My Advocacy
My social advocacy finds its root in my idealist young mind finding meaning and purpose of life. Growing up orphaned at my eleventh month was a humble experience that stirred me to fill-in the vacuum emptied by fatherless childhood. I didn’t have a pillar of a father to lean on. I only had a lamp of a mother to light up my life.
In my search, there was no other way but to believe, connect and serve—and to lead the way. The journey began with great enthusiasm as I assumed leadership roles in some civic and school organizations such as Colombian Squire,4-H Club, Student Body Organization, Boy Scouts and some religious organizations.
It didn’t stop when I entered seminary where I appreciated deeper the beauty of becoming “man for others”. It is there where I learned the virtue of heroism — a belief that heroic leaders are those who seek for and do more so that others may have more in life.
It didn’t even cease in that solitary place but brought me farther to a much more assertive and radical path towards social transformation. After the seminary, I joined student activism taking my advocacy into a deeper engagement with social realities. I became a chairman of a student political party, Student Alliance For Nationalism and Democracy (STAND). As a political science student then, I developed a bias for the oppressed, victims of injustice, the marginalized and the poorest of the poor. I took interest in Liberation Theology and even wrote an article, “Faith that Liberates”, in our student paper, Today’s Carolinian.
In my early years as a lawyer, I joined Junior Chamber International-Philippines, where I became a National Comelec Commissioner and a charter president of JCI-North. JCI is “an organization of young active citizens who are engaged and committed to creating impact in their communities”. I got attracted to one of the JCI creed: “Service to humanity is the best work of life” (https://jci.cc)
As my grasp for humanity gets stronger, I joined Rotary Club of Cebu South and got elected as President and later appointed as Assistant District Governor in District 3860. “Rotary is a global network of more than a million of neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves” (https://www.rotary.org/en.)In everything I think, say and I do, I am always guided by Rotary 4-way Test coupled with its inspiring motto:“Service Above Self”.
In the realm of social entrepreneurship, I served as a President of Ayala Business Club Cebu Inc.(ABCCI). We had undertaken Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives anchored on the spirit of synergy among Ayala group of companies including Globe Telecom and Ayala Foundation. We forged partnership with different NGOs and POs as well as government agencies for the implementation of various programs in the area of education, environment and entrepreneurship (Triple Es).
Along with our pursuit for social change, I also embark into leadership development initiative by chartering Ayala Cebu Toastmaster (ACT) Club under Toastmasters International, “a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. (https://www.toastmasters.org). I indulged myself into it with a firm belief that it all starts with a ‘selfish act’ – self-caring and self-equipping – and end up with a ‘selfless impact’ – serving others in need.
As I engaged into a broader but most vulnerable communities, child hunger and undernourishment grabbed my attention. The soaring number of 15 million hungry Filipino children is truly awakening that steered me towards devoting sharing advocacy for hungry children. Together with group of young professionals, educators and entrepreneurs, we have come together and decided to institutionalize our act of charity by founding SimplyShare Foundation Inc., “a non-profit organization primarily devoted to fighting hunger and malnutrition among the poorest Filipino children. Its advocacy for hunger eradication is anchored on a strong belief that food security is a precursory need towards other integral human needs such as education, health and social development”.
Where I’m coming from humbly tells a story of my passion to lead and leave a legacy for the next generation. To be of service builds a character to be a better person and it becomes a virtue especially so when it gives hope to “the lost, the least and the last” and offers lasting solution to social inequality, illness, ignorance and poverty. When we start taking the cudgel to beat poverty as the greatest enemy, we would become a source of hope for responding the prevailing needs of mankind.
And I realize that our act of leading, serving and giving, we touch others’ hands, unconsciously connecting our souls with them. It is in that moment that we associate our beings – our past and present, the way we are — with the rest of humanity.
Advocacy in the making:
Kabayani
A movement to inspire, recognize and celebrate the heroic acts and patriotic spirit of every Filipino with any noble act, big or small, of helping and serving countrymen or saving the lives in danger of any fellow human being.
The heroic act is done beyond the call of duty or going outside personal territory with a display of bravery amidst danger or harsh situations, thus, putting others above self.
Our call to action for every Filipino is to always find an opportunity to serve and take a bold step to help our countrymen in danger or placed in a most helpless and challenging situation.
It is anchored on a strong belief that if you are a fellow Filipino (Kabayan), you must be a hero (Bayani). Our battlecry: