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SAN FRANCISCO: Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales spent three
hectic days this week in the San Francisco area, visiting with
Filipino parishioners and spreading his message of love and making
his pitch for “Pondo ng Pinoy,” his unique idea of raising money
for the poor in the Philippines, particularly his Archdiocese of
Manila.
In his homily Thursday night at
St. Anne of the Sunset Church in San Francisco before some 1,000
Mass celebrants, Cardinal Rosales described overseas Filipinos as
“people in mobility,” who compose the 8 to 9 percent (of a
population of 86-million) who have left the Philippines for other
shores. “We are on the threshold of a tremendous diaspora,” the
Cardinal said, also noting that today, Filipino workers and settlers
are in every part of the world.
Filipinos, he said, are very
caring, respectful and generous people and these traits are
evidenced in their relationships with people they serve or work with
in their adoptive homelands. For example, he noted, a Filipino nurse
would go the extra mile spoon-feeding her patients and asking about
their family situations and kidding with them. Perhaps there is no
other people in the world, Rosales said, who use a term of
respect—“po”—in every other sentence—Tuloy po kayo, Saan
po kayo pupunta? Ako po si Totoy. . . .
The Cardinal urged Filipino
Americans to “share what you have and take what is best” from
their new country. He added that man’s first duty is to be good,
and the rest will follow. Segue-ing to his second theme, Cardinal
Rosales said that charity is a way of life and that love is the key
to heaven.
Pondo ng Pinoy is the
Cardinal’s brainchild and he is not asking much for the poor of
the Philippines—just masses of quarters and dimes and cents,
contributed in small but steady and regular stream. Thus, charity
becomes a way of life when we learn to make the giving habitual and
as a matter of course. He does not encourage donations of huge
“one-shot” sums. Rather, he would like donors to help the less
fortunate, with what they can easily afford, on a regular basis that
is not hard on their budgets.
One frugal way is to utilize
empty soda cans as personal “alkansiyas.” For example, at the
end of the day, empty your purses and pockets of stray coins and
drop these into your soda cans. Before the week is out, you will be
surprised at the savings you have made for Pondo ng Pinoy. If a
person saved only one quarter a day, the amount saved would be $7.50
a month! Imagine multiplying $7.50 by even just one thousand caring
Fil-Ams!
The reception for the Cardinal
Rosales, by the way, was a great Pinoy bayanihan effort. The host
church of St. Anne is headed by young parish priest Fr. Ray Reyes.
The concelebrated Pontifical Mass was officiated mostly by Filipino
parish priests and the potluck table simply overflowed, courtesy of
many Batangueños from the various community groups that
participated.
Girl power
Girlfriends International, an
all-female organization unique in that there are no rules, no
officers, and no by-laws to bind members except friendship and
camaraderie, got off the ground with a bang last weekend at the home
of Willie and Ed Santamaria. Founding members Willie, Linda Rose
Victoire Byers (she insists that we mention all her monikers or
nothing), Goya Navarrete, Charito Benipayo, Yvonne Rufino, Annie
Wong Salonga and Lydia Boston Ilomin brought along not only their
potluck donations but their close friends to be participants and
guests.
Among them were Linda’s guests
Baby Yulo (who lived farthest, in Canlubang, Laguna), Yoyi Zuk of
Atherton, Jocelyn Kaufman of Berkeley, Sharon Evers of Folsom,
Virgie de Vera of San Jose, and Mary Farquhar (the only daughter of
PE teacher Mrs. Brinks, an institution at the Assumption for more
years than we can count!). Charito’s friends included
businesswoman Alphie de Guzman (who promoted the very successful
fashion show of Renée Salud a few months ago), Lyn Trinidad and
Vanessa Suntay and Kaiser nurse Fely Santiago (who arrived late with
Yvonne). Goya and I shared our own guests: Chita Albert CuUnjieng,
Rosa Laperal, Anita Sanchez (recently appointed executive director
of administration of the SF Civil Service Commission), Linda Galeon
and Lourdes Tano. Willie, school principal at an Oakland charter
school, included her staff of teachers and aides to join the party
too.
After a long evening of great
food and greater conversations, games, singing and dancing to the
music of the Standard Time jazz band, the group all agreed
Girlfriends was a fabulous idea whose time had really come.
By the way, Willie moonlights as
vocalist of the professional Standard Time band, which is composed
of retired school administrators who jam on weekends mostly in
lounges and music bars at the Marina.
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