(October 9, 2019, Diamond Hotel, Manila) Today, I was honored to speak at the 12th ALCUCOA Annual National Conference on the topic, “Industry and Academe Partnership: Insights into the Future of LCUs and its Graduates.” ALCUCOA is the accrediting arm of the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU).
Addressing the audience of top school
officials, faculty, curriculum leaders, researchers and stakeholders from
various LCUs and affiliated academic and tertiary education institutions from
all over the country, was a bit daunting as it brought memories of my
childhood, growing up in a family of academicians. But then, I thought, I have to share with them
the perspective of industry.
So, forge ahead I did as it was a great
opportunity to highlight the need for industry and academe to work together to
bridge the job skills gap, and to ensure that graduates are equipped with 21st
century skills to be globally competitive.
Of particular importance is the need to improve English Language Skills
as this is the global language for business.
It is sad that currently the English Language Proficiency of Filipino
graduating students is declining, and I urged the audience to do what they can
to stop the decline and keep this critical competitive advantage of the Philippines.
I presented possible partnership models, like
those of Amcham, Accenture, Ayala. The Information
Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) has developed
an extensive Industry-Academe Playbook, which IBPAP members and partner schools
can use. I encouraged the audience to establish
ties with IBPAP to ensure that we have skilled and industry-ready workforce.
ALCUCOA presented a post-humous award to Prof. Tomas B. Lopez, Jr.,
Former President, University of Makati and Former President, Association of
Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU). I
remember Tommy, whom I knew from AIM days, as an affable fellow who was great
at communicating his ideas. From the
accolades extended him, it was obvious that he was much loved.
I trust that the audience will take heart and work together with
industry to address the job skills mismatch, unemployment and underemployment
in the country. As DOLE Acting Undersecretary
for Worker Protection, Joji Aragon said, “We need specialist workers, not technicians. We need to produce graduates who are fierce
in this competitive environment, and who are trained with deep, useful skills
in the growth areas.” ALCUCOA President
and Executive Director, Dr. Raymundo P. Arcega, CESE acknowledged the challenge
which Usec. Joji and I presented, and said ALCUCOA will take heed and collaborate
with industry to ensure that graduates are job ready.
I shared the career journey of Michael James Hamlin at the conference, as an example of the challenges that our graduates face in getting jobs, and finding their niche in the work world. Michael James is an excellent example of a young man who studied in the province, and worked his way up the ladder, securing additional certification in money laundering and financial crime to excel in the IT-BPM industry.
(October 6, 2019, Baguio) When my friend Tinette Capistrano asked me to participate in the 5th Tourism Industry Board Foundation, Inc. (TIBFi) Human Resource Congress, I readily agreed, having been part of the first four summits. This biennial event brings together government, industry and academe to discuss how to make our human resources in hospitality and tourism globally competitive, a focus close to my heart.
The Forum, themed “Tourism
and the 4th Industrial Revolution: The Future of Jobs,” took place October 3
and 4 at the Technohub in Camp John Hay, Baguio. The topic assigned to me was “Essential
English Skills for Tourism Jobs
in the 4th Industrial Revolution.”
Aside from discussing how crucial English Language Skills are in
Tourism, I also shared how our English Language Proficiency in the country has
been declining over the years due in part to changes in the medium of
instruction.
In 2016, Hopkins International Partners, where I serve as
chairperson, released the Nation’s English Report Card. Hopkins International Partners is the official Educational
Testing Service (ETS) preferred associate and exclusive representative for TOEIC, TOEFL ITP and TOEFL Jr. in
the Philippines. This showed
alarmingly that the average English Proficiency of Philippine college students
was B1, which is lower than the target set for Thailand and Vietnam high school
graduates. The results were based on a sample of 10,000 Filipino graduating college students
who took the Test of English for International Communication or TOEIC. I dare say there were several in the
audience who were surprised to learn the real state of our English
proficiency.
To stop the decline, the Government Academe Industry Network (GAIN) is
working on a number of initiatives, such as holding annual conferences focusing
on the need to ensure that Filipino talent are equipped with 21st
century skills; crafting a National English Roadmap together with the
Commission on Higher Education; speaking at different fora to draw attention to
the problem; and lobbying for the adoption of international standards in
English Language Proficiency, as well as, a National English Act for Global
Competitiveness of the Workforce. We are ecstatic that Sen. Pia Cayetano has
filed Senate Bill #62: Providing for an Educational Roadmap Towards Global
Competitiveness and Human Capital Development, and we hope that both the lower
and the upper house will see this through into law so that the Philippines can
retain the global advantage of our human resource.
At the Congress, I was
fortunate to meet Ms. Maeve O’Brien who spoke on Training and Development of
Human Capital for Future Tourism. I appreciate
the efforts she has put into setting up a progressive tech-voc school in Laos
that prepares students with hard and soft skills, including Tourism English, so
that they can work in global tourism jobs and break free of poverty. Her subsequent proposal for more Public
Private Partnership to create
not-for-profit, revenue generating TVET in the Philippines is commendable.
The panel discussions were quite interesting,
particularly the one where representatives from industry, academe, and labor
discussed the importance of rationalizing On-the Job Training
and Teacher Immersion Programs for the Tourism
Industry. Ably moderated by Dr. Christina
Aquino, the panel was participated in by Mr. Hessel Larcia, president of the
Peninsula Manila Labor Union; Mr. Ramon Cabrera, General Manager of The Manor
at Camp John Hay; and Ms. Jenelyn M. Magpatoc, CGSP, MHRD, Dean, School of
International Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of
Baguio. While there are many exemplary
OJT programs being conducted by reputable institutions, I was aghast to learn
that there are some programs that take advantage of the students to use them as
profit generating labor rather than to actually impart knowledge to them.
Indeed, there is still much that we can do to prepare our Filipino talent for global tourism jobs, and I laud the TIBFI Board led by Dr. Christina Aquino as chairperson, and Ms. Anabelle Ochoa-Moreno as Congress Chair and TIBFI vice-chair, for organizing a successful and impactful HR congress to push this initiative forward. Congratulations!
November 19, 2018. This morning, the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines, Inc. (WomenBizPH) held a learning session entitled “Kick Some Glass” at the Dusit Thani Hotel Manila. Though tired from an exhausting APAC Tour (she flew in late last night from India and has to leave for the US tomorrow), Ms. Jennifer Martineau of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) gamely shared research-based lessons captured in her book Kick Some Glass: 10 Ways Women Succeed at Work on Their Own Terms.
Ranked Top 10 in the 2018 Financial Times for worldwide executive education, the Center for Creative Leadership traces its roots to the Smith Richardson Foundation, set up by H. Smith Richardson, son of Lundsford Richardson, a pharmacist in Greensboro, North Caroline who developed household mainstay, Vick’s VapoRub. CCL’s mission is to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. Today, it has more than 700 faculty and staff on 11 campuses in 9 countries on 6 continents, serving more than 60,000 leaders and 3,000 organizations annually from more than 100 countries and delivering sustainable results that matter.
As senior vice president of research, evaluation, and societal advancement at CCL, Ms. Martineau serves as the lead relationship manager for highly complex organizational leadership solutions and as lead facilitator for several of CCL’s programs. Quite personable, Jennifer gave us a glimpse of her personal life as a wife for 29 years, mother of three adult children, professed beach and lake fanatic, and recent convert from cat to dog-lover. What comes across clearly is her passion for leadership research, and how to apply this in practical and powerful ways for women leaders, many times drawing lessons from her personal experience.
Jennifer’s presentation was rich with strategies for advancement which women can apply personally or as a mentor, sponsor, or women’s initiative leader, from living our intention, to stepping into our power and building our own personal network of mentor and sponsor champions. We have to beat the impostor syndrome, as many times we are the ones who stop ourselves from believing that we can achieve the things we set out to accomplish. If we do have to slow down because of motherhood or other reasons, we must power down instead of dropping out. Jennifer also reminded us to get fit to lead, to redefine work-life balance, and to take charge of our personal brand. And finally, we have to start paying it forward so that we can help girls and young women grow into the next generation of women leaders.
Listening intently to Jennifer’s presentation, the 60-strong audience of women leaders (and two men) greatly appreciated the learning session. Many of them nodded their heads in agreement as she described how one study highlighted that while men and women both displayed bossy behaviour at work, men were usually seen as the boss on the fast track to success, while women were seen as bossy, less popular, and less likely to be promoted.
Another study underlined the “Queen Bee” stereotype where women bosses were perceived as wanting to be special and to be the only one at the top. Those who did one to help other women were seen as less competent and lower performing than men who value diversity. It’s a catch-22 situation.
One thing that struck to me was the phrase, “over-mentored but under-sponsored.” Mentoring certainly helps in developing one’s self-confidence, especially in negotiations and self-promotion, but it is really sponsorship that opens doors as sponsors advocate for developing leaders and create opportunities for advancement for those they are sponsoring. Everyone needs a leg up, and finding the correct sponsors can make the vital difference to success. When asked how one should go about finding a sponsor, Jennifer urged the companies present to set up a leader sponsorship program. She also believes that leaders are made, not born, so there is definitely an opportunity for women to become leaders. And definitely, to kick some glass!
Many thanks to all those who attended, especially the large contingents from Clark Development Corporation (yes, they left at 5am to get to the 8am breakfast meeting), Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Capital One, Sutherland, and TESDA. Thanks too and hearty congratulations to WomenBIZPH Trustee Leah Caringal for leading the Women Mentoring Women Talks (W2W Talks), and to our secretariat lead by Russel Joy Rivera. Well done!
September 13, 2018. Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. For the first time in my life, I visited New Zealand. I attended the APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Structural Reform and Gender as the private sector representative of the Philippines.
Held September 10-11 in Wellington, the forum was a big eye-opener for me. Over two days, I learned how structural reform can help remove many of the barriers to women’s economic participation in the region, and unlock their full potential. Andrew Grant, senior partner of McKinsey & Company, estimates the full potential of women to contribute to the global GDP at $28 trillion per year, which equals the combined economies of China and the US. For a best-in-region scenario of addressing three gender gaps: additional workforce participation, shifting the mix towards full-time work, and improving sector mix and productivity, this could mean an additional $12 trillion per year, equivalent to the combined economies of Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Zeroing in further, the Asia-Pacific economies can improve by $4.5 trillion annually, equal to the combined economies of Austria and Germany.
The numbers are staggering, and the potential is great, but many things have to be done to unlock the rewards. Many of the barriers are legislative, regulatory or policy in nature. Addressing low labor force participation in quality jobs, under representation of women in business leadership positions, uneven access to digital technology, and entrenched attitudes about women’s role in society and work are some common themes that call for action. In addition, we need to throw in gender equality in work, provision of essential services to women, legal protection and political voice, and physical security and autonomy.
Dr. Tatyana Teplova, senior counsellor and head of Governance for Gender and Inclusiveness Unit of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), stressed the importance of promoting women’s active participation in the global economy to achieve truly sustainable and inclusive growth. Citing research in OECD economies, she identified several remaining gaps in gender equality, such as an 11% gender employment gap, only 32% share of women in senior management positions in central government, 32% average of women supreme court judges across OECD, 28.7% average of women parliamentarians in OECD, and 20% average of young women studying STEM. Alarmingly, 57% of OECD economies listed violence against women as their most urgent priority. The cost of exclusion is high, and Dr. Teplova summarized the three Es that can unlock sustainable and inclusive economic growth as Employment, Education, and Entrepreneurship. She shared the OECD Toolkit for Mainstreaming & Implementing Gender Equality that economies can adopt to address the barriers.
Speakers from various Asia-Pacific economies related how they are currently mainstreaming gender issues. Ms. Chiu-Chun Lin of Chinese Taipei’s Department of Gender Equality shared real life examples of their ten-year journey in implementing the Gender Impact Assessment (GIA), which is both tool and process in practicing gender mainstreaming to achieve gender equality. Recognizing major challenges such as established social norms and gender stereotypes (i.e., men are breadwinners and women are home makers), glass ceilings, and low labor rate participation of women due to childbirth and having to care for children, Ms. Lin shared Chinese Taipei’s initiatives for mainstreaming. These included building women’s capacity through education and training; promoting family friendly workplace policies like maternity/paternity/parental and family care leaves, once a month menstrual leaves, and twice-a-day breastfeeding time; extending access to capital and capacity building for women-owned start-ups and helping small and medium scale businesses through their Women Entrepreneurship Flying Geese Program; promoting board gender diversity in listed companies; and encouraging women’s participation in the government ministries through their One-Third Gender Ratio Principle.
Mr. Kohei Fukawa of Japan’s Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, explained Womanomics under the Abe administration. In January 2001, Japan established the Council for Gender Equality directly reporting to the Prime Minister with the aim of creating a society in which all women shine. In December 2015, the Cabinet approved the Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality with long-term government policy directions and specific measures, which include reforming labor practices such as the tendency to take long working hours and relocations for granted; recruiting and promoting women, developing women leaders and increasing their participation in all fields of society; creating an environment that supports women in difficult situations; enhancing measures to eliminate violence against women; and more.
Mr. Fukawa reported an increase of over two million women in the workforce in the past five years under the Abe administration. Over the same period, nursing home capacity has increased by over 600 thousand to ease the waiting time for child nursing care facilities, allowing mothers with young children to re-enter the workforce. Realizing that Japanese women work much longer for unpaid work, while men are paid for their work, Japan is making a big push towards improving work-life balance. Work-Style Reform Legislation was enacted in July 2018 calling for equal pay for equal work and setting an upper limit for working hours. As a reward, “Eruboshi” Certification is granted to companies that engage in good practices, with additional points in the evaluation of public procurement for those promoting work-life balance.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha shared Vietnam’s national strategy for gender equality, hinged on the following objectives: strengthening women’s representation in leadership and management positions; narrowing the gender gap in the economy especially in the rural areas; improving human resources through education and training; ensuring gender equality in accessing and receiving health care services, in culture and information, and in family life; eliminating gender-based violence and enhancing the capacity of state management on gender equality. Results of Vietnam’s initiatives are seen in political leadership where a woman serves as the current chairperson of the national assembly and three women serve in the politburo. Literacy levels for women is up 92%. Social insurance laws are in place, providing parental leaves for female and male laborers, establishing a safe working environment for women, and setting up kindergartens in industrial zones. With the help of central and local radio and TV stations, there is better public awareness of gender equality, encouraging men to share the housework and women to share the family’s economic burden.
The head of the Equality Unit of Iceland’s Ministry of Welfare Ms. Rosa Guorun Erlingsdottir shared why Iceland continues to rank first in the gender equality index. It was not always like this though, as she shared how the women of Iceland fought for women’s equality. Although women in Iceland won the right to vote in 1915, behind New Zealand and Finland, women’s uptake in leadership positions in government was slow. Compared to 16% to 23% in other Nordic countries, Icelandic women comprised only 5% of parliament seats in 1975. Naturally, this was frustrating for Icelandic women.
Ms. Erlingsdottir shared how Affirmative Action can make change happen. On October 24, 1975, now known as Women’s Day Off, Icelandic women decided it was time they were taken seriously by the men. On that fateful day, instead of going to work, doing housework, or taking care of their children, women decided to go on strike, taking to the streets and demanding for equal rights. Work came to a standstill. Services stopped. Suddenly, men realized the importance of women as they had to take care of the children, with many not knowing how to go about it. Since then, women have enjoyed great strides to gender equality.
At present, Ms. Erlingsdottir reported that 79% of women are actively employed, with 34% working part time. There are gender quotas on public committees and company boards, and laws in place requiring certification of equal pay. There is an all-women political party, paving the way for women to hold 38% of parliament seats in 2017, and 44% of local governments seats in 2018. Women make up 2/3 of university students. Ninety percent of children aged one to five years are in day care centers, with municipalities footing 85% of the cost. Parental leave legislation allows equal rights for men and women, with three months each for males and females, and three months shared rights for parents. Because of this legislation, over 90% of fathers have taken their paternity leave, drastically changing ideas about masculinity. And I dare say, they actually enjoy it from the photos she showed of fathers with their young children.
The economic benefits are clear. The increase in the number of women employed has raised per capita Nordic GDP by 10-20% over the past 50 years. Closing gender gaps in the next 20 years are predicted to boost Nordic GDP growth by another 15-30%.
Interestingly enough, the RTS Senior VP of McKinsey & Company Australia Jovita Gartlan believes that in some cases it is the women who hold themselves back. Sharing her personal experience while attending a meeting where the participants were asked if they wanted to take on the top post of the company, most said they did not want to. They were happy with their current situation, and felt that they had too much on their plate already and did not want the additional stress.
Citing McKinsey research on women in the workplace, Ms. Gartlan said that while women are just as interested in advancing as men, they progress more slowly through the corporate pipeline. And while women ask for promotions as often as men, men move up faster without having to ask. She noted that less women aspire to and believe they will become a top executive, and that fewer women than men enjoy the support of their managers in their quest for advancement. The studies are clear: gender greatly impacts women’s opportunities, especially since women have to do most of the housework (which is unpaid) after a full day’s paid work at the office. Given the double work shift of home and office, and having to care for children and the elderly, no wonder women hold back.
For organizations that wish to change the game and move more women into positions of leadership, Ms. Gartlan recommends building a strong business case for change, redesigning roles to enable more flexible arrangements, actively sponsoring potential women leaders, providing reinforcement mechanisms that support women through life transitions and challenge traditional views or merit in recruitment and evaluation, investing in training to build leadership capabilities and giving them experience in key leadership roles. She urged women to actively ask their managers not just to mentor them, but to sponsor them for promotion. And for those who feel happy where they are, to embrace the feelings of “being enough” and not feel pressured.
The forum also gathered indigenous women holding leadership positions in the public and private sectors. Linda Paru of Papua New Guinea talked about the challenges women entrepreneurs, especially those from MSMEs, faced such as lack of access to credit and the high cost of internet and ICT. While there are many challenges, she cited telecoms and financial reforms that contribute to MSME’s participation in online services, digital finance, e-health and e-education. Senior Adviser for the Status of Women in Canada, Anne Fontaine spoke of indigenous women’s issues, rights and interests in Canada. Ms. Rangimarie Hunia, director of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Maia Ltd., spoke of the leadership role of Maori women, being a prime example herself of a strong Maori woman leader intent on securing the future of her mokopuna or the next generation.
Ms. Josephine Cashman, Founder, Executive Director and Managing Director of Big River Consulting Pty. Ltd., spoke of her experiences with legislation and regulation implementation and enforcement. It is one thing to come up with laws against domestic violence and gender discrimination, and another to implement it. She recounted the experience of an elected female MP who resigned because of bullying from her male colleagues; they were more interested in her hair and attire than her policy work. The statistics in New Zealand are harrowing: one in three women have suffered physical or sexual abuse; one in five were harassed at work and one woman per week is killed by a former partner. The statistics are even more alarming for Maori women. Strengthening enforcement is thus crucial.
To combat this, New Zealand has embarked on a national campaign against domestic violence and gender discrimination. New Zealand has passed legislation granting victims of domestic violence 10 days paid leave to allow them to get away from their abusive partners, relocate and protect themselves and their children. The only other country that has passed a similar law on a national level is the Philippines under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, granting up to 10 days special leave for victims and stiff penalties for employers who try to impede such leave.
Gender Pay Equity was another hot topic. And here, Ms. Rosa Guorun Erlingsdottir of Iceland shared the inroads they are doing to reduce the estimated 20% difference in pay between men and women. Iceland has made it a legal requirement for employers with 25 people and more to get an Equal Pay Certification which must be renewed yearly. This means Equal Pay for the same Work or Work of Equal Value. To ensure there is no discrimination, an audit is done of jobs of equal value, separating the job from the person doing it. Employers are asked to rank jobs, which are then paired with jobs of equal value. Companies that get the certification are also allowed to use the Equal Pay Symbol in their corporate promotions. Companies that do not follow the law are fined.
Participants were fully engaged in two workshops. First was a practical group exercise on Gender Impact Assessment where each table was asked to weigh in on a country-wide issue that affects women and to recommend how to handle the situation. Our group was presented with a Public Sector Scenario of a drastic slump in the economy causing businesses to close and government wanting to reduce its overhead. The department mandate is to limit government jobs to only one person per family. With approximately 40% women in government positions, of which 39% have frontline service positions while 27% have back office positions, 21% in middle management positions, 13%in senior leadership positions and 29% working part time, it was obvious that women would be the first to lose their jobs.
Our animated discussion revolved around how to consult the public and women in particular on the proposal and what changes in the draft resolution we recommended. We looked at how families will want to keep the full time, higher-paid member on government payroll to ensure continued family income, and how the government can assist families that are affected such as stepping up skills training, giving higher separation pay, providing priority access to funds and markets, giving plus points in government procurement for those let go, and ensuring gender neutral criteria in the selection of those to let go. The group discussion highlighted the disparity in economies of Chile and New Zealand where the unemployed enjoy six months insurance versus that of Mexico and the Philippines, where no work means no pay and no food on the table.
To cap the two-day dialogue, Mr. Phil O’Reilly, New Zealand APEC Business Advisory Council Member, facilitated a whole group discussion on next steps that APEC can take to push the agenda of structural reform and gender. The group came up with a long list of recommendations, such as collecting data and best practices for gender plus lens across APEC economies and sharing this in a digital portal for easy access, conducting and making available research on gender pay standards and how to close the gender pay gap, studying the OECD Toolkit to determine its adaptability in the region, and establishing a pathfinder initiative that looks at how gender is incorporated into all free trade agreements, to name a few.
I look forward to finding out what APEC will adopt as its next steps given this first foray into a dialogue on structural reform and gender. Definitely, there is a lot that needs to be done to remove barriers to women’s economic participation in the region, and unlock their full potential. What is clear to me from this two-day dialogue is the urgent need to measure and know disaggregated gender data using the Gender Plus lens. Unless we establish a base line, we won’t know what needs to be done and how we are progressing. As New Zealand’s Acting Policy Director for Economic Independence of the Ministry of Women, Ms. Riripeti Reedy said, “You only treasure what you measure.” We have to start now.
If there is one thing that is totally satisfying, it is sharing one’s gift of time, talent and treasure to those who need it most. I daresay that the volunteers and sponsors get more out of giving than the beneficiaries themselves. We’ve been so blessed to have this opportunity yearly. Little did we know that what we started in 2008 would snowball into a yearly tradition.
For the eighth consecutive year, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) and TeamAsia organized “My Dream in a Shoebox,” a beloved tradition of collecting and distributing shoeboxes filled with school supplies to less fortunate Filipino children. With the increasing support of our compassionate industry friends, we’ve grown from 200 shoebox donations in 2009 to more than 50,000 in 2015. These shoeboxes were donated to public schools and foundations covering Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Digital campaign #ShoeboxChallengePH
This year, we set ourselves a goal of 75,000 shoeboxes, which we are still on the way to achieving. So far, we’ve received over 60,000 shoeboxes, and pledges are still coming in. Early December, we launched a digital campaign called #ShoeboxChallengePH, where volunteers take a short video of themselves pledging to donate shoeboxes, then nominate three friends to do the same. Several people joined in the campaign, and this started the ball rolling.
A friend of mine, Bea Tan, vice president at Citibank, gathered her children and godchildren at her home one afternoon to stuff 50 shoeboxes and wrap them in festive paper. They all had so much fun wrapping the gifts, and I am sure the children will remember this for a very long time. I am so proud of her effort to instill the values of generosity of heart in the young!
Another friend, Joel Pascual of PEP Group, did a video on Facebook, and he says there were so many people interested to help, even some from overseas who contacted him through Facebook. Friends of mine from San Francisco have also donated willingly to the cause, as have personal friends who learn about this project. At TeamAsia, we rang the bell one day to signal the stop of work and the start of an afternoon of wrapping shoeboxes.
Last December, I’ve helped out at three gift-giving days, and would like to share what happened then.
December 10, 2016
Shoeboxes ready for distribution
Early that morning, we trooped to Barangay Payatas, Quezon City for our annual gift giving day of My Dream in a Shoebox at the Payatas Orione Foundation, Inc. (PAOFI). Run by the missions of the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation, PAOFI provides social welfare development programs and services to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged persons/families relative to their health/medical, nutritional and educational needs.
Fr. Julio welcomes us to Payatas.
That day, however, Fr. Martin was in Lucena tending to their communities in Barangay Dalahican and Talao-Talao in Lucena City. Instead, it was PAOFI’s executive director, the genial Fr. Julio who welcomed us at Payatas, together with Michelle and Shyla.
We expected 500 scholars at PAOFI, but sadly only 300 of the kids could attend the actual gift giving because of the National Achievement Test that was being administered that day. However, 133 volunteers had signed up for that session, and we were a bit worried that we had too many volunteers. This turned out to be a boon as the volunteers had more opportunity to interact with the children.
First, we grouped the children into tens and assigned each group three volunteers to serve as their big sisters/brothers, then had them come up with a group cheer. This was a tremendous success as each group tried to outdo the other in their cheering prowess. Thanks to Bea Lim and Armo Armovit for serving as judges for the cheering competition. The groupings also allowed the volunteers and the children to bond.
We had two games, the Newspaper Dance and The Boat is Sinking, with United Health Group (UHG) volunteers serving as game masters with the help of FIS Global. Emerson and UHG comprised the food distribution committee. The big brothers and sisters took charge of distributing the shoeboxes to the kids in their care, as well as, getting them hotdog sandwiches, orange juice and Picnic shoestring potatoes.
We also had a storytelling session in Filipino, which I led based on a story of a young boy who was at a loss as to what to give to his teacher on Christmas. He was sad because he could not afford to buy a gift because of his poor circumstances but was inspired when his mother told him a story about another young boy in a similar situation who drew on his creativity to come up with the best gift in the world. I told them that the gift of love is the most important thing in the world.
And love it was that we experienced that day. Hearty thanks to our selfless volunteers from Emerson, FIS Global, P&G, United Health Global, TeamAsia and IBPAP. Thanks too to Emerson for sponsoring the food and drinks for the activity, to P&G for providing the prizes for the games, to Megaworld for the Picnic shoestring potatoes, to Asia Brewery for the yoghurt, and to all those who donated shoeboxes filled with school supplies! And congratulations to TeamAsia’s Clah Salindato and Beverly Aguilar and to IBPAP’s Cholo Antonio for organizing this gift-giving day! I daresay that the volunteers left PAOFI with hearts full of happiness and contentment for sharing themselves and their morning with the children. And the smiles on the faces of the children were priceless!
December 22, 2016
One thousand thirty-six children from sixteen damayan centers. That’s how many children awaited us at the covered courts of Parokya Pedro Calungsod in Southville 3, Muntinlupa. This quasi-parish under the stewardship of Fr. Benjamin Molina, Jr., was established on October 14, 2012 to service the spiritual needs of the informal settlers that have located in the housing resettlement in a 50-hectare portion of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reservation.
Our family with Fr. Didoy.
Not one to be fazed by such a daunting task, Fr. Didoy organized two gift-giving days for the children of the community, each one with 1,000 children. We were assigned to the second outreach. Come to think about it, Fr. Didoy has always set big, hairy goals when it came to helping people lead better lives. He was our parish priest at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish for three years, and he was (and still is) very much loved by the community. Which is why there were volunteers from Southbay and Goodwill who came to help that day.
Fr. Didoy telling the story of the first christmas tree during his homily.
But before the actual gift-giving, Fr. Didoy celebrated Holy Mass to remind everyone that we must first give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings. During his sermon, Fr. Didoy recounted the story of the very first Christmas tree that wanted to give homage to the King. The children were enthralled listening to his story, as they were, to my Filipino version of the “punong-kahoy na Pamasko.”
The volunteers distributing shoeboxes to the children.
What is amazing is that despite the large number of children, they were all extremely well-behaved, following the instructions of the youthful volunteers. Soon, the volunteers from the different companies began arriving: Henkel, Alorica, Infosys, Intelenet, Northern Trust, Asurion, DSM Manila, Serenitea and IBPAP and TeamAsia. And just like the multiplication of bread, the blessings overflowed that day. Earlier, we had sent over 1,000 shoeboxes filled with school supplies for the children. On the day of the outreach, however, Henkel delivered an additional 1,500 shoeboxes, followed by Asurion with 150 boxes and Serenitea with 155 boxes. The children were so happy, as they each brought home not one, but two shoeboxes, ensuring that that their siblings too would have supplies for school.
The children sang, danced, and played games with the volunteers eagerly helping out, especially when it came to distributing food and beverages as well as the shoeboxes. I noticed too that some of the volunteers brought along their own children, which is a great way to teach them the importance of sharing with those less fortunate.
After the outreach was over, the volunteers gathered for a souvenir photo. There were so many that we could hardly fit them in the photo, and had to take it from the second floor of the gym.
December 30
Once again, the gifts multiplied, this time at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish outreach. Five hundred children from the developing communities of Estrada 1 and 2, Mangga, Aratiles, Silangan, Villonco, and Waterfun were gathered early in the morning at the parish church. Outside the church, another hundred or so children waited in the hope of being allowed to join the festivities. Earlier, we had delivered 600 shoeboxes to Ascension. To our surprise, Alorica arrived with another 500 boxes. This meant we could give more than one box to each child inside the church, as well as, to the children waiting outside. Wonder of wonders!
While the children were singing in the church, the parish commission and youth volunteers, the corporate volunteers from VXI, Alorica, TeamAsia and IBPAP, as well as, individual volunteers like Michelle Cruz, Olette Gonzalez, Lou Mercado, Juliet and Rene Cinco, Jun and Tess Latorre, the Liwanag family, and many more were busy preparing the games, food and drinks and shoeboxes that would be distributed that day. Everyone had a task to fulfill, some as game masters, others as marshals, gift coordinators, food coordinators, and so on. There was even a clean up committee to pick up debris left by the event.
That Jolly Bee surprised and delighted the children.
A surprise visit by the Jollibee mascot got all the children excited, as did the various games organized for the children, like the straw relay, balloon relay and Japanese walk. Even my storytelling was listened to attentively by the children.
After the children had their snacks provided by VXI, they lined up to get their shoeboxes and other gifts from the volunteers. After this, they had their photo taken at the belen together with Fr. Joseph Landero, parish priest of Ascension of Our Lord.
Tired but happy volunteers at Ascension of Our Lord parish.
When the happy children had left, the volunteers broke bread and had souvenir photos taken at the parish. From the smiles on their faces, one could see that they were very pleased with themselves. And that’s the real blessing one gets from sharing.
October 19, 2015, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. When Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue of Bacolod invited me to speak at the 2nd Trade and Tourism Expo and Conferences, entitled MassKaraCity 2015, I immediately agreed. I’ve long wanted to visit Bacolod, capital of the province of Negros Occidental. The only other time I’ve been there, I was just 17 years old and on a Goodwill Mission to Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo together with the Most Outstanding Coeds of Metro Manila.
We stayed with foster parents in each city, paid courtesy visits to local government officials, and met with student leaders. To a city girl like me, Bacolod seemed laid back, especially when we were driving down roads lined with sugar plantations behind what seemed to be an endless string of trucks craning under the weight of sugarcane. What has changed, I wonder?
What hit me this time is that Bacolod seems to be booming. Perhaps it was because of the Masskara Festival that was happening at the same time as the conference. Arriving at the airport, we were greeted by dancers dressed in colorful garb, prancing to the beat of drums. The main streets in the center of town were brightly lit, festooned with decorative buntings. We passed several malls, a sure indication of prosperity. The event itself was being held at the year-old SMX Convention Center Bacolod.
Cutting the ribbon to formally open the 2nd Bacolod Trade and Tourism Expo and Conferences, SMX Convention Center, Bacolod City
At the opening of MassKaraCity 2015, I listened intently to local government and business leaders speak of the city’s tourism and trade potential. I heard the passion in the voice of City Councilor Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue as she spoke of the accomplishments in tourism and industry, especially in the IT-BPM sector, thanked all those who helped, and announced that she would no longer run for office in the upcoming elections. Jocelle chairs the Committee on Tourism, International and Local Cooperation and the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Industry of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod.
I was happy to note that the IT-BPM industry is flourishing in Bacolod. Two years ago, Bacolod was recognized by the Department of Science and Technology as a center for excellence for information technology and business process outsourcing, joining the ranks of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Clark. That’s when I first met Jocelle, and was impressed by her fervor and efforts to develop the IT-BPM industry in Bacolod. Several locators have set up shop in Bacolod, like Teletech Philippines, Teleperformance Philippines, Data Solutions Outsourcing, Panasiatic Solutions-Bacolod, Interface Techno Philippines, A&E Global Fusion, Hit Rate Solutions, Alliance Call Centre, Solutionz Call Center, Magsaysay Global BPO, Transcom Philippines, BPO TeleQuest, Shorecloud Corp and Focus Direct Services. No wonder the place was booming!
Meeting the gracious and multi-faceted Atty. Juan N. Orola, Jr.
Tourism is definitely a strong pillar for Bacolod’s economy, what with its wildly successful Masskara Festival. I was fortunate to have met Atty. Juan V. Orola, Jr. (John) who was intimately involved in starting and developing the Masskara Festival. Formerly a diplomat, John served as Tourism Attache of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan and the Philippine Consulate in Losa Angelas, USA, North and Latin America. He is a lawyer as well as a Doctor of Ecclesiastical Law. I also found out that he was a member of the Lower House representing Bacolod from 1998-2001. But what struck me most was his enthusiasm and commitment to develop Bacolod’s tourism potential.
John recounted the festival’s beginnings in 1980 during a period of severe crisis and tragedy. The global price of sugar had just dropped with the introduction of sugar substitutes in the United States, hitting Bacolod, which relied on sugarcane exports as its main source of revenues, at its core. To make things worse, Bacolod was reeling from the death of 700 Negrenses in a mid-water collision of inter-island MV Don Juan and tanker Tacloban City, throwing the city into gloom. To bring the people out of the doldrums, the local government, business and civic groups and local artisans banned together to launch a festival of smiles. They called it Masskara, taken from the words mass (people) and cara (face) and had revellers wear masks with smiling faces. In essence, Bacolod declared it would not allow itself to be vanquished. And the city has not looked back since.
Because it was festival season, all the hotels and flights were full. I was booked at Luxur Hotel, or what used to be the Bacolod Convention Plaza Hotel, now home for Teleperformance Bacolod. It was safe, Jocelle promised, being in front of the Bacolod Police Headquarters. And though it was not in the center of town, it was just 50 meters from the Negros Organic Market and 20 meters from Aboy’s, the best Bacolod restaurant. I made a mental note to try out Aboy’s.
After the ribbon cutting on Friday, we toured the trade exhibition at SMX. I was impressed by the creativity of the local artists and the variety of products on display, from food to paintings and intricately woven baskets. Desserts appeared to be a strong point, with the abundance of sweets, a natural course given Bacolod is sugarland. All I remember from my first trip to Bacolod was piaya, but this time I was introduced to Napoleones, mango tarts, caramel tarts, barquillos, bizcocho, broas, and more. I kept getting suggestions to visit Calea and Felicia’s but didn’t have the time this trip.
Bacolod seems to be a paradise for foodies, and everyone I met urged me to try chicken inasal. But since I shy away from chicken, I opted for seafood instead. The first night in Bacolod, I toyed with the idea of having dinner at Aboy’s but was told not to walk there as it was already late and dark; instead I just stayed in the hotel and worked on my presentation.
Meeting Aboy’s founder, with Mrs. Josefina Puentevella.
Riches of the sea: oysters, angel clams, squid, blue marlin.
On my second night in Bacolod, the mayor’s wife Mrs. Josefina Puentevella (Tita Paching) brought me to Aboy’s and ordered a delicious repast of seafood. I was introduced to diwal (angel wing clams), squid fat, their version of laing, and I was hooked! We feasted on scallops, oysters and blue marlin. What made it more special was meeting its amiable owner. Tita Paching recounted how it grew from being a small eatery in 1992 catering to pharmaceutical reps to this big expansive restaurant we were eating in. She pointed out the owner’s wife who was behind the till, still hard at work.
Early the next day, Tita Paching picked me up and we heard mass at the Cathedral of San Sebastian, originally built in 1876. Seeing the familiar figure of San Sebastian tied to a tree with arrows sticking ut of him, I remembered my childhood. Every Sunday, we would go to mass at the Basilica of San Sebastian behind which we lived. I would stare at his statue at the main altar, and wonder how strong his faith was to be martyred for it. After mass, we visited the Organic Market, picked up a refreshing dayap and cucumber juice and then had breakfast at Luxur.
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips’ lifeboat behind us at the VMA Training Center.
After this, Atty. John Orola came to pick me up and show me his school, The VMA Global College and Training Centers where they prepare students for lifetime careers ranging from maritime to tourism. It was interesting touring the school’s facilities, especially the MV VMA, a full mission simulator where students can experience how to navigate a vessel using the Poseidon simulator, maneuvering under various conditions and situations and avoiding collision. A group of students was then undergoing survival training, learning how to swim under difficult conditions and to jump from heights. There was an enclosed 28-foot lifeboat, which apparently had been used by Tom Hanks in the movie Captain Phillips that I wanted to enter, but we could not as survival training was ongoing. Next trip, I thought.
After VMA, we moved over to Sum-Ag, Bacolod City where we met Tomas “Tomiko” Claridad Casiano, a retired floral designer from Beverly Hills. When he decided to come back to the Philippines, Tomiko packed up his collection of over 2,000 vintage glass pieces in 66 crates, and built a two-story museum next door to his home to house his beloved collection. Opened to the public on December 12, 2012, Laguerta, home of the Vintage Glass Museum has been recognized as the largest collection of depression glasses outside of the United States, and the first in Asia.
Tomiko’s love story with vintage glasses began when he searched for interesting vases for the floral creations he would use in the homes of the rich and famous. Attracted to vintage glass, particularly depression glasses manufactured in the Unites States from 1904 to 1940, Tomiko had his collection of dinnerware, decanters, commemorative plates and decorative objects arranged by color, from yellow to amber, pink, ruby, fire, green, aquamarine, cobalt blue and delphite which is an opaque blue glass.
He eagerly showed us the stars of his collection, explaining the difference between carnival glasses, which are pattern-molded iridescent glasses sprayed with metallic salts while the glass was hot, and opalescent glasses, which have two layers of glass: one colored and the other clear. He explained that washing the latter several times would wash away its color completely. He showed us his Vaseline collection, which is no longer being made because it requires uranium to produce its yellow to yellow green color; a Jadite collection that is milk green, a pearlized mustard collection that is milk yellow, and a milky white collection.
Tomiko pointing out the finer details of the glass bowl.
Tomiko held up some bowls to the sun so that we could appreciate the patterns. I was intrigued by a night lamp he held up that was etched all around with a ship, a spouting whale, a swimming whale and anchors. I imagined it lit by a candle, and a young mother during the depression telling her child a bedtime story of maritime adventure as the flickering light of the candle threw shadows on the wall. Another interesting item was a bedtime jar, whose cover was actually an upturned glass. Tomiko had two of those in his collection.
Listening to his stories and watching him as he toured us around, I was impressed with Tomiko. Here was a man, totally unassuming, who loved what he did and was eager to share it with the world. When I asked when visiting hours for his museum was, he explained that we had to call ahead to make a reservation so he could be there. He did not have staff to manage the museum, and did everything himself, afraid that they would not take care of his collection as well as he did.
Tomiko then invited us to visit the church of San Juan Nepomuceno that he has been supporting. The church housed his Escayola Collection of Mutilated Religious Arts. Since many Catholic families in the Philippines have “santos” or images of saints made of escayola (plaster of Paris), owners are unsure what to do with them when they break. Missing limbs or heads, the “santos” are no longer displayed. As it is considered bad luck to throw them, they are instead buried.
One night, Tomiko dreamt that he was being asked by God to take care of broken religious icons made of escayola. The very next day, a neighbor came by and gave him a broken statue of a saint that he had unearthed while digging in his garden. This started his collection, as news spread and friends and even people he did not know would come up to him and gift him with their broken statues. I asked him if he knew who all these “santos” represented, and he admitted that he did not know all of them, but that a researcher was helping him identify the statues for proper labeling. I am sure that just like his vintage glass collection, Tomiko’s escayola collection will someday be recognized as unique and outstanding.
With John Orola and Atty. Danny Cruz of the VMA Global College
My last stop before going to the airport for my return trip to Manila was the stadium. I was adamant to catch even one Masskara dance, and was lucky to see the group that performed in Hong Kong. It was an amazing performance, and a fitting end to my quick trip to Bacolod City. I vowed to come back next year for the Masskara festival and stay the entire weekend. Now to look for tickets and book a hotel.
August 23 and 24. Frenzied, fun and fulfilling is how I would characterize the past two days I’ve spent in the company of Philippine M.I.C.E. Academy colleagues Tinette Capistrano of Primetrade Asia, Inc., Marisa Nallana of PETCO, Jing Lagandaoan of Globallink MP, Anton Magpantay of Creatif Foire PRO, Joel Pascual of PEP Group and Sonia Sayaman of ATN. Teaching has always been a passion of mine, and so three years ago, I joined industry friends in setting up the Philippine Meetings, Incentive, Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions/Events (M.I.C.E.) Academy.
Envisioned to be the training arm of the Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (PACEOS), the Academy is meant to answer the need for continuing education to upgrade the quality, competence, and excellence of M.I.C.E. professionals and practitioners in their delivery of tourism and trade services and to make them globally competitive. Who best to provide industry practitioners better knowledge, updated techniques, and latest trends in M.I.C.E. than those in the trenches, like us? The problem is getting all these super busy individuals to pry themselves away from their events to actually get to teach.
And so it was almost a miracle that everyone’s schedule converged for last weekend’s Event Management 101 Workshop for the Cebu Association of Tour Operators (CATO). Under the able leadership of its president Marget Villarica who sits with me on the Tourism Promotions Board, and its VP and project lead Alice Queblatin, CATO had applied for a training grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The workshop was designed to help CATO members learn how to plan, organize, promote, manage and evaluate conferences, exhibitions and events; identify and form strategic partnerships with customers, suppliers, sponsors and other events organizers; know current global trends and marketing approaches in the M.I.C.E. industry; learn how to prepare bid proposals for international conferences and meetings; and develop competitive and winning incentive travel packages.
CATO opened up the workshop to their partners in the industry, and so we had 80 participants, consisting of tour operators, hotel and resort sales executives, a sprinkling of MICE professors and students, tourism promotion officers, tour guides and event organizers. I was surprised to see amongst the participants the famous Patricio Primor, Jr., better known as Junjet. The artistic force behind most of Cebu’s major event productions, Junjet I felt strongly should actually be one of the trainers. Representatives from the Department of Tourism and ADB sat in to evaluate the workshop.
Our group of trainers.
Despite their hectic schedules, the trainers readily agreed to spend their precious weekend and rest time to travel to Cebu for the workshop. All seasoned industry experts, the trainers shared their knowledge and best practices, drawing on their vast experience in organizing MICE events. A quick survey showed we had at least 150 years of consolidated MICE experience represented in the room. Joining the Academy trainers were Raquel Tria of the Tourism Promotions Board, Clang Garcia of Jeepney Tours, and Albert Lafuente of Shangri-La’s Mactan Hotel and Resort. And because we were all busy with our own events and companies, we all had a big laugh when we realized that we had crammed preparing the slides the night before.
Most of the trainers traveled to Cebu Friday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t join them because TeamAsia was organizing Globe’s Digital Lifestyle Expo at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall Friday night. While waiting for the event to begin, I hurried over to Forever 21 to get a white t-shirt for the second day of the workshop. The Academy had decided to liven up the workshop by asking the participants to dress up according to the day’s theme. Day One’s theme was beach wear, while Day Two was all white shirts which we would ask the participants to color as an icebreaker and networking activity.
The stragglers arrive at the Cebu airport to a VIP welcome.
Going home late Friday night, I agonized over what beach wear to don, given that I was going to teach. I can’t really wear a swimsuit on stage, right? With very little time to plan my wardrobe, I quickly threw a few things in my bag, hoped for the best, and started working on my slides for the next day. I noticed Joel’s post on FB wearing the welcome lei he got at the airport. I was jealous, but happy to get my own lei when I arrived at the airport Saturday morning with Raquel and Anton. Cheap thrills to be treated like a VIP at the airport!
Presentation 101: Surprise your audience.
Operations Management was my assigned topic for Day One. How to keep audience interest in the early afternoon with such a boring, yet important and incredibly detailed brass tacks topic? Inspiration hit me just as I took the stage. I decided to remove my huge overshirt to reveal a modest tank top and sarong underneath. Presentation 101 technique: surprise your audience with a mini strip tease. Now that worked like magic! And quick-witted Sonia snapped up some photos too.
By the end of the day, we were all tired from serious teaching. With a few minutes to spare, we took out mobile phone cams and decided to have our photos taken in fun. A serious photographer (who had an all access pass at the recent Bench underwear show and lots of stories to tell), Joel gave us some tips on how to emphasize our curves for photo shoots. I am too embarrassed to include my shots here, and will just keep them for my future grandchildren to know that their lola was once a hottie (borrowing Coke’s term).
Dinner at Lemon Grass
After hamming it up for the cameras, we hurried over to the Redemptorist Church to attend the anticipated mass, and then went to Ayala Mall to buy white t-shirts, coloring pens, stickers and sparkles for the next day’s fellowship activity. Dinner was at Lemon Grass, which sadly did not have the strong Thai flavors I was looking forward to. But the camaraderie more than made up for the food. Still wired up, we ended up at the Marco Polo Lobby Lounge for a nightcap, which was accompanied by a lot of ribbing and teasing about dating and relationships at our age. After all, we were all single people sans Jing who had to fly back to Manila, and some of us, beginning anew to relearn skills long lost.
The second day of the workshop had the participants preparing their pitches for their assigned events, and dreaming up the most creative incentive packages that would put Cebu in the limelight and attract tourists and investments. In between learning sessions, we all had fun writing messages and drawing on each other’s white shirts, forging friendships in the process.
Scenes from the workshop: group discussion, Marget receiving our Events Planning Guide, certficates, the winning team with Junjet at the helm, and ramp of colorful shirts.
From fiestas to conferences to sports events and concerts, the participants gamely defended their proposals for events and incentive packages to the panel of discriminating judges. Several of the presentations were gems, but one group shone brightly. No surprise that it was Junjet’s group that bagged the best presentation for both the event and incentive package. Come to think of it, the fact that Junjet stayed for the entire two days and participated wholeheartedly and actively was the best measure for the success of the workshop.
The participants obviously enjoyed the learning opportunity tremendously, with many coming up to us with words of appreciation and the inevitable request for a photo souvenir. It was truly a rewarding experience not just for the participants, but more for us trainers. I really believe that the more you share, the more you get in return. Circle of life.
During the awarding of certificates, I learned from Tinette that we had to wear the CATO shirt we were given earlier for the group photo, so I rushed back to the room to put it on. Arriving back at the venue, I heard everyone laughing only to realize that they had been looking for me to say a few final words to close the workshop, and bubbly Alice had said that Monette was probably still undressing. Will I ever live down my new reputation?
At the airport, we were told that we could not hand carry the Cebu chorizos we were given, so Marisa and Anton put their loot into my check-in luggage. I was glad for Anton’s company on the Tiger Air plane ride back to Manila. Highly claustrophobic, I worried if I could get through the hour long flight without screaming. Anton offered to exchange places so that I could have the window seat. We started talking about work, clients, family and life, and soon I had forgotten about the cramped space. Anton is an amazing person, kind to a fault, highly accomplished and driven yet very low-key. Another hero from this industry to look up to, and one I am glad to call a friend.
It was funny, but Anton’s first question was, “How long were you a nun?” I was taken aback only to realize that Anton didn’t know me as long as the others did and only picked up from the ribbing that had taken place in the past two days. The new Monette had emerged, they teased. Who once was a formal, reserved individual (aka madre) was now a daring individual, doing things they never would have imagined me to do. I guess my shirt said it all.
TeamAsia founder and president, trainer, event organizer, food and art lover. President, Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Supplier Philippines · teamasia.com
