Committed Filipinos in our midst

Here is a recent statement from the Lasallian community:

“Just like our founder, St. John Baptist De La Salle, and the first Brothers, the mission of a human and Christian education was entrusted to us, Lasallian Educators (Brothers and Partners), by God to light the spirit of truth. What started as a small group of educators transformed into a community of mission-oriented individuals who are guided by the spirit of Faith, Zeal for Service and Communion in Mission.

“The coming May 2022 elections, in the words of chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, ‘will influence the direction of whether we will be a nation after God’s heart or not.’ It will also be a test of our growing love for #IntegraIFaith, where our faith and actions founded on the Word of God interact so that even our public life as a nation is increasingly #TugmaLahat.

“Further, ‘as educators, we humbly pursue our mission to be beacons of light – to bring the light of truth, justice, democracy and integrity to our society, now languishing in the darkness of lies, injustice, authoritarianism and dysfunctional leadership and governance’ (CEAP, 2022).

“Furthermore, as Lasallian educators, it is imperative that we seek guidance from the wisdom of the De La Salle Brothers of the Philippines (2021), and choose leaders who:

1. propose a vision that can unite the people in the pursuit of the common good;

2. possess the moral integrity needed to command trust from citizens and civil society;

3. have a proven track record of empowering the disempowered and underserved sectors of Philippine society.

“Therefore, after careful discernment on the characters, platforms and track records of all the candidates running for the offices of the president and vice president, we firmly believe that Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan are the most qualified for the said positions, respectively.

“With this decision, we are able to heed the call of our bishops, ‘let us stand up for truth. Remember: goodness without truth is pretense. Service without truth is manipulation. There can be no justice without truth. Even charity, without truth, is only sentimentalism. An election or any process that is not based on truth is but a deception and cannot be trusted.’ (CBCP, 2022)

“Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.”

This statement was signed by 1000+ Lasallian educators from the following La Salle schools in the country:  De La Salle Andres Soriano Memorial College, Cebu; De La Salle Lipa; De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute, Cavite; De La Salle John Bosco College, Bislig City; De La Salle University, Manila; De La Salle Santiago Zobel School, Muntinlupa; De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Cavite; De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde, Manila; La Salle College Antipolo; La Salle Academy, Iligan; La Salle Greenhills, Mandaluyong; La Salle University, Ozamiz; St. Jaime Hilario School-De La Salle Bataan; St. Joseph’s School-La Salle Bacolod; University of St.  La Salle, Bacolod.

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The banking and finance community may have lost Norberto “Boy” Nazareno to illness last month, but his legacy as a respected banker and government official lives on in the successful credit operations of the SMDS (Santa Maria della Strada) Multipurpose Cooperative he and his fellow committed co-parishioners began in 1995. Boy and his wife Evelyn had always been involved in social development work in economically depressed areas even before they first met in Sapang Palay, Bulacan more than 50 years ago. Boy, an alumnus of both La Salle and Ateneo, was then president of the student group of volunteers, the Junior Operations Brotherhood (JOB), which went on regular trips to Sapang Palay to help the newly settled families.  Boy had said that the JOB motto of helping others help themselves was the seed that led to his desire to work out a cooperative that would extend credit at reasonable and affordable rates for the marginalized.  It frustrated and saddened him to see that most livelihood programs failed to help the beneficiaries improve their economic lives. There were many livelihood programs that never succeeded.

It was then when he decided, along with fellow bankers, on a cooperative that would provide an alternative to the 5/6 lenders who are usually the only source of credit in depressed communities. It was not without many challenges, but success became attainable.

How have they measured their success? From a humble start-up capital of P30,000 from 15 founding members in 1995, it has grown in capital after 22 years to P88 million, over P200 million in assets, P80 million in deposits and cumulative loans granted to about 10,500 members – and counting. The cooperative has been able to pay dividends at 20 percent per annum, paid interest on deposits higher than bank rates and has granted many benefits to its members.

The successful model has been replicated in other parishes and communities in Taytay, Quezon City and Pasig.

Because Nazareno wanted the model to be a guide and their mistakes learned from, he wrote a book in 2017, “The Story of a Credit Coop: A guide to form a Micro Finance & Credit Cooperative.” This document had to be written to prove that a project such as this can succeed, can be done.  Boy would have said, “Let a thousand cooperatives thrive!”

Credit goes to Nazareno for utilizing his wide experience in banking and finance to help the socially disadvantaged – often referred to as the non-bankable – for soldiering on despite the warning that “it was very risky to start a microfinance in a developing ‘cash-starved’ community.”

Nazareno’s life was truly dedicated to helping those who had less in life. His was a meaningful, well-lived life.

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Write Things specials for March: Young Writers’ Hangout via Zoom on March 12 & 26, 2-3 p.m., with Rhandee Garlitos and Natasha Vizcarra. The 2022 Adult series begins on March 19 with UST professor and author John Jack G. Wigley on Writing Humor.

Contact [email protected]. 0945.2273216

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