"BARANGAY TECHNOLOGY FOR PEACE CONSORTIUM"
 October 20, 2001
by JS Eusebio, Phd

  On October 20, 2001, 2:00 - 4:00 PM, at the City Hall of Milpitas, California, the historical and memorable Ceremonies for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), was witnessed by:
 


Honorable Henry C. Manayan, Mayor of City of Milpitas, California
Honorable Delia Menez Rosal, Consul General, Phil. Consulate San Francisco
 
between four (4) key organizations in the USA and Philippines, namely:
 
  • California Technological Care, represented by its President, Mr. Albert Munroe, Jr.
  • FISH for PEACE, represented by its Founder & President, Dr. Isagani J. Sarmiento
  • LBC USA, represented by its President, Mr. Hugo Bonilla, and
  • BIDANI Net /Dev't Foundation, represented by its Founding President, Dr. Josefa S. Eusebio
 
  Standing from left: Pastor J. Q. Jones, William Tang, Dora Sarmiento, Rosamaria Taylor, Sal Horquita, Rolando Lavarias, Nerissa Fernandez, Demos Punsalan, Bo Torres and Dr. Melchizedek Solis. Sitting from left: Dr. Isagani Sarmiento, Hugo Bonilla, Jr., Consul General Delia Menez Rosal, Mayor Henry C. Manayan, Albert "Sandy" Munroe, and Dr. Josefa S. Eusebio.
   
  These four entities have bound themselves to a common set of goals and objectives to help accelerate socio-economic development in the Philippines.

The goal is: to pool and distribute resources for establishing and maintaining Barangay learning centers for community and national development through youth-adult partnership in livelihood and vocational skills training, work placement and educational advancement for persons in underserved communities.

The objectives are:
 
  • To promote self-reliance and a spirit of self-help among Filipinos;
  • To link, involve and engage Fil-Am organizations in real community giving to their kababayans in their hometowns;
  • To help access various livelihoods inaccessible because of the Digital Divide, by combating computer illiteracy and providing computer learning opportunities;
  • To build a potential workforce for possible growth industries throughout the Philippines;
  • To help Filipino children grow up healthy, creative and productive as adults by maximizing the opportunity for each individual's potential.
  Other witnesses who signed the Memorandum of Understanding were:

Mr. Sal Horquita, Jr., Chairperson, Cyberbarangay, National Fil-Am Council
Ms. Rhodora A. Sarmiento, Secretary-Treasurer, FISH for PEACE
Ms. Rosamaria Taylor, Vice-President for Operations, LBC USA
Ms. Nerissa M. Fernandez, Director, LBC Corporate Dev't and Community Building
Mr. Rolando L. Lavarias, CTC Director, President of Lualhati USA, & Corporate Affairs Manager, Manila Bulletin USA

Some 50 attendees were present, mainly officers, board members, and friends of the four organizations, of the mayor and the consul general. There were also several chinese visitors of Presidential Adviser William Tang and the Mayor who were present to be part of the whole experience.
 
 
A formal program, organized by Mr. Demos Punsalan, VP/Co-founder of CTC and Ms. Nerissa Fernandez of LBC USA, and facilitated by Dr. Dick Solis, was commenced by an invocation by Rev. Jesse Lee, Manager of CTc Grant Writing Dept., followed by the Welcome Remarks and a video presentation about the City of Milpitas by Mayor Henry Manayan. Ms. Sarah Gonzales, CTC Program Director, introduced the attendees and guests, after which the four signatories (Dr. Eusebio for BIDANI, Dr. Sarmiento for FISH for PEACE, Ms. Fernandez in behalf of Mr. Hugo of LBC USA, and Mr. Munroe for CTC) gave a brief presentation about their program /organization, and their roles in the consortium project. Mr. William Tang, a presidential assistant of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assigned in California, also made a public pronouncement that he will bring the good news to the President and promised to assist during implementation.

Dr. Solis briefly summarized the program of action to be carried out by the four partners, outlining the phases of implementation over a 3-year period, from operational aspects to sustainability and promotion, eventually covering the 42,000 villages in the Philippines.
 
 

After the formal signing of the contract documents by the collaborating partners and witnesses, a heart touching "Peace Accord" ceremony followed. While standing in front of a long table lined with Filipino native tinalak cloth and sea shell, the six major signatories held a long sturdy beautiful piece of white fabric rope. Using a bolo knife typical of the tribal ethnic group in the Visayas, each one had to cut a one-foot piece from the long white cord. This piece is to be given to each organization /signatory as a lasting remembrance of the occasion, and a reminder of the promise to work together to reach the goals and objectives of the program.
 
 
After the formal signing of the contract documents by the collaborating partners and witnesses, a heart touching "Peace Accord" ceremony followed. While standing in front of a long table lined with Filipino native tinalak cloth and sea shell, the six major signatories held a long sturdy beautiful piece of white fabric rope. Using a bolo knife typical of the tribal ethnic group in the Visayas, each one had to cut a one-foot piece from the long white cord. This piece is to be given to each organization /signatory as a lasting remembrance of the occasion, and a reminder of the promise to work together to reach the goals and objectives of the program.
 
 


During her Closing Remarks, Consul General Delia Menez Rosal lauded the program and promised to help in paving the way for its success. The ceremonies were concluded by a benediction given by Dr. Solis while all participants and attendees, like a big family, held their hands together in a big circle. A sumptuous merienda was served, courtesy of CTC, highlighted with a "birthday" cake to celebrate the birth of the CTC-FISH for PEACE-BIDANI-LBC USA consortium.