No Holds Barred (081)

By Ike Señeres

A Weekly Forum in Makati City for Nation Building

I am a broadcaster and a columnist. Perhaps it is because of this that I get to meet many people who love our country and who would like to do something for nation building, in whatever way possible. Tom Lee is one of these people, and because of this common bond, we agreed to organize what is now known as the Corinthian Coffee Club, or C3 for short.

The C3 now meets every Friday from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Elks Club located at the 7th Floor of the Corinthian Plaza Building along Paseo De Roxas Avenue in Makati City. The purpose of C3 is to bring together people who love our country and who would like to do something for nation building, regardless of whether they are Filipinos or foreigners.

The format of the C3 meetings is very much informal. We sit around in a table and each one is free to talk about what he or she is doing for nation building, and what kind of help he or she needs if ever. Conversely, anyone could also talk about what he or she could do for nation building, as an individual or representing a company or an organization.

As an informal gathering, the C3 does not intend to implement projects on its own. Our intention is to give the opportunity to project proponents to talk about what they are already doing, or what they are planning to do. Anyone in the gathering who wants to help any project proponent could do so on his own or on her own, as an individual or representing a company or an organization.

Many people talk about nation building, but they generally do not have the ways or means to implement what they are talking about. This is precisely the purpose of the C3, to help the people who want to do something for nation building, so that they could do more than just talk. There is nothing wrong with talking, but nothing will happen to our country if we just keep on talking without doing anything.

T om is one of the founders of the C3. He is a Filipino of Chinese descent who left the Philippines when he was 15-years old, and came back when he was nearly a senior citizen. Tom was an early engineer in Silicon Valley. He invented the first Apple printer and became a business guru later on. Already an American citizen, Tom founded the University Consortium (UNICON) in the Philippines, which he patterned after the Apple Consortium in the United States. Quality education is the advocacy of UNICON. Its goal is to improve the quality of education by improving the technology and the connectivity of its member schools.

Dr. Virginia (Benji) Teodosio is also one of the founders of the C3. She is a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP-SOLAIR). Her advocacy is nation building through the development of our social capital and our natural capital. Because of this advocacy, she has been very involved in expanding the economic opportunities of indigenous peoples and rebel returnees through the cooperative approach.

It was through the persistence of Benji that I met Paul Soriano, who is the Executive Director of the Department of Education Adopt-A-School Program (DEPED-ASP). Paul is a professional manager from the private sector. Benji, Paul and I are now in the process of putting a DEPED Channel on the air, in cooperation with the Global News Network (GNN), through Harry Tambuatco.

It was also through the persistence of Benji that I pursued the idea of acquiring a dedicated channel from Global Satellite (GSAT) so that the DEPED Channel could be beamed down to any location in the Philippines where there is a cooperative, using a satellite dish provided by GSAT. Harry is also helping us with this, because GSAT is a sister company of GNN. The real passion of Benji is to educate the Out-of-School Youth (OSY) in this country that number about 9-million to 16-million, according to Paul. Benji is now trying to persuade the cooperatives in this country, numbering about 30,000 to acquire the satellite dishes, so that the OSY children of the members of the cooperative could go to school.

Inspired by the zeal of Benji, I am now requesting Harry to also open up a CHED Channel and a TESDA Channel. Meanwhile, we are now ready to stream the DEPED Education Channel via the Internet, courtesy of my friend, Bycon Bulatao of Inventiv, Inc. Technology works, but we have to make it work! # # #

Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com