Winning the fights vs. human trafficking, but!

Greetings to members of the Rotary Club of Cebu (Mother) on the occasion of its 79th Induction of Officers and the turnover of the mantle of Leadership from outgoing President Jose Soberano to incoming President Roy Lotzof. One thing about Rotary, the Presidency has a limited term of one year, which means no time for politicking. Past or future Presidents go out of their way to support the new President, which is one of the reasons why it is called Rotary… we rotate our responsibilities and focus on serving our community.

 The Cebu Rotary Club is the second oldest Rotary Club in the country and I'm proud to say that my grandfather Capt. Valeriano J. Segura (who died in Bataan) was one of the founding or Charter members of that first Rotary Club. Later on, my paternal grandfather Don Jose Avila joined the club. In fact the oldest photograph of a Rotary Club in Cebu was contributed by my family as my two grandfathers were in one picture.

 On its 79th year, the Rotary Club of Cebu doesn't only have a great heritage, it is also the most prestigious Rotary Club in Cebu and I'm proud to say that I am a 3rd generation Rotarian. Kudos to Pres. Joe Soberano for a very exciting year and kudos to Pres. Roy Lotzof for a very fruitful Rotary year ahead.

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 The Aquino administration is patting itself in the back as the Philippines was recognized by US State Sec. Hillary Clinton as one of the countries that has moved from Tier 3 to Tier 2 in the Global Trafficking Against Persons Report collated by the US State Department. Indeed, the Philippines has indeed moved faster in the global war against Human Trafficking and let me say it clearly that Zamboanga City is ahead in the whole country in finding ways to curb this global scourge.

 Cebu Province through the efforts of Gov. Gwen F. Garcia and Vice-Gov. Agnes Magpale has also moved on their own when they created the Regional Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (RIACAT). We've already written about this in past columns and we are happy that it has bore fruit. But we shouldn't sit on our laurels as there is still more work ahead for us.

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 I attended a multi-agency meeting at the Provincial Capitol last Monday chaired by Gov. Gwen Garcia to set up load limits on trucks that have become so huge and heavy that it is taking its toll on our national roads. Whenever we see a newly asphalted or cemented road break down, more often than not, we blame the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) or their winning contractors for doing a lousy job. But in fairness to them, most of the roads that are breaking apart are not due to bad construction, but constant overloading by heavy trucks that has gone unabated.

 To prevent the further destruction of our national roads, Gov. Gwen F. Garcia has called upon the stakeholders ranging from the DPWH, LTO, LTFRB, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) through Centcom and the private sector groups like the Constructors Association and Truckers Association to help us keep our roads from breaking down.

 Apparently, the new standards for strength of our roads are at least 9-inches of concrete or even up to 13 inches. This is a far cry from the current 7 or 8 inches in our roads today. In the past, the largest and heaviest truck running our streets was the old Army 6x6 trucks which were only 3-tonnes. Today's multi-axle trucks weight more than 10 tonnes and carry cargo upwards between 20-tonnes to 30-tonnes. With trucks that heavy, it is taking a toll on our national roads, which will soon break apart if nothing is being done to prevent its destruction. Hence, a task force is being created to stop these huge trucks from carrying loads more than their allowable limits and I can only say that this is the right thing to do.

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 Last Wednesday night, the top bigwigs of Security Bank Corporation led by its Chairman Frederick Dy and President Albert "Abet" Villarosa swooped down to the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu to celebrate its 60th year in the service of the Filipino. I never realized that I'm a month older than Security Bank!

 The Security Bank did not just have a sumptuous dinner bash, they also brought with them famous members of Repertoire Philippines Isay Alvarez, Menchu Lauchengco Yulo, Robert Seña and Audie Gemora and musical director Gerard Salonga who came up with the show entitled "Decades" a musical concert of Broadway Showtunes, featuring great songs from Westside Story, Les Miserable, Annie, Sound of Music, the Man from La Mancha, Etc.

 It was indeed a grand way of celebrating Security Bank's 60th Anniversary with great music and the company of great friends. Kudos to our good friend Abet Villarosa who make us Cebuanos proud that he is at the helm of the very prestigious Security Bank.

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