Random Conversations and Musings

This week’s regular membership meeting will surely be an extension of last week’s exciting topic. Our guest of honor and speaker, retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Tirol Carpio, will share his thoughts on a matter that is close to his heart. As everyone knows, his personal advocacy is "to protect and preserve Philippine territorial and maritime sovereignty specifically in the West Philippine Sea." The Rotary Club of Manila is fortunate to have Justice Carpio, who has been delivering numerous speeches on the subject matter.

His eBook (May 2017) titled "The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea" features over 140 lectures and speeches "intended to convince the Chinese people that the nine-dashed line has no legal or historical basis." The eminent jurist has underscored the importance of "an understanding by citizens of all claimant states...either to restrain extreme nationalism fueled by historical lies or to give hope to a just and durable settlement of the dispute based not only on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) but also on respect for actual historical facts."

After winning two Olympic gold medals for the Philippines with his sterling performance, Carlos Yulo is easily on top of my personal list for nomination to be RCM’s next Athlete of the Year awardee. The talented gymnast has indeed made the country proud, and hopefully the on-going Paris games will yield more medals for the Philippines. Our Olympic athletes have worked so hard to hone and sharpen their skills and abilities, and thus truly deserve our applause and congratulations. They, too, deserve the gifts and incentives (cash and property) that are being given to them both by the government and the private sector.

It is hoped, however, that the National Government’s support be unconditionally given, not only after our athletes win a competition, but more importantly, during the training phase. A professionally run and patriotically driven sports program must be adopted, and the needed funding must be allocated to develop our young and promising athletes. These medals should inspire the national government to undertake a no-nonsense athletic training program.

Rotary’s iconic four questions composed of 24 words, otherwise known as the Four-Way Test, is recited every weekly membership meeting. The recitation of this time-honored test is not just an opportunity to mouth it, but to actually reflect on it. As Rotarians, we are expected to fully abide by the test in the “things we think, say, or do.” Relevantly, this preamble of the Four-Way Test provides context and clarity, and as such is equally important to be included in the recitation as well.