My Rotary journey began a year ago when I was asked by Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, a past president himself of our club and a fraternity brother in the Upsilon Sigma Phi, if I would be willing to take over the helm of the Rotary Club of Makati, the third oldest and quite possibly the most endowed in resources among the over 800 clubs in the country.

Although flattered by the proposition, but aware of the enormous responsibility and demands of the position, I was unsure if I would be up to the task considering that I no longer had a Rotary Ann — who are vital partners in carrying out our service projects and livening up our fellowship activities.

However, with the “assurance” of my daughter Patricia that she was ready to step in for her Mom, I held my breath and decided to dive in. As it turned out, because of her other commitments, Patricia apparently meant only for the first few dips… sigh! I was fortunate that others in the club stepped up to guide and help me as I started the break-in period and understanding all the rituals and traditions of our club. A special shout out to future District Governor Louie and Tess Aseoche, Rodrigo and Marie Segura, Michael and Papat Escaler, and of course Keith and Rachel Harrison, for their support.

Although already a Rotarian of many years, I must admit that my primary consideration when I initially joined was simply for the business networking. Beyond the occasional donation and attendance at the weekly meetings, I was just a Rotarian on paper. All that changed when I was inducted as President.

So my first order of the day for myself was to be “Rotarized,” in other words, to have a better understanding of this venerable and noble philanthropic institution — its history, objectives, organization, its intended beneficiaries, how it functions, and like most aggrupations of people in the Philippines… its politics… sigh!

I would also always get confused about what those alphabets signified: PP, IPP, PN, CM, DG, DGE, DGN, AG, RID, PRID… etc. Then there were the countless events - the district conferences, PET, Sister and Brother clubs, Rotaract, Interact. All of the above, of course, had a clear purpose and intent which is to foster fellowship and greater awareness of what it means to be a Rotarian.

A full Rotary year has passed since I decided to take the plunge and I haven’t regretted it one bit.

What has been particularly most rewarding and revealing for me is the opportunity to come face to face and — beefed up by the resources donated by the Makati Rotary Club Foundation and our generous members and partner organizations — provide modest help to our countless beneficiaries from Isabela in the north all the way down to Zamboanga in the south. These are the poor, the homeless, the sick, the mentally challenged, the struggling but brilliant youth, the poorly educated, the elderly, the abandoned, the violated, the malnourished, the thirsty and the hungry.

I have also become acutely aware of the degradation of our environment, the coral reefs that have been abused, the parched communities and our denuded forest reserves. Regrettably, amid the towering skyscrapers, glitzy malls and gated villages in the NCR that seem to portray our country as a rapidly emerging middle income nation with enviable economic growth numbers, there is still very much an army of the unfortunate underprivileged out there needing help who have yet to enjoy the fruits of the economic trickle-down promise of “prosperity for all.” And they are the people Rotary Clubs strive to serve.

With the ‘assurance’ of my daughter Patricia that she was ready to step in for her Mom, I held my breath and decided to dive in.

I have just turned over the baton of our club’s leadership to James Bond… er…I mean Keith, a transplant from RC Singapore who was their President, a jolly Englishman banker who has been “Pinoy-nized” but who still struggles with his Tagalog, except when he sings his signature song, the Hotdog hit of the ‘70’s, “Manila.” He will surely be powered by his charming and lovely Ann Rachel to achieve greater heights for our club.

Our club’s greater resource, our members who readily and enthusiastically embrace the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self,” and our highly dependable staff led by Ron Dotaro will undoubtedly be with Keith all the way as they were there for me.

(To be continued)

Reprinted with permission from the Philippine Daily Tribune