Rotary Club of Manila Board of Directors, Executive Officers and Advisers for RY 2026- 2027 Pay a Courtesy Call to Mayor Isko

The Board of Directors and Executive Officers of the Rotary Club of Manila for RY 2026-2027 paid a courtesy call on Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, Mayor of the City of Manila, last January 12, 2026. The purpose of the said courtesy call was for the said Board of Directors and Executive Officers to invite the Manila Mayor to be the inducting officer of the club on the occasion of its 107 Induction and Handover Ceremonies of the club set on July 2, 2026. The solemn induction to be officiated by the said Mayor will take place at the foot of the Rizal Monument at Rizal Park, or what we commonly know as “Luneta” at dawn of the said day in meaningful ceremonies befitting of an icon of Service Above Self in the country before the dinner reception takes place at the historic Manila Hotel, a long time home of Asia’s First Rotary Club where its first meeting was held way back in 1919.

Gathering at half past the hour of ten in the morning of that day, Directors, Executive Officers and Advisers, all clad in their white polo barong, met at the quadrangle of the historic Manila City Hall. In attendance were PE Reggie Yu, Board Adviser DGND/DSG Hermie Esguerra, Board Adviser IPP Jujut Enriquez, RCManila Foundation, Inc. Chairman and Induction Chairman PDG Alex Cureg, VPE Karlo Castro, DE Mike Albaña, DE Mike Roxas, DE Nico Valencia, DE Delfin “Del” Lorenzana, DE Caloy Serapio, IS/Special Assistant to the Governor-Manila SDG Albert Alday, IT/PAS Arik Carranceja and IABLA Hansel Tillmann.

As the group mounted the staircase towards the Bulwagang Katipunan in the second floor of the edifice which houses the Office of the Mayor, all were filled with utter excitement eager to exchange pleasantries with one of Manila’s most popular mayors whose no nonsense way of governance in getting things done has earned him the respect of his constituents.

The group was met first by his Chief of Staff, Cesar Chavez, who gladly led the way to the Office of the Mayor where the members of the group were all seated while awaiting the arrival of the Manila Mayor, an Active Rotarian of the Rotary Club of Bagumbayan-Manila, daughter club of the Rotary Club of Manila, from a Mancom Meeting of the city.

As the dashing Manila Mayor entered the room in his Monday’s best, donning a light blue modern polo barong, a sharp contrast from his usual shirt, cap and jeans getup, each of the members of the group personally introduced himself as the mayor made his way to his office table. PE Reggie Yu wasted no time in making a short remark while handing the formal letter of invitation to be the inducting officer for the July induction for which the Mayor graciously accepted the said invitation, quipping that it was his honor to do so to Asia’s First Rotary Club, even to the point of suggesting the most ideal time in the morning for the induction shoot.

The courtesy call took a good forty-five (45) minutes of his time, gamely interacting with members of the group and discussing important topics of relevance to the City of Manila. From fiscal wounds, delayed obligations and structural weaknesses to a firm resolve in the path of recovery, he regaled his accomplishments in all humility. He laid down very striking figures such as the Php 900 million in unpaid obligations to a waste management contractor, a Php 4.6 billion budget deficit and nearly Php 10 billion meant for medicines, social aid, garbage hauling and the ordinary mercies of government, ready yet restrained by debts of past. He critiqued the systems that had forgotten their purposes.

For him, the mishandling of business permits, the stripping of mandate from the Bureau of Permits, the creation of parallel processes that caused delay and drove enterprise away are the wounds he identified that should be healed. To reclaim trust, he spoke of reviving the FACTS Task Force – Fiscal Accountability, Cost Transparency, and Spending – because numbers, like history, do not lie, and a city that wishes to survive must first confront the truth of its own books. He revealed unauthorized cash advances running into the hundreds of millions and even billions. From the first days of his return to office, he had signed executive orders calling for dignity and proper conduct among city employees, protection for the young through curfew, the weekly clearing of clogged canals by barangay leaders, the regulation of noise that frays the nerves of a crowded city, and the long-overdue untangling of “spaghetti wires” that scar Manila’s skies. He likewise laid out a vision both near and far: drainage and underground cabling, public spaces and transport, smart-city systems and disaster resilience, the preservation of heritage alongside the creation of vertical homes and the rebuilding of hospitals and classrooms, among others.

With intellectual conversations forming part of the group interaction, the Mayor was visibly in high spirits as the group had a photo opportunity with him at the end of the courtesy call. Indeed, it was an opportunity to listen as partners in city building with key takeaways to tickle the group’s innovative ways of service. All is well that ends well as the group proceeded to the Emerald Restaurant along Roxas Boulevard, celebrating the gains of a courtesy call that was more than just a greeting, it was an insight into the gaps in service of the city which Asia’s First Rotary Club resolves to fill in as the coming Rotary year beckons.