In the beginning were five men and one vision…

In a historic series of preparative meetings in May 1985, Felipe Casing, Antonio Elumir, Manny Granada, Jacinto Jamero and Rey Sanggalang envisioned the Port Center of Cebu as a vantage ground from where a band of noble men shall rise by the name of Rotary, in a game of service to humanity.

What followed was a marathon dash in establishing a Rotary Club in the Cebu Port District to obtain a charter from then District 3860 Governor Jose “Joe” Lardizabal whose term was to conclude very soon. On the forefront was Pepe Casing, a Cebu Fuente Rotarian.

It was in the special day of June 6, 1985 when a charter was granted to a club that was christened a most befitting name: The “ROTARY CLUB OF CEBU PORT CENTER”.

The newfound organization that was once a nucleus of five visionaries became a club of 34 gentlemen who convened charter members in the middle of June 1985 to bear witness to the first set of officers.  Antonio “Jun” Elumir, who was then the Phil. Ports Authority Officer, was the Charter President.  With him at the helm was Manuel “Manny” Granada, the charter vice-president, Jacinto “Boy” Jamero and “Rey” Sanggalang were the charter secretary and charter treasurer, respectively. These gentlemen who were the prime movers for the organization of our club were equally accorded those distinct and rare positions which can only happen once in a history of a club.

Pepe Casing was honored with the venerable title of “Godfather”.

List of RCCPC Presidents:

In 1986, Manuel “Manny” Granada assumed the reins of the presidency.  Ramon “Mon” Montinola became the third president in RY 1987-1988.  RY 1988-1989 saw the administration of Danilo “Danny” Flores, Danny dela Cruz became president in 1989-1990.  Jacinto “Boy” Jamero, the first president to become Paul Harris Fellow and the third PHF after Edward “Ed” Go and Renato “Rene” Mercado, led the Port Center Rotarians in RY 1990-1991. “Boy” Jamero started the tradition of making the incumbent president to be Paul Harris Fellow during his term. And we are proud to say that from then on all past presidents are PHFs.  Enrico “Eking” Jereza rose to the presidency in RY 1991-1992.  The club celebrated its eight-year with Banjamin “Benjie” Akol as president in RY 1992-1993.  Florentino “Intoy” Palacio in RY 1993-94, Joel Valer in RY 1994-95, Antonio “Anton” Florendo in RY 1995-96 who also became our club’s first District Governor of D-3860 in RY 1998-99, Edward “Ed” Go in RY 1996-97, Francisco “Frank” Malilong in RY 1997-98, Teodoro “Ted” Locson in RY 1998-99, Narciso “Sing” Solon in RY 1999-2000, Alejo “Al” Alcibar in RY 2000-01, Eduardo “Edward” Sy in RY 2001-02, Eliezer “Ely” Celestino in RY 2002-03, Juanito “June” Luna in 2003-04, and our incumbent president George “George” Hong for the Centennial Year – 2004-05.

We are proud to make special mention that it has bred nine (9) Multiple Paul Harris Fellows in the persons of PDG Anton Florendo-PHF-4, PP Edward Go-PHF-2, PP Jacinto Jamero-PHF-2, Pres. George Hong-PHF-2, IPP Juanito Luna-PHF-2, PP Danilo Flores-PHF-1, PP Manuel Granada-PHF-1, PDS Enrico Jereza-PHF-1, Eliezer Celestino-PHF-1, thirty (30) Paul Harris Fellows & thirty-eight (38) Paul Harris Sustaining Members. Undoubtedly, this is the sincere manifestation of their Service Above Self – not only of their talents, time and efforts but also of their financial resources to uplift the noble ideals of The Rotary Foundation.

The pioneering charter members, most of who are still with the RCCPC, instilled the club’s love for sports – golf, bowling and tennis – in that order of popularity among its members.  An incessant talk about these sports keeps alive the fellowship that follows its weekly meeting every Monday evening.  Do not be surprised if you hear other people mistakenly refer to RCCPC as the Rotary Club of Cebu “Sports Center”.

Its love life however, is not confined to sports.  Because amazingly however, on the pages of it’s eighteen-year history inscribed a tapestry of outstanding accomplishments in the avenues of club service, vocational service, community service and international service. Our Rotary spouses have been most helpful in re-directing the members’ proclivities.  These adorable spouses see to it that the club also gets involve now and then, not with dangerous teenagers but with the aged – like its concern for the Hospicio de San Jose Project – a home to the now homeless aged individuals; and in putting up health and sanitation facilities in the club’s sponsored Day Care centers in the very area with which the RCCPC identifies itself – the port area.  These ladies arrogate unto themselves the job of seeing to it that the club’s energies are shared also with the aged ladies at the Asilo dela Medalla Milagrosa in Cebu City, and the Day Care Centers at Mabolo, at the port area where Cebu City’s commercial activities start and in far-off Marikaban, Sta. Fe, Bantayan- way up in north Cebu jointly with a sister club, RC of Taichung East. Evergreen I and Project Earth and Conservation of Environment (P.E.A.C.E.) dramatized the Port side Rotarians’ will to save the earth.  Port inhabitants will remember the club for the comfort rooms, shower facilities, and four-way test signs installed in the port vicinity. During the term of PP Benjie Akol in RY 1992-93, the club sponsored a three-day crash course on “Being a Service Station Attendant” that was attended by twenty (20) out-of school youths.  Some of the graduates are now gainfully employed as Service Station boys in Metro Cebu.  Financial support was given to the less fortunate children of St. Martin de Porres School for the Handicapped Children, books from Canada were donated to Tejero Elem. School. Bagong Buhay Primary School and Florencio Urot Memorial High School, implemented the “Earth Savers” a tree-planting program that brought the members of the club in tree-planting activities to the faraway mountains of Agsungot and the nearby Cebu International Port.  The sweating men at the piers – the stevedores and the arrastre workers at the wharves of Cebu City – are always remembered with yearly awards for honest and efficient service.  In 1998 under the term of PP Ted Locson, the club launched the Anti-Drug Campaign sponsored by our sister club RC Fujisawa East of Japan.  Also during that year the club sponsored jointly with RC Cebu Capitol a stage play entitled “A Hatful of Rain” as part of it’s anti-drug campaign program.  Some 3,000 high school students attended this play. The club has ventured into an environmental concern project in 1999, which is the greening of the port reclamation area through massive tree planting activity over a 5-year program jointly with the Cebu City Government and the Cebu Port Authority

RCCPC is a proud recipient of five (5) TRF Matching Grants namely: MG # 2571 –Rotary-Viscom Forest Park Reforestation Project with RC Metro Cebu sponsored by RC of Ladner with Soil and Water Conservation Foundation, Inc. (SWCF) as implementing organization (July 1991-June 1994), MG # 2628 “Kantimpla Uno Reforestation Project”  with RC Cebu Fuente and international sponsor RC of Squamish, Canada (Nov. 1992 – Oct. 1995), MG # 10637 with Int’l sponsor RC of Walnut Creek Sunrise– Seminar to train 12 volunteer mentors in advanced instructional strategies in Cebu City, Phils.(RY 1998-99), MG # 100239 – Rapid Disaster Relief Preparedness Project(RY 2001-02) and MG # 17074 with Int’l Sponsor D-2790, Chiba, Japan– Barangay Carreta Feeding Project ( RY 2001-02)- two hundred malnourished children benefited this weekly feeding program.  The club is a supporter of the PolioPlus Program and Vit. A Supplementation Program. Every year it distributed oral vaccines from the city settlements to the remote mountain Barangays in Cebu. In cooperation with Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center RCCPC with Rotary Club of Metro Cebu hosted the first Rotaplast Int’l. Medical Mission in Asia on October 18-29, 2002. The success of the last three missions has changed the lives of some three hundred (300) indigent beneficiaries who used to suffer from society’s rejection owing to their deformities. We are happy to be blessed once more with the opportunity to bring to Cebu the Rotaplast Medical Mission for the fourth time on September 9-17, 2005. This major project of the club became a reality through the tireless efforts and coordination of PDG Anton Florendo and Rtn. Evelyn Abad. For RY 2003-04, Rotaplast Project was awarded the “MOST OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM AWARD” in the Visayas area.  RCCPC which garnered most of the major awards of District 3860 during the term of IPP Juanito “June” Luna,  was awarded the “MOST OUTSTANDING CLUB” in the Visayas area.

In Vocational Service, RCCPC has for the past ten (10) years jointly sponsored with the College of Engineering of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) a manpower skills training program for out of school youths for jobs readily available but for which an engineering graduate is much over-qualified to accept.  This Community Outreach Project of RCCPC through the years has benefited thousand of out-of-school youths. WCS D-2790 of Chiba, Japan has funded this benevolent project for RYs 2002-04.

RCCPC has had contacts with Japanese Rotarians from RI District 2700 whose members from RC Kurune East, Kurune Center, Tosu, Oguori, Amagi and Yanagawa were very kind enough to donate an ambulance and two emergency generators-through the RCCPC – to Cebu’s Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) and the Davao Fire Brigade; and lately with RI WCS Mission District 2790 of Chiba, Japan.

The club also forged sisterhood agreements with RC Fujisawa East of Japan during the term of PP Ted Locson, RC Greenhills under the term of PP “Al” Alcibar, RC Downtown Davao under the term of PP “Ely” Celestino, with RC Iloilo City with IPP “June” Luna & RC Poipu Beach (Hawaii), RC Makati Central with the incumbent President George Hong, and Rotary Club of Yokohama, Konan under Pres. Ricky Poca.

It has also sired a very active Rotaract Club at the Cebu Normal University–a club which has turned out to be a source for inspiring music for the club’s aging members who are nostalgic about their salad days when they like to think they could also sing.

And lastly, in 100 years of Rotary, the club undertook and successfully accomplished the following major centennial projects: (a) Rotaplast Int’l. Cebu Medical Mission 2004 which benefited 100 indigent individuals. (b) Sian Tian Dental Clinic – renovation in cooperation with PRCC and donated dental equipments worth P275,000.00. (c) Tejero Alternative Learning System Center – construction of a P1.5M 2-storey bldg. that will house the non-formal education of Tejero District to 4 urban barangays of Cebu City. (d) Twin Club Project – RCCPC with RC Poipu Beach acted as facilitators for the Sisterhood relationship between Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Kauai, Hawaii and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City. (e) Twin Club Project – TRF Matching Grant # 51744 for the shipment of donated hospital equipments for VSMMC – 3 anesthesia machines, transformers, 40 units Intra-venous Pumps, 3 arthroscopic units, etc. and training of the hospital staff. The club also spearheaded Sinulog entry of the District – the Rotary Centennial Galleon.

These may not be much to crow about, but in our humble way the RCCPC during these nineteen years of its existence has been quietly sharing its time and resources with the least of our brethren in places and instances they can be most appreciated.

We, certainly, have given our “two-cents worth” to where it counts during all these years from our toddling days in 1985 up to the start of our adolescent years, in pursuance of that Rotary dream which we sincerely urge all selfless and dedicated Rotarians – nay, everyone, everywhere – to emulate and follow – SERVICE ABOVE SELF!

– Rtn. “Joe” Perez