After the War, several more Rotary clubs were organized in the provincial capitals throughout the country. By 1964, there were a total of fifty-one (51) Rotary clubs, with about 2,000 Rotarians, initially grouped together under R.I. District 385, but in that year were divided into two districts: District 385 and District 380. Further divisions occured and three new distrcts were created in later years, thereby increasing the total number of Districts to nine (9) after 1985. The nine districts are identified as R.I. Districts 3770, 3780, 3790, 3880, 3810, 3820, 3850, 3860, and 3870. The latter six districts organized from District 385 (see chart).

Until in Rotary’s glorious galaxy, a new star is born! The emergence of District 3830 is stellar evidence of the dynamism of Rotary’s global growth.

Nurtured and nourished by – and caringly carved out of District 3810 (formerly 381), the creation of District 3830 was approved, on June 1998, by Rotary International, effective the 1st of July 1999. As the 10th and the newest district in the Philippines, District 3830 encompasses, as its territorial responsibility, the cities of Makati, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Taguig and Pateros, all in Metro Manila, as well as the entire island of Palawan. The new district starts strong with no less than 57 Rotary clubs.

Ensuring fullfilment of its promise of great things to come is a veritable fount of Rotary expertise, experience, and wisdom, welling up from the combine of Past District Governors of clubs now with District 3830, namely:



Eduardo “Ed” Alvarez of Rotary Club of Makati West, is the 2010-2011 District Governor.  Ismael “Billy” Villarel of Rotary Club of Makati Edsa will be the Governor for RY 2011-2012 and to be followed by Suzanne “Sue” V. Sta. Maria of Rotary Club of Makati Urdaneta for RY 2012-2013. She will be followed by Robert F. Kuan of Rotary Club of Makati for RY 2013-2014.

Indeed District 3830–has emerged as a super nova in the firmament of Rotary fellowship and service. As of 2010, the district has grown to 85 clubs with over 2,000 Rotarians.

Book on Rotary launched

A book written by Rotarians about Rotarians “ . . . with original stories to share for the first time in print” will be launched on Oct. 16, 2007 by Fully Booked at the Bonifacio High School in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

“Musings in the Life of a Rotarian” is written by IPDG R.A. “Butch” Francisco and is scheduled for launch on Oct. 16 with no less than RIPE Dong-Kurn Lee as the expected special guest of honor.

The book is a compilation of personal experiences and insights of Rotarians who have served under his term as District Governor under the RI Theme “Lead the Way”.

In his foreword, the former district governor gave us a preview of what to expect. He prefaced his forword with the following statement “Lead the Way has become an unforgettable theme for many Rotarians. It was chosen by Rotary International President Bill Boyd to embody his thrust for Rotary Year 2006-2007. Expounding on this theme, he invited all Rotarians to lead the way ”by living as a role model of tolerance, unselfishness and integrity.”

In giving the reader a birdseye view of his book’s content, IPDG Butch explained that in this modern world, tolerance, which is discussed in chapter 1, can only be understood correctly in the context of a real understanding of the truth which is afterall the first tenet of the Four-Way Test. On the other hand, the concept of unselfishness, tackled in Chapter 2, elucidates the all-encompassing Rotary motto of Service Above Self. It takes a short glance into the history of service in the world of Rotary started by its founders.

Finally, the virtue of integrity provides a perfect foundation on which the reader could understand and appreciate the variety of stories in Chapters 3 and 4.

Chapter 3 puts together real-life stories of Rotarians as they ”drive the wheel” of their respective clubs while Chapter 4 touches on the more amusing stories that will surely lighten up the reader’s day. The last article in the chapter was especially chosen to move the reader to give himself or herself more in the service of humankind. It is both a ”musing” in the life of a Rotarian which is ”amusing” in its overall impact.

The book will surely be a treasure for rotarians to own, especially if it carries a bit of your story. Be sure to be at the launch on Oct. 16 at Fully Booked, Bldg. 6, 902 Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Interestingly, the foreword ended with his note: This book was not written for Rotarians alone. Although the principles that were expounded and the stories told were about Rotary and by Rotarians, any reader with a minimum desire to help mankind will find some consolation in this book— that there is hope to make this world better! But it all depends on the effort of each one of us to give him/herself more each day, selflessly, in whatever endeavor we are personally engaged in— whether we are Rotarians or not!

It’s barely two weeks before Christmas and Go Negosyo has continued to be very busy in spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship this yuletide season.  Just last week, we had the Go Negosyo Go Rotary Forum at the Manila Hotel which was a tremendous success.  The District Convention this year was headed by the very entrepreneurial CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Butch Francisco. The Fiesta Pavilion was packed with close to 1,000 Rotarians who listened to Nanay Coring of National Bookstore, Vivienne Tan of Entrepreneurs School of Asia, celebrity entrepreneur Paolo Bediones, Rotary Governor Elect Renato Magadia, PAGCOR President Rafael Butch Francisco, and myself.   Cito Beltran did his usual lively and interesting moderation of the forum.

The discussion covered basically the inspiring stories of the guests in putting up their respective businesses, the challenges they went through and important learnings.  Paolo talked about how he lost 8 million pesos at the start of his venture due to aggressiveness and over trusting of some people which according to him, was a “very expensive tuition fee”.

But, due to his creativity and sheer determination, Paolo was still able to recover and develop even newer business ventures like the I-Tech Phils., which not only handles the marketing and advertising of X1R (engine treatment oil), but has also expanded into a network marketing and IT solutions company.  Paolo is a good example of how a celebrity can serve as a role model for others to follow.  He believes that people in the entertainment industry must learn to invest their earnings wisely since their popularity may not be forever.

Vivienne on the other hand was able to expound on why she chose to focus her school on entrepreneurship, and how she decided to do it on her own rather than take the easier path of joining her father’s successful conglomerate.  The Entrepreneurs School of Asia is totally in synch with what Go Negosyo stands for, and it is admirable for Vivienne to be driven as well in doing something to help alleviate poverty in the country by having her school focused in teaching entrepreneurs.

She also mentioned that their students also offer free assistance to the urban poor by putting up their own business.  This for her is not only a chance to help out the community to guide them in managing their business but it also teaches her students to realize and appreciate the value of  every money spent or earned since they are working with very limited capital.
Nanay Coring also talked about the challenges she had to face like the fire that gutted their store in Escolta during the early years of National Bookstore in the 1950’s and just recently, their new store in Legaspi which upon three weeks of operation was destroyed by the typhoon.

Entreps like her just knew how to deal with challenges and rise above those trials.  She also emphasized that hard work, perseverance and attention to detail, are the qualities that every entrep should have.

Successful entrep Butch Francisco on the other hand talked about his experience when he was asked to head PAGCOR which is one of the biggest revenue generators among government corporations.  As we say, being an entrepreneur in a structured organization is what we call an intrapreneur and Butch was able to blend entrepreneurship and professionalism in running this corporation.

Renato Magadia shows that is never too late to be an entrepreneur and that one should use his expertise, in his case acquiring properties, in succeeding in business.  He was the acquisitions manager and CEO of Zuellig for many years until striking it on his own as he acquired big corporations like the Waterfront Group, Metro Alliance, Acesite Philippines  and Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation.

PGMA’s Speech during the Special Joint Meeting of the Rotary International (R.I.) District 3830, Metro Manila Rotary Clubs

Thank you very much mike for introducing me, and with Mike Varela introducing me, I’m sure this is gonna get into the front pages of the Manila Bulletin.

Conrad Marty, President; Joe Alejandro, Past President; Butch Francisco, District Governor and my fellow in Makati Central; members of the various rotary clubs of the Makati district; ladies and gentlemen.

It’s always been a pleasure for me to speak before my fellow Rotarians. For one thing, you lead the way in community service. For another, especially Butch and the other members of Makati Central, you were my first campaigners way back in 1992.

The last six years was a subject matter of my economic conference just a few days ago, and Mike was there, Mike Varela. And what I can say is that the last six years have not been easy for us, but our determination to implement hard-to-swallow yet necessary economic and fiscal reforms under the leadership of Gary Teves, our Secretary of Finance, these reforms gave us a winning streak of 24 quarters, uninterrupted quarters of growth, the longest in our history. The meaning of this is that our reforms have brought our economy to a sustainable level, no longer subjected to the boom-and-bust cycles that used to affect us in the years past.

Our credit outlook upgrades; our stable interest rate – I wouldn’t even say stable. In fact it is going down, and today is the lowest ever in history — our strong peso; our bullish stock market; our increased OFW remittances. In fact, may I say our OFWs sort of remain stable at eight million Filipinos outside the Philippines. But from about seven billion dollars before I became president, it’s gone up to almost 13 billion dollars today, because our OFWs now have higher paying jobs. And because their income has been increasing, the remmitances have grown so much, their families now represent the new middle-class that make up the market in our economy. They drive our spending in the malls. They drive our real estate market. Ten years ago, the OFWs would send money home to buy a tricycle or a jeepney. Today they send money home to buy a condominium on a single-detached housing unit.

I mentioned this because when I was in Singapore, just a few months ago, after the ASEAN-China Summit in Nnanning, I went by Singapore because we had not been in the radar screen of Singapore for a long time. And I could see, talking with Mrs… Madame Ho Ching, who is the wife of Prime Minister Lee Shien Loong, but at the same time she’s also the head of their National Development Corporation or Temasek. She’s so excited about India, about China, because they have a very big new middle-class. The unspoken word there is that in the Philippines you have a small upper class and you have a very large lower class. But the middle-class is not there that represents the market. And I explained to them about our OFW phenomenon.

And I was just reading an analysis of one of the most important stock analysts in the wall street. He said that these OFW remmittances, and I might add that make up the new middle-class among their workers, is one of the factors that makes our boom this time sustainable.

We have soaring tourism and great hotels coming up. Like Marriott is already under construction in… Right in front of NAIA. And then Shangri-la is putting up its best ever hotel in Boracay. I say best ever because right now Mactan Shangri-la, where we hosted the ASEAN Summit, is considered the best hotel in Asia, but Shangri-la is gonna put up an even better one in Boracay. And several others. Banyan tree is choosing between Bohol and Busuanga, Palawan on where to put their airport… Their hotel.

Because tourism is soaring, and there we have increasing investment inflows, two billion dollars of direct investment, a record in history, and I’m sure many of you here have made millions of pesos in the stock market this past year.

All of these are signs of an economy getting bullish by the day. Some of you were in the economic briefings of our economic managers. Some of you because you’re businessmen, you read the business pages, you read about them. But among the many statistics they gave, let me just say that last December, we kept our fiscal deficit down to 3.9 billion pesos, the lowest we’ve seen in years.

And our whole year deficit last year was what we were hoping would be our deficit for this year. So we’re one year ahead of our deficit management schedule. That’s already the advance schedule made by Gary Teves. Actually, what we achieved last year was my schedule for 2009. But Gary moved that to… last year’s schedule to 2007 but we got it last year.

Now we can say that our children… Or we can say to our children that indeed, the government is investing in their future, not borrowing more and more to leave them in debt.

And I think, you know, I gave this date today for this big meeting. Actually, Mike was inviting me for February 20th, but that was the proclamation rally of the senatorial candidates in Pampanga, so I moved it to this day. And then I got an emergency – not really. Yeah, a frantic call — that I must be in Davao in order to witness the signing of finally the agreement of the farmers on how to use the Coco levy funds. And that was such an important event because they’ve been meeting 20 years for this. So I said, “Mike, can we move this rotary date again?” And he said, “no, because all the district governors have already cancelled their own meetings. We’ve made a reservation such that…” So, I said, “Okay, Mike. I’ll just move that affair to 10:00 o’ clock in the morning, and go on with your activities and I’ll arrive at 1:00 o’ clock to make my speech.” Fortunately, I arrived at quarter to one.

And I think it’s good that the proclamation rally in Pampanga moved it to today and that Mike insisted it stay today because today’s newspapers give us very good news from you, the business community. Today’s newspapers all report that business optimism is the highest in 11 years.

The bullish outlook across the business sector speaks not only of the strength of our economy but of our political stability. Despite the political noise, enterprise is rising above the babble and moving our nation into an era of optimism and confidence not seen in the recent past. By intensely and firmly focusing on our economy, our administration is signaling to the whole world that we are in the race for the gold and we intend to say there. For each day that confidence rises, the Filipino people move up the ladder of competitiveness, backed up by government programs to grow the economy, expand the infrastructure, and plow back the gains for social benefit.

I believe that soon we will be able to close the elementary school classroom gap. I’m not talking about high schools because we’d rather send the children to private high schools by giving them high school vouchers and assisting the private high schools.

This is an era of strong profit for enterprise. That’s what the message I’d like to give to you, the business community. But it’s also an era for strong payback to the people in terms of better education, cheaper medicine. You know they say that our macro-economic gains don’t get to the poor. Well, 50 percent of the people in the surveys say that they have been able to experience low-priced medicines.

In 2001, when I started a program for half-priced medicines, only seven percent experienced it. What’s the difference between 2001 and today? 2001 we had all of the determination and the political will but we didn’t have the money. So in 2001, we had a hundred million pesos to provide PITC to trade in these half-priced medicines coming from India. And even at that they encountered difficulty getting the release. Today after our tax reforms, we’ve been able to allocate one billion pesos rather than one hundred million pesos. And that’s why the number of Filipinos feeling the benefits of half-priced medicines has going up from seven percent to one-half of the population.

That’s one of the things that contribute to a stable cost of living which is one of the things we want to achieve and we want to be felt by the year 2008.

Another factor that goes into the stable cost of living is our gasoline prices. We were ahead of other countries to bring down gasoline prices because we didn’t have to wait for the oil prices in the world to go down. Our peso was becoming strong, so even when the oil prices were still going up, we were bringing the oil… The gasoline prices down. And I thank the jeepney drivers because… And the bus operators because they have passed on their savings to the consumers by bringing down the passenger rates.

And even food has gone down in price. The other day, I was talking to a housewife, she said that the beef that used to… That she would buy for 150 pesos, she now buys for a 130 pesos. And all of these examples are what we mean by that macro-economic indicator called a low inflation. And as we strike up the momentum of economic confidence, we continue to drive good governance, law and order, and clean, orderly and peaceful elections.

I’m grateful to the local officials, who’ve been working with us, to continue on the path of reform, social justice and economic development. And not only… On the one hand, we have the local officials who’ve been helping us through this in the countryside. On the other hand, we have the strong international alliances, which have allowed us to forged new partnerships that have led to billions in investments, as I said two billion dollars, an unprecedented amount. And REZA is here allowing us to pay our IMF debt in full.

One of the things we were scared of was that now that we’ve paid the IMF debt in full, maybe REZA… That means REZA has to go home. But no, there’s still work for IMF to do here to advise us as a friend and as a stockholder of the IMF.

But I can only point the direction and I cannot do it alone. And that’s why I’m here speaking before all the Rotary Clubs of Makati to be able to challenge the business community, to where most the Rotarians belong, to take a bigger stake in the country’s future.

The partnership between the government and the private sector should focus on new ideas to propel our economy forward, not basking on old complaints that only hold us back. And as I said, while direct foreign investment and capital market investment have been increasing, we need more domestic investment.

The stock market at a ten-year high, foreign direct investments at all-time high but we cannot say the same. I mean even if foreign investments are the highest in history, in contrast domestic investment is not growing as fast. And therefore… In fact, it managed to grow two percent in 2006.

So we must step up the vote of confidence in our economy from domestic businesses, and we need you to put a bigger stake in our nation’s fortunes. A future based on more jobs, stable prices and peace and order.

As I said, the time is ripe. Interest rates are at an all-time low so it’s time for you to go to the bank and get your funds to start a business or expand the business you’re in.

The peso is strong which means your capital inputs and your raw materials are cheaper. It’s really time to have a… It’s really a great time to start a business and you have the market with you, the strong, sustainable middle-class represented by the families of our overseas Filipinos.

So my fellow Rotarians, my message to you is “lead the way.”

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

2006-07 District Governor R.A. (Butch) Francisco

October 25, 2007

Dear fellow Rotarians of District 3830:

It gives me great pleasure to submit to you this Year-End Report on the Governance of R.I. District 3830 for 2006-2007.

Lead the Way has become an unforgettable theme for many Rotarians.  It was chosen by Rotary International President William (Bill) Boyd to embody his thrust for 2006-2007.  Expounding on this theme, he invited all Rotarians to lead the way “by living as a role model of tolerance, unselfishness and integrity”.

It is along these lines that you may have struggled for the past year to build your  club and impart a clear understanding of the principles, decision-making process, and actions that characterized good governance.

Our Rotary movement continues to be a great one, and its success is most effectively demonstrated through the individual efforts of its members.  You played a vital role in Rotary’s success in 2006-07. Maling and I would like to thank you for contributing in one way or another to Lead the Way.

Sustaining The Membership Base

The District adopted the challenge of RI President Bill Boyd for a net increase of one as a minimum membership growth goal of every club.  We deliberately avoided setting any overall membership growth goal and extending new clubs and instead focused on strengthening clubs by inviting new and younger members.

According to the official records of RI, there were 75 active clubs and 1,997 members at the start of the Rotary year in your district.  We ended the year  with 76 active clubs and 2,163 members for an overall net increase of 8.31 %.

Implementing Successful Service Projects

I am pleased to recognize that all clubs in your district have implemented individually successful projects that addressed various needs in its adopted communities in and outside our district.

More than fifty percent of the clubs qualified for the Presidential Citation.

The 2007 District Awards was one way of recognizing a Rotary club’s many accomplishments. There was a full trunk load of club achievement reports that were brought back to the district office from the office of the Chairman of the District Awards Committee after the tabulation.

The district hired the services of KPMG-Manabat Sanagustin & Co., CPAs to tabulate the final points reflected by the Awards Committee for each processed CAR.  The final report is available from the district secretariat for any Rotarian wishing a copy of the report.

The Rotary Club of Makati won the Most Outstanding Rotary Club – Overall Orlina Glass Trophy and President Edwin (Ed) Afzelius from the Rotary Club of Alabang as the Most Outstanding Club President.

Supporting The Rotary Foundation

We ended the year with US$180,119.78 in fresh contributions to our foundation, The Rotary Foundation,  by 50% more from last year’s financial contributions of  US$86,023. Surely, we can finish the job on polio eradication worldwide; carry out projects involving health, water, and literacy; and promote programs of the Foundation on world understanding and peace.

Your district supported the Group Study Exchange program of TRF by pairing with District 3740 of South Korea and District 5320 of California, USA.  Truly, the program has provided Rotarians and their families with a most enjoyable, practical, and meaningful way to learn about another country.

Developing Leaders

Leadership training by the district was conducted for district and club officers.The presidents-elect had their  presidents elect training seminar at MMLDC, Antipolo  and district assembly at Canyon Woods Tagaytay.

The district’s continuing education program for all club members and officers during the year included:  the District Conference last December 08 & 09, 2006 at The Manila Hotel,  District Leadership Seminar, District Membership Seminar and the District Rotary Foundation Seminar conducted by The Rotary Academy at the AIM Center.

Continuity is essential to Rotary’s success. Article 13.010 of the RI Bylaws requires that the governor-nominee be selected “no more than 30 months but not less than 24 months prior to the day of taking office.  As encouraged by  RI, your  district used the nominating committee system in the selection for District Governor 2009-10.
The process also went through a ballot -by-mail and  the nominating committee’s candidate Isidro (Sid) Garcia from the Rotary Club of Makati is District Governor for 2009-10.

The District’s Finances

The sources of funds were the Governor’s Allocation from RI of   P349,500.00, contribution of clubs to the Governor’s Fund totaling P608,700.00 and personal donations totaling P2,250,201.84 from the Governor.

The district’s funds were kept and maintained with Union Bank of the Philippines – Alfaro Branch in Makati.

No funds were received from Rotary Year 2005-06 nor was there any solicitation campaign for donations to our general fund for Rotary Year 2006-07.

All district-led activities were self-sustaining in terms of funding.  Rotary clubs were invited or allowed to host specific activities of their choice.

The District Treasurer reported a total inflow of P3,209,976.83 and a total outflow of P3,087,507.51 leaving a net  balance of P122,469.32 for the year ending June 30, 2007.

On to the 98th Annual Convention

Delegates from 15 Rotary clubs represented your district to the 98th Annual Convention of Rotary International in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.  Club President Ricardo (Ric) Santiago from the Rotary Club of Paranaque East  joined a panel presentation on Rotary World Health Fairs during one of the breakout sessions and shared his club’s project success story of Dr. Rotary.
By participating in an RI Convention, Rotarians gain a broader appreciation of our organization’s global impact. Delegates visited  club and district project booths, learned more about PolioPlus and other Foundation programs, met other Rotarians from other countries and had family fun.

Milestones and Tributes

Past District Governor Jose (Jun) Cortes, Jr. passed away in the early morning of  August 05, 2007.  He was a good friend, philanthropist and businessman.  We also remember in our memories other Rotarians in our district from Past District Governor Lorenzo (Enchong) See to Rotarian Cesar Lamberte who now peacefully rests in the infinite warmth and embrace of our Creator.

Continuing to Lead the Way to a Better Future

The 2006-07 club presidents in the district  organized RTV.PHFoundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation with more than P1,004,000 in contributions deposited with BDO.

The mission of the foundation is to uplift and shape lives through community-related activities using broadcast television as medium.

The community channel RTV is a public image program of RTV.PH Foundation, Inc. with the  Rotary Club of Makati San Lorenzo as project partner.

Our book (A)Musings in the Life of a Rotarian was successfully launched on October 16, 2007 in the presence of visiting RI President – elect DK Lee and spouse Young Ja.   The couple was convinced that although the principles that were expounded and the stories told were about Rotary and by Rotarians in your district, anyone with a minimum desire to help humankind will find some consolation in this book  — that there is hope to make this world better!

Lead the Way!

Kind regards,

Rafael A. (Butch) Francisco
District Governor, D-3830, 2006-07

He was born on May 23, 1956. His father Pablo C. Francisco, was born and raised in Pasay City, where he grew up in his early years. His mother, Guadalupe B. Areopagita, is also from Pasay City. Butch went to St. Mary’s Academy in Pasay City for prep school in 1962.

Known as Butch by his family and friends, he is a past governor of Rotary International, the world’s first and largest service organization. He has authored a book on Rotary entitled (A)Musings in the Life of a Rotarian.