NEWS ARCHIVE

as of APRIL 2007

Newly Elected Members of the ASI Board of Trustees (BOT)

Newly Elected Members of the ASI Board of Trustees (BOT) and Election of Officers of the Asian Social Institute Corporation from among themselves.

In the Annual General Membership Meeting of the ASI Corporation held January 11, 2007, a new set of Board Members were elected to serve the corporation for three years commencing on the date of the election. The Board Members of the ASI Corporation have been increased from 5 to 10 members. The increase in the membership of the Board was ratified on October 5, 2006 during a Special General Membership Meeting which was called for the matter.

Elected Board of Trustees (BOT) by members of the ASI Corporation are as follows (in alphabetical order).

• Ms. Elisa P. Buenaventura
• Ms. Salvacion Bulatao
• Dr. Loreta Castro
• Mr. Virgilio Cristobal
• Mr. Vicente Jayme
• Dr. Epitacio Palispis
• Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo. D.D.
• Dr. Mina Ramirez
• Dr. Susana Reyes
• Dr. Sixto Roxas

Elected by the new Board of Trustees to be the Officers of the Corporation are the following:

Appointed by the BOT upon the recommendation of the President, are the following:

The President requested to give her time up to June 30, 2007, to make the recommendation of the qualified faculty member to take the position of ASI’s Vice-President for Academics. The seat of the Vice-President has been vacated due to the fact that the former Vice-President, Dr. Epitacio Palispis, has now become the Vice-President of a new university, Trinity University of Asia. He, however, sits now as Trustee while he becomes a part-time professor and consultant of ASI in accreditation.

ASI HOLDS EDUCATIONAL TOUR FOR SOME NORTH VIETNAMESE GOV'T PEOPLE

Vo Xuan Hoa, Graduate of Master of Social Work in ASI (2006), a Ford Foundation Scholarship Grantee of Ford Foundation, currently working as Project Officer of Catholic Relief Services in Hanoi Vietnam requested ASI to facilitate an educational tour for 13 government people from North Vietnam so that they will learn from some ASI partner communities involved in coastal resource management and organic farming in which communities the people would

The participants led by Vo Xuan Hoa were:– Kim Ngoc Hiep, male (Senior Specialist of Foreign Affairs Department in Thanh Hoa Province; Nguyen Thi Hang, female (Deputy-chairman of Foreign Affairs Department in Thanh Hoa Province); Tinh Thi Huyen, female (Deputy-Chairman of Hai Loc People’s Committee in Hau Loc); Le Van Thuan, male (President of People’s Committee in Hoa Loc Commune); Bien Thi Lang, female (Chairman of Women Union in Hoa Loc Commune); Nguyen Thi Chong, female (Chairman of Women’s Union Thanh Loc); Nguyen Tien Chong, female (Chairman of Women’s Union Thanh Loc); Nguyen Tien Bac, male (Deputy-Chairman of Party Committee in Hau Loc District); Nguyen Van Ap, male (Deputy-Chairman of People’s Committee in Hau Loc District); Nguyen Van Thao, male (Chairman of Office of People’s Committee in Hau Loc District); Hoang Thi Yen, female (Chairman of Women’s Union in Hau Loc District); Vu Dinh Phien , male (President of People’s Committee in Hai Loc commune); Tran Quang Thiem, male (President of People’s Committee in Hai Loc District, Thanh Hoa Province). They had their study tour from December 13-16, 2006.

One significant remark of the group was that women in the communities are very dedicated. They get highly involved as volunteers. Translating for the group is Nguyen Duong Dinh, male, an ASI Student taking up Master of Science in Education, Major in Community Leadership.

The launching of the Ecological System Based Community Centered Organization and Management (ECSOM)

January 12, 2007 is a milestone in ASI’s history. ASI which formerly was involved in sectoral organizing now has been challenged to do a multi-sectoral multi-level organizing. To this end, one hundred forty-one community leaders and members of the ASI Community started the process in Cardona, Rizal situated at the heart of the 90,000 hectare lake – alongside a part of which are the Cardona-Binangonan Municipalities.

The launching of the ECSOM – Ecological System Based Community Centered Organization and Management, authored by Dr. Sixto Roxas, Chair of the Maximo Kalaw Institute of Sustainable Development (MTKISD) and now Member of the ASI Board of Trustees and Part-time Professor in ASI’s doctoral program, the ECSOM committee composed of all ASI departments (Academe, Social Development, Research-Communication-Publication and Administration), some ASI graduates, some students of the master’s and doctoral program and former staff together with representatives from two partner organizations (CFCA, i.e, Christian Foundation for Children and the Aging and LUMACAR – an organization of farmers and fisher-folk) had a one-day workshop and session in the Rotary Club bamboo house in Cardona, Rizal. ECSOM has been called by a term more understandable to the great majority – Co-creating Sustainable Bio-Regional Community, Organization and Management (CSBCOM).

The event was officially opened by Cardona Mayor Hon. Gil S.J. San Juan, who praised the organizers for the CSBCOM process that tries to connect different sectors, people and government. The one-day seminar session and workshop had the following objectives: 1) to assess people’s situation, their basic needs, their basic aspirations for their children, their human, ecological, social, cultural and spiritual resources in order to enhance this richness through a holistic development process that will insure the well-being of people now and in the future 2) to identify

Participants were from different basic sectors – fisher folk, upland farmers (indigenous groups), lowland farmers, youth, teachers, aging, children, construction workers, housewives, socio-pastoral leaders, and some ‘barangay’ (the smallest unit of government in the Philippines) officials. The workshops revealed their basic concerns: 1) food security, 2) education of their children, 3) health of the family, 4) for the youth, prevention of drug addiction, 5) safe and clean environment 6) human capability building to be able to contribute in a much more effective way for the good of the community. After a rich sharing of ideas with interludes from the Children’s Choir of CFCA and music from the band of a school, Dr. Sixto Roxas gave the concept of how to preserve and enhance their community wealth using the framework of ECSOM or CSBCOM. The responses from government agencies – Department of Social Welfare and Development, (DSSW), the Municipal Planning Officer of the Mayor (MPOM), Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) from the State University and from the Church representatives followed.

The output of the meeting was the formation by the participants of an ADHOC Committee from each municipality that will continue the consultation or dialogue with the people on their natural and human wealth as well as their culture and spiritual resources. In ASI, the former planning committee will be meeting to reflect on their insights as to what further steps to take for the facilitation and accompaniment of the multi-sectoral group in the locality.

		In the semi-rural community where the meeting is housed in a bamboo structure of the Rotary Club of Cardona, the presentations were all in power-point. This was made possible by the technical assistance of the Management and Information Team of ASI and the laptops brought by the doctoral students and MTKISD. Documentation of the process was in print, video and photo.

ECSOM or CSBCOM is envisioned to be a long-term process where through the actions taken by a multi-sectoral group in the local bio-regional community jointly with the accompanying Institutions (in this case, the Asian Social Institute, Maximo T., Kalaw Institute for Sustainable Development headed by Dr. Sixto Roxas, CFCA and LUMACAR) will always reflect on the possibilities emerging to develop a system that will preserve, protect, and enhance the bio-regional community resources.

Below is an articulation of the collective self-understanding of the ECSOM by ASI, an articulation based on its value-commitments contained in the statement of its mission. All departments of ASI become integrated in the ECSOM process which they call “Co-creating Sustainable Bio-Regional Communities Organization and Management. (CSBCOM).

ECSOM is a new holistic development paradigm that revolves around the concept of ECO-System based Community –Centered Sustainable Organization and Management. Applied in a “Watershed District”, family clusters encompassing a few municipalities will make a social accounting of their community wealth. All stakeholders of a bio-regional community – upland and lowland farmers, fisher-folk, indigenous groups, business, education, health, church and socially enlightened local officials – will engage themselves in a long-term integral development process that is culturally-rooted, contextual, experiential and participatory. In and through a living Faith, it is hoped that the energy that will radiate from the process will cause the evolvement and organic growth of a community-based economics (not just an enterprise based), a new urbanism that will prevent the natural and human resources to be depleted. It is hoped that the human habitat or the new human settlement will be an externalization of the CITY OF GOD where all human beings may live a decent dignified life in harmony with nature. In this process, experts in financial management, engineers, lawyers, psychologists, social scientists, natural scientists, religious educators who, in dialogue with the people especially the marginalized, will bring their expertise in service of improving the quality of life and well-being of communities. Thus educational institutions (universities, schools, colleges and churches) could fulfill a significant role by which all activity pulsates with the divine energy from the heart of God alive in all creation.

Great ASI Persons Have Passed Away

ASI mourns the passing away of Atty. Carmen Maluto, ASI Registrar who met her sudden death in a road accident.  She was  known to be sensitive to the needs of the ASI students as well as the needs of the poor who she loved.  She was a great community organizer.  During her wake held in the ASI lobby just in front of her office, people from the  communities from the resettlement area of Paliparan, Dasmarinas, Cavite, of Las Pinas, of Quiapo Parish, of a poor Diocese in Palawan, and of Baguio – came to pay last respects to her. 

Dr. Kim Kee Young, Graduate of Masters in Social Work (MSSW) in late 1970’s and a beloved ASI alumna representative in Korea met also a sudden death.  She was buried in the Catholic University in Seoul, where she worked for almost 25 years as social worker  and guidance counsellor. 

ASI knows that they who have loved and served others are now in the peace of the Lord.

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