9th Weekly Membership Meeting: A Recap

Program Moderator

PD Art Lopez served as the moderator and, to officially start the meeting, invited Pres. Raffy Alunan to call the meeting to order.

Call to Order

Pres Raffy Alunan sounded the bell to commence the 9th Weekly Meeting.

Invocation

During the meeting, PD Beda Fajardo led the invocation, where he encouraged all RCMers to lead their lives by practicing the Rotarian moral code. He prayed for compassion, unity, and kindness within the fellowship, with the aim of creating a culture of service above self for the less fortunate. He also included a special prayer for the upcoming election, wishing for a genuine commitment to service and unity within the organization.

Philippine National Anthem

Taking a position of respect, Manila Rotarians and guests sang the Philippine National Anthem.

Four-Way Test

The recitation of the Four Way Test was led by STAR Rotarian Al Katigbak.

RC Manila Rotary Hymn

Manila Rotarians sang acapella the Rotary Club of Manila Hymn.

Short Review of the Board of Directors Election Runner for RY 2024-2025

Rtn. Toby Rast presented the guidelines and procedures for the e-election process. He emphasized that to be registered for voting, members must join the Zoom meeting. Rtn Toby reminded the members that eligibility to vote is based on their membership payments and attendance to the Zoom meetings. The voting period will be open from 9AM-12PM on 7TH of September, and the results will be announced in the membership meeting once the election period ends. The procedure was displayed on the screen as shown below.

Presentation of Person with Disability Committee

Rtn. Ray Davis, Chairman of Persons with Disabilities Committee, introduced Sr. Martha Gamolo, Administrator of Hospicio de San Jose, who presented the project supporting Persons with Disabilities at Hospicio de San Jose.

Sr. Martha Gamolo shared the project “Hospicio Rendu Renovation” which is currently at Phase 2. Project cost is Six million Pesos. Currently, P1.5 million is needed to complete this project. For this purpose, Hospicio de San Jose, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Manila, launched an Art Exhibit titled “Expanding Horizons” – featuring paintings of 10 young artists living in the homes of Hospicio under different programs. The exhibit project will be held on September 14 at LRI Design Plaza Exhibit Hall in 210 Nicanor Garcia II, Makati Manila. Samples of painting for bidding were placed in the event hall for RCM member's option to bid.

Raffle of Hotel Vouchers

As an added fun feature of the meeting, PD Art Lopez raffled off various major hotel accommodation certificates and dining vouchers for RCM members who attended the event. The lucky winners were drawn via attendance slips in tambiolo. The following are the lucky winners of hotel vouchers: Rtn. Tobi Rast – Hotel Okura Newport World Resort; SAA Jason Bogovich – Grand Hyatt Hotel; Rtn. Shigeru Shimoda – Raffles Hotel; IA Nick Locsin – TRYP Hotel; Rtn. Jop Esquivias – Fairmont Makati; and Rtn. JJ Fernandez – (Grand Price) Bellevue Resort (Panglao). Drawing the lucky winners were Pres. Raffy Alunan, Amb/PVP Babe Romualdez, PP Archit Bartolome and PD Oscar del Rosario, Sr.

President’s Time

During the President’s Time, Club Pres. Raffy Alunan gave updates and reminders to all members. He discussed the funding of project committees in relation to the seven focus areas of Rotary International. He also took the opportunity to encourage committee members to work closely with their respective committee chairpersons and directors-in-charge.

Pres. Alunan acknowledged the visit of Sr. Martha Gamolo, administrator of the Hospicio de San Jose, and appealed to all members to support the project to benefit persons with disabilities by purchasing the featured paintings.

Pres. Alunan also shared information about the Sunshine Committee project, which scheduled a visit to PVP Thad Liamzon, who is currently recovering from illness, on September 4th at the Makati Diamond Residences.

Pres. Alunan mentioned that Rtn. Toby Rast of the Committee on Election will be giving an orientation on how to use the Election Runner. President Alunan reminded members to pay their annual dues in order to be eligible to vote on election day. With IPP Hermie Esguerra’s confirmation, he underscored that the deadline for payment cut-off is on August 31 at 5PM.

Pres. Alunan further announced that the next week’s in-person membership meeting will also be available via Facebook live. He said that next week’s guest is Past President Alberto Romulo, former senator of the Philippines, who will be honored by RCM on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Also attending are PP Santi Dumlao and PP Art Panganiban, former Chief Justice of the Philippines.

Additionally, President Alunan acknowledged and thanked VP Reggie Yu and Dir. Mike Albaña for their initiative in involving Rotaractors to help with the election committee and secretariat.

Finally, he gave his five-point reminder to support the Rotary Club of Manila.

1. Timely payment of annual dues.

2. Support to The Rotary Foundation by enrolling as a Paul Harris Fellow.

3. Members who are already Paul Harris Fellows are encouraged to continue to support The Rotary Foundation.

4. Promote membership by inviting at least one prospective member to join the Rotary Club of Manila.

5. Encouragement for all RCM Members to join a committee of their choice.

Introduction of the Guest of Honor & Speaker

PDG Obet Pagdanganan introduced our guest of honor and speaker, Hon. Cristina Garcia Frasco, Secretary of the Department of Tourism. Prior to her current position, she served as the mayor of Liloan, Cebu for three (3) terms, during which she was recognized as the top-performing mayor in Central Visayas. In 2021, she was awarded the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Regional Award for her outstanding public service.

Guest of Honor and Speaker

Hon. Sec Cristina Garcia Frasco provided an update on the ongoing projects of the Department of Tourism. She mentioned the significant increase in tourism traffic movement from 2019 to the present, with domestic travel alone experiencing a surge of 100 to 300% in various destinations such as Baguio, Cebu, and Palawan. The Secretary emphasized the importance of joint and close coordination with Filipino airline owners such as Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and Air Asia to further strengthen traffic movement. Additionally, the department is working closely with international airports, including the improvement and renovation of Terminal 2 at Manila International Airport, infused with a Filipino concept ambiance.

The Secretary also reported an increase in employment, rebound of tourism and investment activities. Some of the projects mentioned were the mobile tourism app, hop on and hop off bus tour bus, and the inauguration and ground-breaking of Tourist Resting Areas (TRA).

Awarding of Certificate of Appreciation

Pres. Raffy Alunan together with DGE Jackie Rodriguez presented the certificate of appreciation to the guest of honor and speaker, Hon. Cristina Garcia Frasco – Secretary, Department of Tourism. A certificate was also given to Sr. Marth Gamolo – Administrator of Hospicio De San Jose, shelter for the homeless and persons with disability.

Adjournment

Pres. Raffy rang the bell to signify adjournment to the 9th weekly meeting.