Ang Takdang Panahon

Dumating na ang takdang panahon na tayo ay kailangan nang magkabuklod - buklod at magkaroon ng isang adhikain para sa ating Inang Bayan.

Matutupad lamang ito kung maigpawan natin ang ating makasariling pangitain. Paano nga ba natin ito maisasagawa nang wasto? Di ba’t sinubukan na ito ng napakaraming nilalang sa iba’t-ibang henerasyong dumaan? Di nga ba’t sinubukan nating gamitin ang isang pambansang wika sa tangkang pag-isahin ang damdamin ng buong sambayanang Pilipino? Ngunit, nagtagumpay ba ito?

Hindi kaya ito’y naging sanhi pa ng hindi pagkakaunawaan?

Hindi sapat ang pambansang wika bilang kasagutan sa usaping ito.

Ang diwa ng bawat Pilipino ang siyang kailangang pagbuklurin. Hindi ba’t diwa rin ang dapat nating kasangkapanin sa layuning ito?

Meron bang patutunguhan,

Itong ating Inang Bayan?

Dapat na ngang pag-isipan,

Ang kanyang kinabukasan.

Gulong-gulo ang isip ko.

Paano pag-isahin ‘to?

Lahi sa lupang hinirang,

Upang magkaintindihan.

Sinubukan nang ibuklod,

Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao.

Gamit-gamit ay ang wika,

Ito sana’y naging tama.

Ngunit hindi naging sapat,

Mga puso’y watak-watak,

Kanya-kanyang adhikain,

Makasariling hangarin.

Ano nga bang diwang tunay?

Sa Inang Baya’y i-alay,

Na ang buong sambayana’y

Iisang adhikáng buháy.

Ni Jose Rizal binansagan,

Na Perlas ng Silanganan,

Hindi lamang kathang isip,

Katutubong panaginip.

Pilipinas – tunay na perlas.

Kuminang- kumuha ng lakas,

Gumanda at bumusilak,

Sa kanyang pagkakasadlak.

Ang diwa ng sambayanan,

Hiyas na Perlas ang huwaran,

Sa kawalan ng pag-asa

Lilikha ng bagong umaga.

Pagbabagong anyo

Kumilos kayo!

Pagbabagong anyo

Kumilos tayo!

Pagbabagong anyo

Kumilos ngayon!

Pagbabago

Sisimulan ko!

The Pearl Advocacy Makes Landfall in Occidental Mindoro

(Article written by Virgilio Paralisan, Executive Director of the Pearl Principle, for Volume 3, Issue 2 of The Village Centrex and published here with permission. The Village Centrex is the Official Publication of the Centre for International Education.)

Mamburao is an out of the way town in Occidental Mindoro. The sleepy capital town of the province, it has a population of 30,378 people and 6,259 households. It can be reached from Metro Manila by taking a bus to the Batangas City pier, taking a roll-on-roll –off (RORO) to Abra de Ilog Pier, which is about two hours travel, and finally riding a vhire, jeepney or bus to the town proper.

Mamburao is geographically cut off from most government services and most government agencies are not based in Mamburao but in Oriental Mindoro. There are limited opportunities for development.

Most of the time nothing much happens in Mamburao. This has changed. Last June 2007, the Centre for International Education (CIE) opened a Pearl Principle Formation School (PPFS) in the town in partnership with the Jubilee Parents Association (JPA). This special pre-school is called the JPA Learning Center.

You might ask why all the excitement about a pre-school in Mamburao? The PPFS is part of our Pearl advocacy- our effort to initiate positive change in our community and country. The PPFS, in particular, is our response to illiteracy in the urban and rural parts of the country. Making a PPFS work and even turning a profit in a community like Mamburao will give us the opportunity for learning and experience to make PPFS work in other areas with no investment from government, and no grants from foreign funding organizations. Since a PPFS is a social enterprise and a social franchise, it operates on a sound business model and has the capacity to replicate its success.

The establishment of a PPFS in a far off province like Occidental Mindoro was made possible through our partnership with the Jubilee Parents Association, an association made up of parents of children who were beneficiaries of the programs formerly managed by the World Vision Development Foundation.

World Vision Development Foundation is a foundation based in Canada. Preparing for the eventual phase out of the project funded by World Vision Development Foundation, the parents decided to establish their own support program for education and formalized the existence of their association. The Jubilee Parents Association was formally recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 1989.

JPA is currently governed by a Board of Directors made up of parent volunteers. These directors have served JPA for almost ten years now. The members of the board are:

Mary Ann Nares
Chairperson

Lorena Umali
Vice Chairperson

Estrellita Alafriz
Secretary

Givi Paglicawan
Treasurer

Soccoro Tesorio
Assistant Treasurer

Pilar Alfaro
Member

Rowena Aquino
Member

The program funded by World Vision Development Foundation was officially terminated on September 30, 2005. When the JPA considered running their own school, the development of the curriculum and the management of the school itself became a challenge. Initial information gathered by officials of JPA introduced them to the difficulty of setting up a school not only because of the legal requirements but also because of the experienced needed to set up a school that can deliver quality education.

The Pearl Principle Formation School is a special pre-school program developed by Professor Nelia Cruz-Sarcol, the founder and president of the Centre for International Education. It draws on her long years of experience in starting and running the Child Development Center of CIE, Cebu Campus. The PPFS uses the first-rate curriculum developed by Teacher Nelia for preschool children.

The PPFS was introduced to the Jubilee Parents Association through Jay Tabana, a Pearl Principle Advocate. Pastor Jay, as we call him, works through his Lighthouse Ministries. He encouraged one of JPA's most dedicated volunteer and youth leaders, Arturo "Art" Alafriz, Jr., to get involved in the Pearl Principle which eventually got him educated about the PPFS concept on August 12, 2006, in a PPFS Phase 1 Orientation held in Cordova Condominium, Makati City.

On August 14, 2006, the Board of Directors of JPA led by its Chairperson, Mary Ann T. Nares, unanimously voted for the operation of a PPFS and the creation of a committee to oversee its operation. The board also authorized the participation of Mr. Alafriz and two more teachers, Lianne Joy Saberola and Chandeleth Yanzon, to the PPFS Phase 2 Orientation in Cordova Condominium on December 9, 2006.

Even though CIE would have helped JPA prepare the feasibility study for the PPFS in the Municipality of Mamburao, JPA took the initiative of investing on a feasibility study themselves. It gave them confidence that they can actually operate a PPFS in their community. Clearly, JPA wanted the school to operate as early as June of 2007.

Against the limitations imposed by their own project schedules, JPA sent its volunteers to the CIE PPFS Training Workshop for Administrators and Mentors on May 21-23, 2007, at Cordova Condominium, Makati City. The three-day intensive training started as early as 8:00 am and finished as late as 8:00 pm.

The three volunteers, Art Alafriz, Lianne Joy Saberola and Chandeleth Yanzon, who all have bachelors in education and are licensed teachers, went through a rigorous introduction to the CIE methods and techniques of teaching developed by Teacher Nelia. These principles and strategies form the foundation of 21 years of pre-school education in CIE. Now for the first time these methods and techniques are being shared with institutions outside CIE in a common effort to end illiteracy.

In a wholehearted effort, Teacher Nelia not only gave them access to CIE programs an methods for preschool teaching, she also mentored them herself. The whole Presidential Management Staff (PMS) was also in the workshop learning for the first time how we are making life-long learners out of our own CIE pre-school kids through our academic programmes.

The JPA team was clearly very interested in learning more about preschool education. They took a lot of notes and asked very good questions about the learning process of pre-school age children. Teacher Nelia was very patient in going through the slow process of explaining the teaching principles she used in designing lessons for our pre-school.

The workshop covered topics on learning, the reading process, teaching math, teaching science, and critical thinking and culminated in the actual writing of lesson outlines. The participants were then required to make a teaching demo using their written lesson outlines for the different learning areas.

The PPFS training is an on-going process because the rest of the training is spent on site. The JPA mentors are submitting their lesson outlines via email and we critique each of these lesson outlines and then send them back for use for a week's set of lessons. Presently the mentoring and consulting are done through our Global Examinations and Qualifications or GEQ (pronounced "Check") and of course under the very methodical supervision of Teacher Nelia.

After the JPA Team successfully completed the 3-day intensive workshop they had to start the tedious process of organizing their school, marketing it and preparing for the opening of classes. We were quite optimistic that the school would not start empty. However, we did not expect them to get more than ten pupils by opening week.

They had barely two weeks to prepare for classes and they were still sending their lesson outlines a week before classes. Added to the challenge was the fact that there is a reputable pre-school in the poblacion that almost all pre-schoolers go to. Everyone's fingers were crossed.

We sent them the forms they will need to get their student registration process up and running. The Office of the CEO also sent designs for collaterals they can use for marketing the school. JPA tapped its network of volunteers to distribute flyers to inform the community that JPA Learning Center would be opening this June 2007.

Just as we were opening classes here in CIE Main, JPA informed us that they opened as scheduled with two classes in their first term with more than thirty pupils. It was an exciting feat for JPA Learning Center considering that they had barely a month to market the school with severely limited resources.

The JPA Learning Center just completed their first grading examinations. CIE has sent the first batch of official report cards for students to Mamburao. Parents’ sessions for Pearl Principle value formation are done at least an hour and a half every Saturday. Everything is coming into place for the JPA Learning Center. We will be evaluating the JPA Learning Center this coming first quarter of 2008 to find out if they have come up to CIE GEQ standards. We are very optimistic about the outcomes.

Everyone A Leader

This is Chapter 7 of "The Pearl Principle" book.

Last August 2004, my friends and I were talking about grim news in the broadsheets, radio and television. We felt that there had been too many talks and debates of “why” these awful things continue to happen to our country and “who” are causing these events to occur.

Many of us keep looking back and digging dirt while creating other mounds as we dig. These mounds will eventually have to be cleared and dug again. The endless transferring of dirt from left to right, front and back, continues… Are we digging ditches everywhere to bury ourselves in?

“Does anybody have a solution?”

One of my friends, who had seen efforts from the farthest left to the farthest right, had been battle-scarred, so to speak, in quest of an answer. According to him, everyone has advice to give, but not many are acting on their proposed solutions. Too difficult, they say. But I guess, it is because they themselves are part of the problem.

My small group comprises of “Don Quixotes”. These are Filipinos who dare to dream the impossible, who dare to fight the unbeatable… and challenge the culture of passivity and apathy.

However, we do not wish to fight windmills. We are dreamers, yes -- not of a new Philippines but of the TRUE Philippines -- which has always been called “The Pearl of the Orient.”

Perlas ng Silanganan.

The truth of the matter is that, solving the problems of our country is possible.
It is not a Herculean task. This process of transformation will take some time.

Yes. But, by accepting this fact, we would have already won half the battle.

Yes. It will take sometime. But, we can make use of this time to our advantage, by planning our actions very well. History should have taught us enough. Haven’t we learned our lessons?

We have been used to “band-aid” solutions here and there. But “band-aid” solutions have never taken us anywhere.

What it takes are small but sustained, purposive actions guided by the People’s Vision as presented earlier in page 30 (Chapter 4 - The Way to Become).

This fact leads us back to the Pearl Principle.

To be able to solve the problems of our country, we need to individually take it upon ourselves to change for the better.

The ability to change ourselves is the foundation of authentic leadership. Each one has this capacity. Each one is a potential leader.

Change can be willed by anyone.

But let it begin with me.

And, as we evolve and reach out to people within our spheres of influence, something will eventually spark!

As an old song goes, “It only takes a spark to get the fire burning. And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.”

It will only take one ordinary person who dares to be a leader to start that SPARK, and spread the flame until it becomes big enough to warm others and move them towards the same direction.

This FLAME is NOT the destructive fire, but the PASSION intense enough to smelt passive individuals to become leaders themselves.

This is only possible if you are an inspirational leader who can infect others with a vision. The leader leads himself. The leader inspires others. The leader draws others towards a vision.

The leader engages people into action.

This is the leader we need right now. This is the kind of leader the Pearl Principle calls us to become.

The Pearl Principle cultures GENERATIVE LEADERS.

Generative Leaders bring hope so that people can “LIVE” again. He Leads, Inspires, Visualizes, and Engages people to CREATE new solutions, generate new ideas, and think out of the box.

CREATE also stands for creation, reinvention, enrichment, adaptation - assimilation, transformation and enlightenment.These thinking processes are activated in one’s consciousness only if that person is in a state of optimism. Pragmatic idealists, we call them, who are true disciples of the Pearl Principle, possess this mindset.

A person who is in a state of optimism, has the capacity to see what others do not see. Has that intuitive power to recognize opportunities from adversities. Sees possibilities rather than impossibilities.

Generative leaders inspire others with the way they live their lives inspired by The Tenets of the Pearl Principle. They are also guided by a noble aspiration -- living lives in communion with God, possessing integrity in thought, word and deed, empathizing with commitment, and being accountable for their actions.

They are governed by a purpose greater than their own to make a difference in the lives of others and contribute to creating a better world.

Genuine Generative Leaders see themselves at the center of a unified field of diverse energies that can fuel change. They can show how dreams can be fulfilled and that dreams can still be fulfilled. They can be the bridge to our future as a people.

This is the mission of the Pearl Principle: To awaken the Generative Leader in every Filipino who has the resolve to make our Motherland live up to its historical destiny as THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT.

Coming up is Chapter 8 "It's Time!"

First Things First

This is Chapter 6 of "The Pearl Principle" book.

There were seven problems of the country brought up and discussed in that Conference. These were the issues on poverty, unemployment, underemployment, peace and order, the deteriorating standards in education, corruption, over-population and our national “identity crisis.”

The participants presented possible solutions followed by the usual debates. Most of the proposed solutions were “top-to-bottom” strategies.

We are not saying we do not need change at the top. We are in total agreement that we do — but we must be able to do more from where we are standing right now.

The Pearl Principle believes in a “bottom-to-top” approach. This begins with change from within and from within one’s sphere of influence. Thus, ensuring a solid footing for any long-term change to be sustained.

However, you might ask: ‘What kind of people can take on the Herculean task of solving problems with such magnitude -- without political power or without resources?’

The answer is simple.

Disabuse your mind that it is a Herculean task. It is not. What we need are incremental changes.

One step at a time. One Filipino at a time.

Ang bawat hakbang ay siyang magdadala sa atin sa tugatog na gusto nating marating at nais nating buuin.

Just like building a cathedral, stone by stone, block by block, we pile them up. But merely piling them up is not enough.

Dapat isaisip natin na tayo ay lumilikha ng isang katedral, ng isang adhikain, ng isang bansa. It is picking up that block, with each mason carrying and offering it with all his heart, mindful of his role that he has to perfectly cut that block and place it on top of the other blocks that have also been rightly laid out by the others, making sure that the very foundation of the cathedral is strong enough to withstand the test of time. That without this individual contribution, the edifice shall never attain the magnificence we have envisioned it to become.

We need to be totally and inexhaustibly determined to pursue the task of transformation. What we need is NOT POLITICAL POWER, but the WILL POWER to initiate change beginning with ourselves and the people immediately around us.

Next is Chapter 7 "Everyone A Leader".

Where Do We Go From Here?

This is Chapter 5 of "The Pearl Principle" book.

As a nation, we should have a ROADMAP.

This roadmap must show how we can fulfill our destiny. Our destiny is a consequence of our past and the decisions we make today. It may not be a perfect roadmap. Surely, we have to “re-route” several times as we journey on.

This roadmap tells us what is important, the things that we should be doing and how we should be doing them.

This roadmap must be articulated, understood and accepted by all, so that everyone journeys in the same direction and reaches a common destination.

This roadmap manifests the essence of our very existence as a nation and must be deeply rooted in our collective consciousness.

As citizens of this country, we call for the immediate commencement of an inspired collective action to steer massive change that will bring each and every Filipino to attain a decent and meaningful life in a society enshrined in The People’s Vision.

This transformation could only come to fruition if change is initiated from within and from within one’s sphere of influence.

The basic rule is to “begin with the end in mind.” The end must be clear, easy to understand and owned by those who are involved in the change process.

We have attempted to change over and over. But we always start discussing problems, airing our gripes without offering solutions, and end up blaming each other.

Everyone has a hand in the predicament we are in. No one is innocent, nay guiltless, except our children who will inherit the mess we have created.

Unless…

Chapter 6 will be next: "First Things First".

The Way to Become

This is Chapter 4 of "The Pearl Principle" book.

They all came to satisfy a hunger. On September 28 and 29, 2004, a large group of Filipinos from all walks of life, found themselves huddled at the Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City -- looking for a new meaning and searching for the vision to guide their resolve to better themselves –ourselves -- for the country.

They responded to a simple invitation, a general newspaper announcement for a Conference on “The Pearl Principle: Tools and Strategies for National Recovery.” There were no promises of names of renowned speakers nor of financial incentives. Yet, they came, all 518 of them. Exceeding the seating capacity of the venue and surpassing the maximum expectations of the organizers. For over eight hours, they stayed glued to their seats. The speakers exhorted the audience to conjure images of a great future. But what this future exactly is, must be visualized individually, by everyone. The future can not be created, unless first, formed in the mind.

The audience was asked point blank, “What is your dream for your country?”

They unleashed a torrent of emotions as they unfolded their long-kept hopes and dreams. Otherwise shy to open up for lack of opportunity to be heard, to be recognized and to be involved, they seized the moment as they passionately revealed themselves to each other. Collectively, they painted a beautiful picture of the Philippines!

The speakers taunted them further, “What is your dream role to make your vision for our country come true?”

A rush of adrenalin filled the room. Everyone engaged in very animated discussion, spurred by the thought that they indeed have a role to play in making this dream for their beloved country come true.

Individually, they searched for their meaningful part in the orchestration of these dreams. Together, they found the way to become, and they crafted…

The People’s VisionThe Philippines: A S.T.R.I.N.G of P.E.A.R.L.S.

The Philippines is a Soaring and Tenacious Republic Instituted by Nation-loving Generations of Passionate, Ethical, Action-driven, Results-oriented Leaders of Society

The People’s Mission
We T.E.A.C.H.

We Train, Engage, Assess, Create opportunities, and Harness individuals, communities and organizations to apply The Ten Tenets of the Pearl Principle within their spheres of influence.

The People’s Strategies
We D.R.E.A.M.

Discover who you really are. Use your inherent God-given gifts for a higher purpose.

Reinvent yourself. Create a personal vision aligned to the service of your fellowmen.

Energize yourself. Be a life-long learner by re-tooling and associating with positive-minded people.

Act on your 4 Ps. Pray for discernment Plan your course of action Persist on achieving your plan

Pursue your dream with passion

Manage yourself. Be driven by SUCCESS:

Sense of
Urgency
Competence
Congruence
Enlightenment
Self-sacrifice
Service

How We Measure Success
We measure success by the number of people whose lives have improved because of our existence.

Personal success is only a means to an end, making the world a better place.

The Goal of Life:
Be A C.I.E.A.N.

Communion with God
Integrity in thought, word and deed
Empathy with commitment
Accountability for actions
Nobility in aspirations

THE TENETS OF THE PEARL PRINCIPLE
Our worldview is rooted in the transformation of adversity into a gem of a life…as in the creation of a pearl. We believe that…

1. Adversity is the catalyst of growth and progress.

2. Transformation is the proactive engagement of one’s sphere of influence.

3. Every person has inherent gifts that can be used to overcome challenges.

4. People can reinvent themselves at will.

5. Introspection is the key to unlocking the right core values that guide our discernment for
change.

6. Self-sufficiency is a philosophy that we can nurture to eradicate mendicant behavior.

7. Personal success is only a means to an end: making the world a better place.

8. Success is measured by the number of people whose lives have improved because of our
existence.

9. Wealth accumulation is only justified when it is re-channeled to uplift the quality of
life of communities through purposeful intervention.

10. Change begins from within...change begins with me.

Myriads of questions. A plethora of possibilities. An array of answers. An army of potential leaders emerged.

And when it was all over, they hovered around the venue, oblivious of time, reluctant to leave. They asked the question, “What’s next?”

From each discussion group, a leader was chosen. Forty two leaders were called upon and commissioned to further their new found cause. In that commissioning, each of them received, in the palm of their hands, the symbol of hope and transformation. The pearl.

THE SYMBOL OF HOPE AND TRANSFORMATION

We need a Symbol of Hope and a Model for Transformation. It cannot just be anybody. Anyone can come and go. Many of them have let us down.

Almost everyone has a hidden agenda. Most have turfs to protect. There are those weak in character.

And they betrayed our trust!

The perfect Symbol of Hope of our nation is the “pearl.”

The inner struggle of the oyster to survive has a profound meaning. The story can move anyone who has gone through a similar struggle, enough to hit you in the heart. It is faceless but it has life. It is the only living organism which can transform an “irritation” into a priced gemstone.

It is very easy for anyone to identify with the story of the pearl. It is easy to recall. It has no race, no creed, no political bias, no gender. Yet, it has a universal appeal. When your life is in disarray, think of the pearl – our National Symbol of Hope.

The flicker of hope will begin to warm your heart, warm enough to revive your strength, to force you to stand with courage, to transcend your fears and hopelessness, fired by your new found enthusiasm and optimism. Only then, will you be able to see beyond the pain. No longer a victim.

But a victor, free to soar.

Next is Chapter 5 "Where Do We Go from Here?"

We Found Our Soul

This is Chapter 3 of "The Pearl Principle" book.

The Pearl Principle reminds us that we can convert any pain, misfortune, ordeal or failure to something of value. Our essence as a nation is formed out of obstacles that we confront as a people and as a country.

Our experiences, painful and hard surround the core of our being. Each of these challenges is our nucleus for creation, each victory over the hardships we overcome is another pearl in our path.

Transformation occurs again and again in our growing process. Every incident, every emotion, every success, every sorrow, becomes another layer of our national development… exactly like the many layers of nacre that coat the deadly teredo microorganism—creating a beautiful pearl.

Our pain, which can be unspeakably intense and sometimes debilitating, brings the lessons we never forget. They are imprinted deeply in our core.

We should use these experiences to better weather future struggles. Our core must be solid and hard. The layering actually helps us mature… and shall help us to see beyond, to see what others do not see.

Ang perlas ay napakagandang inspirasyon upang tayo ay mabuhayan ng loob, na bumunot ng lakas mula sa kaibuturan ng ating kaluluwa.

Lahat tayo ay may natatanging galing at kakayahan -- kung ito lamang ay ating lilinangin ng mataimtim na pagnilay.

We offer the Pearl Principle as our National Philosophy to help us recover from this debilitating state of hopelessness. We present the analogy of the oyster called The Pearl Principle -- as the most viable way to effect positive change: the change from within and from within one’s sphere of influence.

Together, we shall become the catalysts for change to make our country a better nation. We shall endeavor to become the oysters that would allow us to reclaim our true destiny as envisioned by our forefathers. This is who we are. This is our soul.

The Philippines, The Pearl of the Orient.

Coming up is Chapter 4 "The Way to Become".