The Eminent Loida Nicolas Lewis

The Forum for Family Planning and Development scores another plus point as it confers the Sixth Eminent Person title to Loida Nicolas Lewis on Friday. Benjamin D. De Leon, The Forum president, says Loida joins the very distinguished and elite company of former Prime Minister Cesar E. A. Virata, SGV founder and business icon Washington Z. Sycip, internationally known demographer Dr. Mercedes B. Concepcion and the Lopez Group Foundation Inc. and Meralco Group of Companies chair, Oscar M. Lopez.

Loida is chair of the TLC Group Inc., a Delaware Corporation with private equity funds. In 1995, she landed on the cover of the Working Woman Magazine as top Business Woman in America, when she steered to US$2 billion the revenue of TLC Beatric Foods business conglomerate whose chairmanship she assumed upon the death of her husband, Harvard law graduate Reginald Francis Lewis.

She is a strong advocate of gender causes mainstreaming women in the forefront of development. Her staunch support of reproductive health advocacy remains unwavering, says de Leon. Believing that education, among others, is the long-term solution to our national development, she founded the Lewis College (named after her husband) in the Philippines based in Sorsogon, her home province of which she is president.

Loida is an alumna of the UP College of Law where she graduated in the top 10 percent of her class, and a cum laude graduate of St. Theresa’s college.

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How would you like to participate in a Bible-reading session? You’re invited — to i-Proclaim! — public oral readings of the Bible that seek to draw Filipinos together and read the Holy Scriptures. This is a cooperative effort of the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) and local churches to bring God’s word closer to Filipinos and to encourage everyone to explore its riches and relevance to their lives.

The activity is being launched by PBS as it celebrates National Bible Week (NBW). The Bible reading campaign which is similar to the Holy Week Pabasa or Pasyon, will be launched at the Bonifacio Shrine in Manila on January 25, the first day of this year’s NBW.

NBW is a yearly celebration recognized by proclamation orders by Presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos. Both recognize the important role played by the reading and study of the Bible in molding the moral fiber of the citizenry.

i-Proclaim! is patterned after the Canadian Bible Society’s Proclamation which began in Quebec, Canada. Over 200 readers came together in 1995 to read the Holy Scriptures in 12 different languages. By 2001, more than 60 communities coast to coast participated.

Nora G. Lucero, PBS general secretary and chair of the Global Board of the United Bible Societies says, “This is what we want to duplicate in the Philippines so Filipinos can personally experience the Word of God. We want to encourage our kababayans to set aside differences, come together and be one in reading God’s word.”

On January 25, readers at the Bonifacio Shrine will be national and local officials, the PBS Board members and staff, partner churches, representatives from government offices, schools, business organizations and all who wish to read the scriptures.

i-Proclaim! activities may be staged anywhere by anyone. According to Lucero, the Roman Catholic Church, through the Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines CBCP) intends to hold a simultaneous Bible reading in all its 87 dioceses nationwide on the evening of January 30. Fr. Oscar Alunday, executive secretary of ECBA, says, “With the participation of the basic Ecclesial Communities, we are aiming to have the whole Bible read simultaneously all over the country. Each diocese/parish will be assigned a portion to read orally. These will be done simultaneously and in about 15-30 minutes, the Bible will be read completely from Genesis to Revelations all over the Philippines.”

 According to Lucero, i-Proclaim! will all be reading, and no preaching or sermon. Readers, from age 7 to 97, may read for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. PBS recommends Bibles to be used during the proclamation be from the Magandang Balita Biblia (MBB) Collection which comes in eight major Philippine languages and in English.

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Here’s another piece of goodly news. DZFE, the only “terrestrial radio station for classical music” in the Greater Manila Area, 98.7 DZFE-FM “The Master’s Touch,” has returned to a daily 18-hour schedule.

DZFE is the Metro Manila FM station of Far East Broadcasting Company, which was established in 1948 to bring Christ to the world by radio. DZFE works to foster a joint appreciation of classical music and Christian spirituality. The station is a non-profit, non-commercial outfit, sustained on donations from supports of DZFE and FEBC.

Music lovers are drawn to DZFE’s music programming. Appreciated is OPERAphile, a production written and hosted by Filipino soprano Joanna Go, and aired Saturdays 1930-2200. American flutist David Jerome Johnson launches the series, “Chamber Music in Progress,” every Sunday afternoon.

“Millennium of Music” features a pre-Baroque repertoire and broadcasts primarily across the United States. Host and producer Robert Aubry Davis agreed to let DZFE carry the program.

Beginning last Sunday, FEBC rebroadcasts sacred cantatas at 845 (rebroadcast Monday at 1415), with Tiffany Liong serving as guide.

 DZFE also premieres the five-minute Adoration Songbook, produced by the Center for Church Music. Every week, Songbook highlights a great hymn of the Christian faith.

Aired on Saturday evening at 1800 and Sunday morning at 930 is Bert Robledo’s “Kingdom Builders,” which presents the lives of evangelical Christians. Bert is founder of Bravo Filipino.

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