Inspirational Message

Protocol has been observed but I want to still recognize the wonderful Edna Sutter. Thank you very much for inspiring us. And Raoul Creencia, my compadre, oh my God, I'm so touched with your wonderful introduction and my dear friend Myls Creencia, I actually met her before you.

Anyway, I am both grateful, humbled, and honored to stand in front of all of you as your governor. This is my third speech as governor, I became governor yesterday, and I can tell you that I'm in cloud nine. Why do I say that? Because yesterday was our kickoff project at the Philippine Red Cross and it was phenomenal. But it was not my work alone, I'm just the conductor, I mean, it's amazing how my executive committee, Joey Gaba, everybody worked so hard and I tell you, even I was impressed.

Tonight's very special to me because of the Rotary Club of Manila. Do you realize that the brother of my grandfather, Juan Morente Nieva is my grandfather, the father of my mother, the first governor of Marinduque. His brother was one of the first two charter members of this club, Gregorio Morente Nieva, my Lolo. I am standing here awesome because these are now three generations of Rotarians in the Philippines. My grandfather, myself, and my children are Rotarians, my son, Aris, and my daughter, Arisa, so three generations and that will continue. Rotary becomes a generation of families and let me tell you something. My Rotary journey began when I was five years old. Why do I say that? Because my grandmother, the first lady of Marinduque, would wake us up as siblings and bring us to the farm where we broke bread with the farmers. And that opened my eyes to the fact that we are all equal. I mean, I realized at five that the best thing in life was to serve others. I saw the eyes of the farmers glistening with pride, eating with the owners, and we were all equal. So, I thought, oh my God, this is what I want to do in life, then my life's purpose was born. My life is to serve and that is the reason I write books. The power of the written word can never be underestimated.

This is actually my response to Cardinal Ambo, who I always introduced when I was emcee of the Catholic Church as the rock star of the Catholic Church, and he loves it. But anyway, this time, I just want to tell you that AI is only as good as what we feed it. That's what he said, AI, we have to teach AI, ayoko yan, this is what I want, change again. But you know, it's tiring, I'd rather write my own thing. My creativity doesn't want to conform to a certain chat box or whatever, no?

So, what I'm saying is, we as Rotarians are awesome people. Why do we stay? 1.2 million Rotarians around the world in over 200 countries stay to become Rotarians. Why? Because it feeds our energy, it feeds our passion, it feeds our passion to serve. We actually feel better than the people we serve. I am so high when I do my projects with my presidents, and you know what I told my presidents? All of you will only do excellent work. Hindi pwede sa akin yung pwede na. Kailangan laging excellent because it speaks of who you are, it speaks of you as deserving Rotarians. Halata ba may fans club ako?

Anyway, why do we, according to Olayinka Babalola, now our president of Rotary International, when we do projects, we need to assess the last five years. Let us check what was the most outstanding project we did and we need to do something better than that. We need to create lasting impact, we cannot do a project just because, oh pwede na, hindi pwede. The projects we do for the marginalized should outlive us. The projects we do should be filled with heritage and legacy. We need to be proud as Filipinos, that's the theme of my year, my theme is Pagsinta, it's not only love, it's cherishing. It's cherishing everyone, everyone with respect, with love, with compassion, we need to honor each other. So that is what it is, first, we have heritage and legacy, second is innovation. We need to innovate we cannot just do what, you know, yung tamad-tamad tayo, hindi pwede yun.

We have to work hard because we are Rotarians. The communities where we live, look at us and say, they don't say, ano yan? Uy, siga yan, Rotarian yan. Can you imagine? We have the trademark of being a Rotarian, and in Rotary, you can't just apply, you need to actually be invited. So that alone is an honor, so that's when we innovate, we change lives and third, according to Babalola, all our projects should be sustainable. They should live beyond us; it should be able to sustain the communities. Didn't you notice that when we do projects, the eyes of the people we serve shine and their smile is something unforgettable? I have to share with you a narrative because in Rotary, narratives are what encourage people to become Rotarians.

So, when my brother was governor of Marinduque, I told my sister in the States, Sis, please gather all the shoes of all the young kids because they outgrow them and they're all branded. Dodge, Nike, all that. And then send it to Manila by Balikbayan boxes, oh my God, it all came. So, we would go to the province and I cannot forget the snake-like, you know, line of all the young children and I would be bending there and fit the shoes in their feet. And you know what? You know their eyes? It told a story. The eyes of the kid when I put the Dodge shoes, it said, Ang sarap nito, ang sarap. Because they're only used to sleepers that had holes and oh my God, I kept crying. And they probably thought, iyakin naman itong babae na ito. But no, I was crying of joy, I was crying of joy because I saw what a single kind of shoes changes lives. That child would actually feel more powerful walking to school with shoes that were barely used.

Yesterday, as part of our project, we visited the school, the Ilaya Barangka Integrated School in Mandaluyong. So they said, how are we going there? Are we going to ride the tricycle? Oh, I love that. Governor, you're going to ride the tricycle? It's always the first time, don't think about me, those are only titles.

God will say, did you feed the hungry? Did you hug that boy who was crying? Did you listen to that grandmother who was despondent and thought that life was impossible? That's what God will ask you. Our life's purpose is to actually serve others; we are instruments to do good in the world.

So let me remind you that every day, we need to wake up, thank God that we have another day to serve. And then, let's do the work that Reggie said, with compassion, with kindness, with forgiveness. We must create this circle of life, toward off-evil, so that we create communities that are safe, happier, and more worthy with their self-respecting impact.

Mabuhay po tayong lahat. I love you all.