Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 3:00 p.m.

Distribution of Eyeglasses and Pneumonia Vaccines in San Jose National High School

Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 4:00 p.m.

Visited the Mangyan Education Center and Distributed Food Packs and Old Clothes

Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 5:00 p.m.

Joint Induction of RC San Jose Downtown, RC San Jose Tamaraw and RC Sablayan Metro at the Divine Word College Gymnasium

Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 8:00 p.m.

Day 4 of Community Service Caravan in Occidental Mindoro

Thursday, 2 March 2023

7:00 a.m. - Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - Dental care services

12:00 p.m. - Lunch at Sikatuna

2:00 p.m. - Distribution of glasses, medicines and pneumonia vaccines at the San Jose Elementary School

4:00 p.m. – Governor’s Visit of RC San Jose/Tour for PLPs

7:00 p.m. - Induction of RC San Jose and presentation of proposed RC of Calintaan

11:30pm - Left Sikatuna to Abra de Ilog

I did not join the day activities as I had to attend important meetings involving the Rotary Club of Manila.

Meeting with DENR – PRCMO Regarding the Required Documents for Global Grant: the Trash Skimmer Vessel

Thursday, 2 March 2023, 10:00 a.m.

I joined the meeting via phone with Grant Chair Aries Balanay, Director Jacquline Canaanan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the staff of Pasig River Coordinating and Management Office (PRCMO) in their office in Quezon City regarding the urgency of submitting the required documents for our next Global Grant: the Trash Skimmer vessel.

At 12 noon, I presided our 29th Weekly Membership Meeting virtually via Zoom.

Meeting of the Tourism Awards Committee

Thursday, 2 March 2023, 3:00 p.m.

I joined the meeting of the Tourism Awards Committee last Thursday, March 2 via Zoom. Dir. Hans Palacios, Chairman Ralph Joseph, PDG Vince Carlos, PVP Farid Schoucair, AS Mike Albaña and Rtn. Nantha Narayanamoorthy were at the meeting.

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Huaquio Foundation Limited for Global Grant # 2348457: Rotary Trash Collector Boat

Thursday, 2 March 2023, 7:30 p.m.

We signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Global Grant # 2348457: Rotary Trash Collector Boat with Huaquio Foundation Limited, headed by Chairman Frank Yih, and Mr. Randal Eastman who committed to contribute USD 20,000 for the project. With me at the MOU signing was Grant Chairman Aries Balanay.

Alignment Meeting of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

Friday, 3 March 2023, 5:00 p.m.

We had alignment meeting of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards which will be hosted by Rotary Club of Manila. VP Reginald Tu and Grant Chairman Aries Balanay were also at the meeting together with facilitators Reynard Francisco and Lec Toribio.

First Friday Mass

Friday, 3 March 2023

53rd Anniversary of Rotary Club of Kowloon East

Saturday to Tuesday, 4 to 7 March 2023

Our delegation of 20 Manila Rotarians graciously attended the 53rd Anniversary of the Rotary Club of Kowloon East, which has the longest sisterhood relationship with the Rotary Club of Manila and is the only 100% Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation.

Saturday, 4 March 2023

Awaiting at the airport to board the plane en route to Hong Kong, we were all on the same flight—District Governor Joyce Ambray, PE/Director Raffy Alunan, PD Noy Benedicto and son Matthieu, DE/Director Jujut Enriquez, Board Legal Adviser Raoul Creencia, Grant Chairman STAR Rtn. Aries Balanay, STAR Rtn. Arik Carranceja and STAR Rtn. Paul Koh.

When we arrived in Chep Lap Kok Airport (Hong Kong International Airport), the Rotary Club of Kowloon East Past Presidents welcomed our delegation with great warmth and hospitality.

Day 1: Sunday, 5 March 2023

Welcome Dinner for all visiting sister clubs

With PE/Dir. Raffy Alunan, PDG Vince Carlos, RCKE President and Past Presidents I gave some token gifts to members of RC Kowloon East and RC Manila.

Day 2: Monday, 6 March 2023

Breakfast at Grand Hyatt Hotel

Pre-Anniversary Ball

Anniversary Ball

Renewal of Sisterhood Agreement

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Manila, I signed the renewal of the sisterhood agreement with the Rotary Club of Kowloon East, represented by President Chung Wai Keung, after more than two decades as sister clubs.

Day 3: 7 March 2023

RC Kowloon East hosted a farewell lunch for visiting sister clubs. They also greeted me with a Chinese birthday song.

Last week, we mobilized our energies and efforts to fulfill a shared mission: serving others, cultivating integrity, and striving for global understanding, goodwill and peace. Together, let us continue to be the voice of service and uphold our commitment to make a difference in local, national, and international communities.

Yours in Rotary Service,