SPU Manila INTER-OFFICE BULLETIN - St. Paul University Manila

SPU Manila INTER-OFFICE BULLETIN
Vol. IV No. 45 29 August 2011
TWO HOLIDAYS OBSERVED THIS WEEK
This is a short week for offices and schools as Malacañang declared two holidays resulting in a
four-day week-end. Today, 29 August 2011, is National Heroes’ Day, and tomorrow, 30 August
2011, is non-working holiday in observance of the end of Ramadan or Eid ul-Fitr.
National Heroes' Day is celebrated to pay homage to the
national heroes of the country. Every year this day falls on the
fourth Monday of August.
Initially National Heroes’ Day was celebrated on the 30th
of November as it was the birthday of Andres Bonifacio, founder
of the Katipunan. Later this day was moved to the fourth
Monday of August to pay tribute to all other known or unknown
men and women who sacrificed their lives for Philippine freedom.
* * * * *
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr, often abbreviated to Eid,
is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy
month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity,"
while Fiṭr means "breaking (the fast)." The holiday celebrates the
conclusion of the twenty nine or thirty days of dawn-to-sunset fasting
during the entire month of Ramadan. The first day of Eid, therefore,
falls on the first day of the month Shawwal.
* * * * *
PAULINIAN PEACE BUILDERS
“Peace Is Every Step – The Path of Mindfulness to Everyday Life”
Intensive Peace Formation
Contributed by Zena Magana
Phase 3 – “The Power of Dialogue”
Facilitated by: Ms. Mae Arañas, RGC
Guidance and Career and Placement Director
and Dr. Joy-Alvi Aranas, RGC
Counselor, De La Salle University Dasmarinas, Cavite
13 August 2011, 1:30 5:00 P.M., Guidance Testing Room

This program aims to enable participants to recognize and understand the nature and dynamics
of conflict, debate vs. dialogue, and its relationship with peace, to appreciate and internalize
the “Power of Dialogue,” to handle conflicts and issues that challenge them in non-adversarial
situations, and to practice facilitation skills.
Dr. Joy facilitates activities on debate vs. dialogue.
Ms. Mae explains the concepts of conflict, the power of dialogue and T-cell
(transformative cell which symbolizes its being a catalyst for change
as the program aims to build a community of people who will choose
a mindset of listening and understanding, rather than debating.
This was initiated by the Conflict Resolution Group Foundation).
Ms. Ellazar simulates
the “power of dialogue”
in non-adversarial situation.

The Paulinian Peace Builders practice being student facilitators
in the T-cell (transformative cell).
Paulinian Peace Builders with Ms. Ellazar, Moderator (far left),
Ms. Arañas, Guidance Director (far right), Dianne,
representative from Conflict Resolution Group Foundation, (beside Ms. Arañas)
and Dr. Joy Arañas, Counselor-DLSU Cavite (center back)
Sharing from a participant
Phase 3 – The Power of Dialogue
Contributed by Abigail Jane A. Babanto, BSFMA 4
Paulinian Peace Builder member

In this last phase of the intensive peace formation, which took place on 13 August 2011, we
had various activities, which all of us enjoyed so much we did not realize that it was almost
time to go. I for one thought it was still early until I looked at my watch and saw that it was
already 5:00 P.M. Our speakers, Mr. and Mrs. Joy Arañas, were really great in conveying the
“Power of Dialogue.”
When I heard the word “dialogue,” for me it meant exchanging of thoughts and ideas
with one or more persons through words. One topic which made me sit straight and listen
carefully was the T-cell, which was under the CORE group project.
T-cell means “transformative cell” because it symbolizes being a catalyst for change as
the program aims to build a community of people who will choose a mindset of listening and
understanding rather than debating. Practitioners of T-cells have the mission to create, nurture,
and sustain an institutionalized communication mechanism imbued with the spirit and skills in a
non-adversarial process.
From this phase, I learned that everyone can help to create a peaceful environment and
the only thing one needs to do is to listen carefully to people and understand them. We should
not judge people based on their color, race, physical appearance, and gender because all of us
are equal in the eyes of God for He created us in His own image and likeness (Gen.1:26).
A debate always has the pro’s and the con’s. Two parties are at odds with each other
therefore creating a conflict between them or with other sectors who may have an unswerving
commitment to a point of view, approach, or idea. An example of this is the exercise we had
wherein we were divided into two groups. The first group was the family of the hunter and
Little Red Riding Hood, and the other was the family of the wolf.
However, a dialogue is much more organized than a debate; it follows a sequence and
people are allowed to speak as individuals whose own unique experience may differ in some
aspects from others on their side. An example of this is the T-cell, which we experienced in our
own ways in the allotted time for the exercise. Our topic that day was “Internet, Facebook, and
Twitter:source of relaxation or source of stress.” Most of us chose source of relaxation while a
few chose source of stress. The facilitator only listened to our discussion and signaled us if she
or he thought that what we were saying was out of the topic so that we may complete the task
given to us. In a nutshell, t-cell tackles about how important dialogue is in our lives and how
we can show others how we feel about them in an amicable manner, thereby demonstrating the
difference between a debate and a dialogue.
PAULINIAN ALUMNA IN THE NEWS
AMBASSADOR PUYAT-REYES ATTENDS INAUGURAL CEREMONY
OF PERUVIAN PRESIDENT, OLLANTA HUMALA
A report to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila stated that Philippine Ambassador to
Chile, Maria Consuelo Puyat-Reyes, in her role as Special Envoy and Personal Representative of
Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, attended the inaugural ceremonies of newly-elected
President Ollanta Humala on 28 July 2011 in Lima, Peru. She conveyed the congratulations of
the Philippine President to the new Peruvian leader, as well as his best wishes for the latter’s
success in all his endeavors. (Ambassador Reyes is an alumna, AB-BSE 1957.)

Ambassador Maria Consuelo Puyat-Reyes greets Peruvian President Ollanta Humala
and First Lady Nadine Heredia at his swearing-in in Lima, Peru.
Ambassador Maria Consuelo Puyat-Reyes, Vice Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Chile,
presents a silver platter to Msgr. Giuseppe Pinto, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
after delivering her farewell speech in a ceremony honoring him.
It is interesting to note that Msgr. Guiseppe Pinto has been assigned Papal Nuncio to the
Philippines following his assignment in Chile. The Vatican aide was born on 26 May 1952 in Bari,
Italy. He was ordained priest on 1 April 1978. Archbishop Pinto is a canon lawyer and fluent in
four languages, speaking not only his native Italian, but also French, English, and Spanish.

SHARING… SHARING…SHARING
St. Paul University Manila
St. Paul University System
Graduate School
HRM-D Students
in Action
Contributed by Sandip Badwal
and Dr. Portia Zoleta-Vitug
Graduate school students who took up Human Resource Management and Development under
Prof. Portia Zoleta-Vitug recently organized a job fair. The activity entitled "Help Beat the Heat
of Unemployment" aimed to give opportunities to those who are unemployed, to facilitate the
hiring needs of local companies, to meet the employment needs of local job seekers, and to
stimulate and promote the local economic and employment climate.
The fair was held in the SPU Manila Conference Hall on 13 August 2011 from 1:00 to
5:00 P.M. Companies from different sectors, such as a language school, business firms, call
centers, agencies, etc. participated in the activity, together with applicants and graduating
students of SPU Manila.
The activity started with a prayer, followed by the ribbon cutting done by Dean Elizabeth
Ramos, assisted by Prof. Portia Zoleta-Vitug and Sandip Badwal (Chairperson), and the opening
remarks by Dean Ramos.
It was indeed a great opportunity for all of us to be involved in this activity because we
gained new experiences, made new friends, and became familiar with new companies.
We were able to help the attendees by giving them career opportunities. We hope
there will be many more job fairs in SPU Manila in the future.
Ribbon
cutting
Welcome remarks
by Dr. Elizabeth D. Ramos
(Dean, Graduate School)

Job fair slogan (ECO inspired)
HRM & D class with Dr. Portia Vitug
For our guidance …
PRESIDENT AQUINO AND THE RH BILL
Dr. Bernardo Villegas
The Manila Bulletin
29 August 2011
As a long-time critic of population control measures, I respect the views of President Benigno
Aquino III on the RH Bill. He has supported its inclusion into the priority bills recommended by
LEDAC because he is sincerely convinced that population control is indispensable to the
reduction of mass poverty in the Philippines. He has arrived at this conclusion after consulting
with many of the expert economic advisers in and outside his Administration. I know for a fact
that the vast majority of them are neo-Malthusians in orientation. They are convinced that
rapid population grow this a major reason for the high incidence of poverty in the Philippines. It
is difficult to blame the President for listening to their advice.
I will not repeat here the many economic arguments I have used to counter the view that
population growth is a major cause of poverty. I have written numerous articles about the
very positive dimensions of population growth. In fact, I just came out with a book entitled
precisely The Positive Dimensions of Population Growth that is available in all the major
bookstores in Manila. What I want to tell the President here is that he is taking a very shortterm
view of the problem of what is called in the Philippine Development Plan, 2011-2016
"inclusive growth." Even assuming, without granting, that population control can help in the

important task of eradicating poverty in the Philippines, I would like to point out to the
President that he is ignoring the long-term consequences of distributing artificial contraceptives
for free to the poor. There is enough hard evidence in other countries that followed the same
path of population control which shows that a contraceptive mentality inevitably leads to a
significant rise in abortion, divorce, single mothers and mentally unbalanced adolescents.
The President and his advisors may completely disregard the prophecy made in
the 1970s by the late Pope Paul VI that the widespread use of contraceptives would actually
lead to all these moral and socio-economic evils. They, however, cannot ignore the scientific
studies done by a Nobel laureate by the name of George Akerlof. They don't have to take my
word for it. Dr. Akerlof is easily accessible through google. If the President himself takes time
to google the name George Akerlof, he will find abundant materials that this economics
professor has written about the high correlation between contraception and high rates of
divorce, abortion, single mothers, etc. He will find out that Dr. Akerlof has no religious
motivation whatsoever in presenting his data to the social scientists of the world. His
conclusions are based completely on empirical observations.
Actually, Dr. Akerlof has just demonstrated scientifically what everyday observation based
on anecdotical evidence has already revealed to any objective student of human behavior. In
countries where artificial contraceptives are as easily accessible as candies in the corner store,
the rate of abortions has risen by leaps and bounds in the last twenty to thirty years, especially
in North America and Europe. As regards divorce and out-of-wedlock births, Dr. Akerlof's
empirical conclusions have been confirmed by a recent study conducted by a multinational team
of social scientists in a project entitled The Empty Cradle (also accessible through
google). The study found out that "accompanying the global mega-trend of falling birth rates
is a radical change in the circumstances in which many children are raised, as country after
country has seen divorce and/or out-of-wedlock births surge and a sharp drop in the
percentage of children living with both of their married parents. In much of Europe and the
Americas, from the United Kingdom to the United States, from Mexico to Sweden, out-ofwedlock
births are the 'new normal,' with 40 percent or more of all children born without
married parents. Though many of these births are to cohabiting couples, families headed by
cohabiting couples are significantly less stable than couples headed by married families. This
means that children born outside of marriage are markedly more likely to be exposed to a
revolving cast of caretakers and to spells of single parenthood compared to children born to
married couples."
I am sure the President is aware of the social tragedy that has just hit key cities of the
United Kingdom. As reported in the website Mercatornet. com, the looters and rioters in such
cities as London, Birmingham, and Liverpool were not the wretched of the earth. "They even
included a man with a master's degree from the London School of Economics. This was a 9/11
for civil society, a reminder of how fragile is the foundation on which rest public discipline,
respect for property, and respect for human rights." The President must also have learned of
the diagnosis made by his counterpart in the U.K., Prime Minister David Cameron, who has
called for a return to "old-fashioned" moral values including more widespread marriage and
commitment. Mr. Cameron stressed that the riots had not been caused by poverty but by
people with a twisted moral code. He said ministers had shied away for too long from saying
what need to be said on social issues as marriage, welfare and courtesy. His
lament: "Irresponsibility . Selfishness. Behaving as if our choices have no consequences.
Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort" (as reported in the
Financial Times, August 16, 2011). These are all the ultimate results of broken families. As

George Akerlof has demonstrated scientifically, the trivialization of sex outside and within
marriage through artificial contraceptives is a major cause of failed marriages and fatherless
children.
The President cannot say that it will no longer be his problem what happens in the long
run. First, It is actuarially probable that the President will live beyond his seventies (and I will
pray for it). It took only a generation of twenty years for artificial contraceptives to wreak
havoc on society. Even closer to home, it took only twenty years for such countries as
Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan to suffer from the scourge of the demographic winter. Led
by Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, the leaders of these highly developed countries are now
frantically looking for ways and means to increase their fertility rates. Also, it took only twenty
years for our former non-identical twin Thailand to become the first country in the developing
world to age before becoming rich, as I have discussed in other articles. At still a very low per
capita income, Thailand has already a ratio of those over 65 to the total population that is
higher than that of aging Singapore. What is worse, Thailand has the highest rate of HIV-AIDS
in the whole of East Asia, thanks to their aggressive condom campaigns in the last century.
Mr. President, even if your advisors are right that controlling population now can help
fight poverty, it is not right for you to follow their advice because they are completely ignoring
the long-term impact of implanting the contraceptive mentality on the poor. You must agree
that that no solution to today's problem should be used if, in solving problems of the present
generation, the welfare of future generations is harmed. That is what sustainable development
is all about: solving today's problem without prejudicing future generations. Suppose, for
example, that we still have verdant forests and one of your advisers sincerely believes in
cutting down these forests and using the proceeds to fund the Conditional Cash Transfer that is
close to your heart. I am sure you will not heed his advice. Well, promoting contraceptives
today will prejudice the welfare and happiness of future generations as much as cutting down
forests would harm the physical environment for future generations.
Second, even if population control can contribute to solving poverty today, there
are other more direct solutions that will not harm future generations of Filipinos. Among them
are agricultural and rural development, nurturing of small and medium-scale enterprises,
authentic agrarian reform backed up by efficient infrastructures in the countryside, microcredit
and microenterprise development, improving the quality of basic education for the poor,
providing technical skills to the out-of-school youth, partnering with the private sector in
implementing corporate social responsibility, and many others that your expert advisers can
think of. And don't tell us that there is no money to do all these. Saying so would mean you
are giving up on your campaign against corruption. Remember that World Bank and ADB
findings in the past indicated that some 400 billion pesos annually are lost through private
sector and government corruption. That amount is greater than the projected annual deficit of
your Government. It can, therefore, be affirmed that turning to the prevention of babies from
being born is a real cop out for your Administration. I find no reason why your Administration
should use a solution that may have a short-term anti-poverty impact but would lead to the
social and moral decay of society.
Bernardo Villegas is a Filipino writer, thinker and economist. He was a
member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the Philippine
Constitution under the government of former President Corazon Aquino He
has been an advisor of the recent Philippine Presidents.