15th Weekly Membership Meeting: A Recap

Program Moderator

Rtn. Antonilo DC. “Anton” Mauricio, as the week’s Program Moderator, navigated the sequence of the meeting. He began by inviting the members of Rotary Club of Manila and Rotary Club of Makati and guests to be seated so the meeting can officially commence.

Call to Order

Pres. Rafael “Raffy” M. Alunan III and Pres. Senen L. “Bing” Matoto (RC Makati) called the 13th joint weekly membership meeting to order.

Invocation

Rtn. Nicolo S. “Nico” Hallare led the invocation and recited a beautiful prayer to set the tone of the joint meeting.

Philippine National Anthem / RCM Hymn

Rotary Members and guests took a position of respect as they sang the Philippine National Anthem. This was followed by the singing of the RCM Hymn.

4-Way Test

Rotarians were again reminded of their commitment to live by the 4-Way Test. The recitation of this endearing and enduring mantra was led by Rtn. Paul Anthony T. “Paul” Koh.

The Rotary Club of Manila Hymn and The Welcome Song

The “World Famous” WF Chorale led In the singing of the Rotary Club of Manila Hymn and the Welcome Song, followed by RC Makati Chorale Hymn, which was featured through an audio-visual presentation.

Announcements

Rtn. Bollie Bolton invited members to visit La Jolla Beach Resort. He also raffled off one an overnight stay prize, which was bagged by STAR Rtn. Mico Mendoza.

President’s Time

President Raffy welcomed Secretary Pascual, as the guest of honor and speaker, at the start of his speech. He reported the success of the recently concluded Oral health project, as well as the other composite teams of RCM’s various committees such as Disease and Treatment (led by Chair and PD John Cutter), as well as the Maternal and Child Care Committee led by Dr. John Cenica, and the Water Sanitation and Hygiene Committee chaired by BLA Raoul Creencia.

Pres. Raffy shared a potential partnership with the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) for the “End Malnutrition and Stunted Campaign” and shared his productive meeting with MAP President Benedicta Du-Baladad, who was accompanied by her MAP team. RCM will participate in education and awareness propagation, looping in Abbott Laboratories, through SAA Jason Bogovich. In addition, Pres. Raffy mentioned that VP Reginald Yu presented a graph about the information kit that was being prepared, together with the partner video, to better equip the Club’s Fund Mobilization Committee in its effort to reach out to partners, donors, and benefactors.

Pres. Raffy also shared his meeting with RI President Elect Stephanie Urchick, together with Past Gov. Rudy Bediones, VPE Joel Valdes, and RC Makati Pres. Bing Magtoto. He mentioned that RI PE Urchick expressed her wish for all the Rotarians worldwide to internalize and apply the Four (4) Way Test at all times. She exhorted everyone to purge all the negative behaviors causing unwarranted division and unfortunate disfunctions in many regions in the world. Finally, Pres. Raffy announced the next WMM will have Maj. Gen. Delfin N. Lorenzana as the guest of honor, who will also be inducted as a new RCM member.

President Alunan, recognized ES Anna Kun Toledo’s (who was attending her last weekly meeting) dedication. He also introduced the new Executive Secretary, Ms. Lhea Lozano.

Before he concluded his speech, Pres. Raffy announced the General Assembly on October 26, which will take place right after the regular weekly membership meeting. He also reminded everyone that, after the meeting and general assembly, a Halloween Fellowship Event, organized by PE and Dir. Jujut Enriquez, will be held at the Heritage Park.

Pres. Senen “Bing” Magtoto expressed his gratitude for the warm hospitality of RC Manila. He also welcomed guest of honor and speaker DTI Sec. Fred Pascual as a significant figure in economics.

Pres. Bing Magtoto recalled their club's recent visit to Dualtech training facility in Canlubang, highlighting a generous donation of P650,000 to support scholarship program to the said company, from their club members. The program involves a 6-month Electromechanics course and an 18-month on-the-job training. He also encouraged members to continuously contribute and support various projects, He further mentioned about exploring a Global Grant for updated training equipment. Further, he congratulated RC Makati IPP Michael and his board for achieving special recognition, maintaining a membership of over 100 members, as RC Makati seeks to expand to over 250 members.

Induction of New Members

Two (2) new members were inducted, namely Juanito Ayson Simon (Proposer: VP Reginald T. Yu) and Kazuhiro Nomura (Proposer: PP Domingo S.B. “Boy” Guevara, Jr.). PDG Alexander P. “Alex” Cureg, with inspiring words of wisdom, led the charging. Pres. Raffy Alunan led the oath-taking of Juanito Ayson Simon and Kazuhiro Nomura, respectively.

Introduction of the Guest of Honor & Speaker

PP David Ackerman (RC Makati) introduced the guest of honor and speaker, DTI Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual.

Guest of Honor and Speaker

DTI Secreatary Alfredo E. Pascual delivered his message to the members of the Rotary Club of Manila and Rotary Club of Makati, and their invited guests.

Open Forum

Secretary Pascual gamely engaged in an interactive conversation with Conrado “Junjun” M. Dayrit lll of RC Makati (below left) and Dir. Hans C. Palacios (below right), among others.

Token of Appreciation

Pres. Raffy Alunan presented the club’s token of appreciation for DTI Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual, in the presence of (from left) PP David Ackerman (RC Makati), PP Archit Bartolome, Rtn. Anton Mauricio, Pres. Senen Magtoto, District Governor-Elect Jackie Rodriguez (Chairman, Program Committee), and PD Amading Valdez. After which, the meeting was officially adjourned by both President Raffy Alunan and RC Makati President Bing Magtoto.

Meeting Fellowship

Rotary Club of Manila and Rotary Club of Makati members during pre-meeting fellowship