Karen V. Cortez: Young and Compassionate

Karen on the left with her mom, Ellen, and grandmother Amanda Marcelo. The children should join one of the idol contests.

Australia-based Karen Cortez visits the children at Gabay Buhay Home every year whenever she takes a vacation in the Philippines. Karen is 12 years old !

Last Easter, she helped host an Easter egg hunt, some games, lunch and a water balloon fight with and for the kids. It was such a fun filled day so when her family had to leave already, some of the girls asked her to visit again. And Karen did.

Del A. Castillo: Healthy Food Advocate

At Likha Diwa, Del is wearing a red shirt; front row:
jules and leslie; 2nd row: maris and mavic; back, rodel


There are many alternatives to crispy pata. (Howling in the background.) Okay, okay. Let me qualify my statement: there are many healthy alternatives for a better quality of life. yahoo.

Health is clearly a matter of choice. And we need to make good choices. People like Del Castillo help us in our most trying, tempting moments.

Del Castillo has been a tireless advocate for healthy eating. For 13 years now, she has been operating Likha Diwa sa Gulod where fruits, vegetables, seafood, tofu, mushrooms and meat substitutes are primarily served.

The Likha Diwa menu includes traditional Filipino recipes (adobo, kare-kare, etc.) and products of Del's continuing culinary experimentations such as the vegetarian paella and relyenong tofu.

Think carrot and cucumber juices. Squid and mushroom sisig. Fish lumpia. Rice coffee. Mushroom and chili veggie meat quesadillas. Sinigang sa bayabas.

Del has personally encouraged friends and relatives to make THE SHIFT in their diets: more servings of fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables; the use of olive oil and yoghurt; limiting soda and fastfood intake. Good, practical choices.

Through the years, Del has also shared cooking techniques and invited countless guests to sample her product development creations. Wonderful feasts!

To complement the healthy eating, Del has been running too, easily finishing a 10K when I am just into my first Kilometer. Really, the power comes from omega-3, oranges and the pechay balls.

Likha Diwa is located along C.P. Garcia, near the University of the Philippines and Katipunan Road (1 Lt. J. Francisco Street, Krus na Ligas, Diliman, Quezon City. You may reach them at 925-55-22.

What It Takes To Be A Mom or Dad

Someone gave me a photocopy of this list. I am sharing this with all of you as even those without children will appreciate this.

Please feel free to copy and forward it to your friends and relatives.

If anyone knows the original source, just let me know so we can properly acknowledge the author.


What It Takes To Be A Mom or Dad


1. Read to your children.

2. Keep your promises.

3. Go for walks together.

4. Let your children help with household projects.

5. Spend time one-on-one with each child.

6. Tell your children about your own childhood.

7. Go to the zoo, museums, and ball games as a family.

8. Set a good example.

9. Use good manners.

10. Help your children with their homework.

11. Show your children lots of warmth and affection.

12. Set clear, consistent limits.

13. Consider how your decisions will affect your children.

14. Listen to your children.

15. Know your children's friends.

16. Take your children to work.

17.Open a savings account for college education.

18. Resolve conflicts quickly.

19. Take your children to your place of worship.

20. Make a kite together.

21. Fly a kite together.

Our Tita Cory

photo courtesy of Time.com

Among Tita Cory's greatest gifts to the Filipinos is her courage to lead us when we feared the dictatorship.

Ma. Cheryl F. Prudente: Environmentalist

I had a house built somewhere in Cavite.

I wanted the structure to be attuned to its environment. Where does the sun rise? How deep would the underground water table be? Where do its tributaries lie? What is the direction of the wind? How shall it help cool my house? What plants would be best for the garden given the area's soil quality?

I wanted the process of house construction to conform to all environmental laws, whether existing or moral in nature.

I wanted a home that nurtures, aids its environment; that will also help me save on utilities and various other costs in the long-term. Well, my home now has a specially designed plumbing system and two cisterns for storing rainwater, large windows that frame clear skies, high ceilings, and a fishpond! My home makes use of low wattage electric bulbs, a lot of steel, cement and aluminum components to reduce the need for future, constant repairs and replacements, and earth colors that send messages of peace and warmth.

When I was going to have my house built, I could only think of and trust Che Prudente.

Che Prudente is one of our best catalysts for change in the way we view and respect the environment. She has been involved in the fields of policy-making, design, research, education, advocacy work, among others. To further her cause, Che works closely with schools, communities, both government and non-government organizations, industries, commercial enterprises, and even "ordinary" people (like me, for which I am eternally grateful).

Of the many projects Che is involved in, I am particularly appreciative of her efforts to share her expertise among the youth in various communities around the country. The modules include more than just lectures as participants get to visit river or lake areas and test their water qualities.


The Youth for Wetlands Ecological Camp was held last April 15-17, 2009 at Angono, Rizal.

As an individual, Che practices what she preaches. At home, she has an aquarium with excellent water quality, a correct mix of fish that actually survive till old age, and flora that really serve as fish food and shelter. She devises household systems to save on water and electricity (for instance, she does not reheat and simply eats leftovers straight from the refrigerator).

Che studied Architecture at the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila. She also finished her Masters in Engineering in Water and Environmental Resource Management at the UNESCO-IHE (Infrastructure Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering) Institute for Water Education in Netherlands. Whew.

I asked Che about her current involvements apart from the Ecocamps. I thought there were three or four things on her agenda. Please read on and think hard if Che is still able to sleep:

• Technical Assistant for the TWG (pre and post conference) of National Wetlands and Climate Change Policy Workshop
• TWG: Updating the National Wetlands Action Plan
• Team Leader: GREENovation and GREENretrofitting of the Candaba Wetlands Information Center Complex in Apalit, Pampanga
• Lead Project Officer: Ensuring Access to Safe Water for Households in Communities Affected by Floods in the Philippines (Northern and Western Samar)
• Technical Team: Pilot Low-cost Residential Houses with Wastewater Treatment Facilities (Tipas, Rizal and Dasmarinas, Cavite)
• Technical Team: Installation of Low-cost Floating Septic Biogas Reactor for Offshore Settlements in Selected Sites in Tawi-Tawi.
• Technical Team: Low-cost septic and wastewater treatment for a resettlement area in Bacoor, Cavite.

Everyone's probably thinking now: "I should be doing more for the environment, too. Yes, please, in ways great and small.

Che's commitment to all of these projects must inspire us to live lives of moderation, to remember that we are all just passing through in this world, we owe it to the future generations to leave intact our God-given wealth of resources.

Let's reduce, re-use and recyle. Let's ask everyone we know to do the same. Let's support projects for the enviornment. And let's spearhead our own campaigns, too, if we can.

CSR-Makati Batch'83 Project

Bambi Cordero and Malu Marquez brought books for the Bilibid Prisons' library last June, 2009.

There are a lot of elementary, high school and college students among the prisoners at the medium-security area. It's great that after they leave prison, they would have had an opportunity for further education.

The books donated came from all the way from Australia. A member of our batch, Elena Villacorta-Cortez, has been soliciting them from library administrators and even garage sale proponents.

I look forward to writing again about the next projects of Batch'83. Thanks, ladies!

Manel Basaysay-Calabit: Social Worker And Friend

THE CHILDREN ALWAYS HUG ATE MANEL WHEN SHE VISITS THE HOME. She hugs them back tightly. And the children immediately start to tell her everything that happened to them in the last week or so. There is also a barrage of questions and emotions -- to which Ate Manel's head turns right, then left, then right again, maybe at least five more times.

"We have a school project and our teacher said we need to pay sixty pesos on Monday but Tita said there is no more petty cash."
"Jerome pinched Isabel again that's why she cried!"
"Roland refuses to lend us the guitar. He is the only one enjoying it."
"Is Kuya Bert still bringing us to Megamall on Saturday?

Ate Manel communicates to all while walking, her gentle face taking on a variety of expressions in succession, each time appropriate for a particular response.

"Tita, don't you have petty cash anymore? Were you able to submit the liquidation last Wednesday?"
"Jerome? Where is Jerome? Jerome, why did you pinch Isabel?"
"Please ask Roland again nicely to lend you the guitar. If he still refuses, I will just talk to him."
"Yes, Kuya Bert will pick you up at nine a.m. on Saturday. Please get ready early."

With great pleasure (and admittedly greater amusement), I have repeated witnessed instances like this in the last six years. And Ate Manel has always just been her patient, kind and loving self to the children as well as to the staff. She is a listener, not one to pass judgment on anyone.

Ate Manel is passionate about social work, constantly seeking higher standards even among peers. But she encourages us all with utmost care and sensitivity.

Ate Manel is a registered social worker who has been involved with the Virlanie Foundation, Inc. for street children since 2002. She was first assigned as a community organizer in the Payatas, Tondo and Barangay Singkamas, Makati areas. She then became a residential social worker at Marco Polo Home.

In a little over a year, she was promoted as project coordinator for Gabay Buhay Home where I met her. Presently, she is a supervising social worker, handling four residential social workers assigned to four different homes. Ate Manel focuses on case management requirements for the children living in these homes.

Whenever a child is set to leave the home for adoption, Ate Manel would start to cry and her emotions would affect you so much you are bound to cry with her, perhaps even louder than her. But the tears you will share emanate from love and happiness. Finally, the child would have a family to call his/her own.

There is a promise of a more comfortable life for the child and better educational opportunities. But you know you will miss the child terribly. A child you cared for and helped nurture for years. You may actually never see the child again. Maybe we eventually stop crying when we remember that the distance will always be physical in nature only.

Ate Manel grew up in Bacacay, Albay so fate has truly blessed us. Ate Manel found her way to Virlanie Foundation, and the children of Virlanie (and I) have found a very good friend in her.