CARDIJN CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT - One of the founding directors since 1998. CCD is a private non-profit/non-stock organization involved in labor research & organization, grassroots community development & social policy advocacy. CCD was formed to give continuity to the commitment and draw from the experiences of former members of the Young Christian Workers movement and trade union leaders and organizers in the service of the working class (website).

CCD's two major ongoing activities are:

• Research on the Effects of Flexible Labor on the Workers' Self-organizing Efforts. Started in 2000, the project is on its 4th year and seeks to publish a major study on the ill-effects of labor flexibilization on the present labor movement and the efforts of the unorganized workers' to organize themselves. The project is expected to be completed in early 2005. CCD hopes that the study will contribute significantly to the rather limited body of works on this subject and spur greater efforts towards opposing anti-worker labor flex practices and unbridled globalization.
• The Promotion of a Genuine and Pro-worker Labor Code of the Philippines. Being an active member of the Steering Committee of the Progressive Organization of Worker Advocates (Pro-Worker), CCD undertakes with its partners the struggle to bring about - as its policy advocacy - the revocation of the current and clearly anti-worker Labor Code of the Philippines (PD-442) and put in place a genuinely pro-worker code through the popularization and active participation in the legislative public hearings on the Proposed New Labor Code started during the 12th Congress and now carried over to the 13th Congress.

COUPLES FOR CHRIST (Singalong Chapter) - Member since 1996. Currently the Music Ministry Director. CFC is a Catholic Charismatic community dedicated to the vision of families in the Holy Spirit transforming the face of the earth through rapid, massive and global evangelization. Cora and I were active household leaders in the chapter until my heart-bypass surgery in 2003 forced us to give up these positions. I am thus, limited to participation in the Music Ministry as musical director.

M.Y. OROSA-J. BOCOBO HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION (MARJOB) - (Consultant from 2002-2004) MARJOB is a people's organization in the urban poor section of M.Y. Orosa & J. Bocobo streets in Malate, Manila. MARJOB is dedicated and committed to the struggle for the full implementation of R.A. 4118, signed into law in 1964 by Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, which called for redistributing the parcel of state land in Malate bounded by the two mentioned streets among the legitimate tenants and residents who have lived there for decades.

YOUNG CHRISTIAN WORKERS OF THE PHILIPPINES (Member from 1971-1982) - The YCW movement is an international movement of young workers with ages ranging from 17 to 35, working to transform the working youth inspired by the zeal and dedication of its founder, Joseph Cardijn, who sought to bring the message of Christ into the hearts and minds of impoverished young workers beginning in the early 1900s in Belgium and Europe continuing on to the present (Read Cardijn's story) .

My contribution to the struggle of the working youth in the Philippines during the martial law years as a YCW militant, factory worker leader and trade union organizer is detailed in my book, "Turbulent Times," (available online).

Held various positions in the movement as follows:

STANFORD TECHNICAL & OFFICE STAFF EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION (STOSEA-FFW) - (Member from 1976-1981) STOSEA was the labor union of the monthly-paid technical personnel and office staff of Stanford Microsystems Inc. (SMI) and the local chapter of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW). At the start of my employment in 1976, STOSEA then had a "cozy" relationship with SMI management. Slowly, however, under YCW influence and later having developed links with the progressive labor groups such as the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and its successor, Kapatirang Anakpawis ng Pilipinas Foundation, it was transformed into a militant and progressive labor group.

Although I did not hold any elective position in the Union by choice, nevertheless, I was responsible for initiating and sustaining the group's conversion from a company union into a genuine trade union with assistance from elements in the YCW and progressive labor groups. I influenced the rewriting of the Union's constitution and by-laws making it more attuned towards genuine trade unionism and headed the group's Education and Legal committees, in concurrent capacities, to assure the orientaton. I also provided the basis for preparing STOSEA's collective bargaining proposals, most of which were incorporated in the approved Collective Bargaining Areements of 1977 and 1981.

Perhaps, I can consider my most significant contributions, in general, to STOSEA's and the SMI workers' inexorable march towards militancy were:

• Planning and initiating the 1977 STOSEA slowdown strike and walkout at the Escolta (Manila) plant.
• Planning and initiating the 1979 STOSEA walkout and pickets at the Escolta and Ugong (Pasig) plants.
• Participation in the early planning of the 1981 STOSEA/SMILU/SAILU strike at the Stanford Group Superplant in Maybunga (Pasig).
• Series of GTU teach-ins and seminars for SMI workers from 1977 to 1981.
• Planning and initiating the formation of the Stanford League of Unions (SLU) in 1980. SLU was the alliance of all the labor unions of the Stanford Group of Companies: STOSEA (SMI/SAI/PPPI monthly-paid workers), SMILU (SMI daily-paid workers) and SAILU (SAI/PPPI daily-paid workers).
• Participation of SMI workers in various lightning rallies and Operation Pinta/Operation Dikit forays against the martial law regime.
• Participation of SMI workers in the anti-Marcos protest rally during the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1981.

Details of these and other stories can also be found in "Turbulent Times".

My Passions and Other Interests

COMPUTERS:
Fairly knowledgeable in assembling and troubleshooting a Windows-based personal computer as well as handle and perform minor troubleshooting on an Apple Macintosh machine. Back in the early 80s, I was already learning how to program in BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL and PASCAL on the DEC Vax 10 minicomputer system of the company I used to work for in Saudi arabia. I was introduced to desktop personal computers when the company purchased two units of the IBM-PC-XT and assigned one to me for my use in Contracts Administration where I designed and implemented systems for administering project contracts. Since then my passion for these machines grew by leaps and bounds.

I love to surf the Net mostly to discover economic and historical data needed for my service-oriented activities, as well as keep up with latest developments in computer hardware and software that could help me in developing my home-based business (Web Lab) focusing on 3D animation, offline video editing, web design and multimedia development including desktop publishing. My son Deejay (who's an electronics and communications engineer with networking specialization) and I partner in setting up networking capabilities for small offices and companies.

READING (FICTION AND NONFICTION):
My most favorite pasttime. I always carry a pocketbook with me wherever I go, be it to business meetings or private and personal affairs, so that if any opportunity to read presents itself, like riding in an aircon bus or taxi or inside a coffeeshop or... in the john, I pull it out and start reading.

I took to serious reading since I was a child in Grade 4. I started out with the illustrated classic comicbooks, mostly the Grimm Brothers' grim fairy tales, then got introduced to Greek and Roman Mythology in Grade 6 including the works of Homer. In high school, I became an avid reader of mystery books for teen-agers when my mom bought me my first Hardy Boys' mystery thriller - a hardcover edition of "The Ghost At Skeleton Rock". After that I collected just about any book I could get my hands on about the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton.

In college, I was introduced to the Perry Mason legal thrillers and the interesting stories of the characters Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) and Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle). Of course all of these were other than the required readings in English and Filipino Literature both in high school and college.

In nonfiction, I was and still am attracted to history and philosophy books both by foreign and local writers. This was heaviest during the 70s when I was involved in the labor movement and for a time became an avid reader of socialist and Marxist writings. I reread Rizal, Bonifacio, Mabini and other Philippine revolutionary period writers and Ka Amado Hernandez. I also took a fancy to the writings of historians Renato Constantino, Horacio dela Costa and Teodoro Agoncillo.

At present, I have a growing collection of the fictional novels of Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Eric Lustbader, Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, Stephen King, Stephen Cannell, Anne Rice and a sprinkling of other lesser known but equally exciting local and foreign writers.

MUSIC:
I love to sing by myself or in public to live accompaniment or with the karaoke. I also play some musical instruments like acoustic and electric guitars, acoustic piano & electronic keyboards. In 1977, I organized and became the first president of the Engineering Glee Club in the University of Santo Tomas. This was one of the early school organizations permitted to organize during the martial law period. Fraternities were banned formally although they existed underground.

In 1988 up to 1990, I played with a band in Saudi Arabia together with my best friend Mike Sumang. We first played for an all-Filipino band, "The Sunshine Boys", for over a year. We transferred to a mixed Filipino-British pop group, "The Soundwaves", right before the start of the Gulf War in 1990. I handled the keyboards and Mike played the bass guitar. The group disbanded a week after the Gulf War broke out.

I also composed some folk songs way back in the mid 70s, inspired by Asin, Coritha, Heber Bartolome, Apo Hiking Society, Florante and Freddie Aguilar. I kept on writing and singing until about the mid-90s but these never got into commercial production as these were more for my own personal satisfaction only. My brother, Romy, though still continues to sing professionally up to this day.

At present, I am the musical director for the Music Ministry of the Singalong Chapter of the Couples For Christ charismatic movement.

CHESS:
I learned to play this game when I was 11 years old and up to this day I still play with rated players although not competitively anymore. I played a fairly decent game while in high school (Malate Catholic School) and college (Silliman U and in U.S.T.) winning a number of school and district-level (Sta. Mesa & Malate) tournaments.

Although I participated in national rated tournaments twice, I was not however, lucky enough to be among the top 5 in this level. I do however, love to organize chess tournaments and clinics for aspiring players - children and young adults.

MARTIAL ARTS:
I got into martial arts late in life in my early thirties. In Saudi Arabia, I joined the "Sensei Club" a martial arts school in Dammam, Eastern Province when I was 32. This was in 1985. The school specialized in the traditional Shotokan style of Karate. In less than a year, I reached brownbelt level and started participating in martial arts tournament, winning some, losing some. I joined in both kumite (sparring) and kata (forms).

I got my 1st degree Blackbelt a little over a year after I started and was appointed assistant instructor of the school. Six months later in 1987, I got my 2nd degree Blackbelt and was promoted to Senior Instructor. I continued practicing and teaching my craft and even got into weapons techniques, concentrating on nunchako where I also earned a first degree blackbelt.

The Gulf War in 1990 halted further activity in this field when the school had to close down as our chief instructor - my sensei - and most of the students went home to escape the war.

To this day, I continue practicing the forms and the nunchako.

BALL GAMES:
I was very active in many ball games when I was still in school and shortly after that. I played baseball, softball, basketball, soccer and volleyball.

I played my favorite ball game, baseball, in college in Dumaguete City as a member of the Silliman University Varsity team from 1968 to 1970. I had a baseball scholarship in 1968 and 1969. While at it, I was also a mainstay of the Engineering softball team and the ROTC Alpha Company basketball team as well as the Sigma Rho Alpha Fraternity basketball team.

When I transferred to the University of Santo Tomas in 1970, I tried out and was accepted into the Engineering soccer team and the Electrical Engineering basketball team until 1973 when I had to quit school for two years to work as medical representative with Upjohn Inc. While here, I also played for the company's basketball team winning the championship during the 1974 Pharma Inter-company Basketball Tournament.

I also dabbled in volleyball in 1976 and became the head coach of an all-girls volleyball team in Malate, the "White Lass." Our team won the first ever (and only) Malate Intercolor Volleyball Tournament in 1977. During this time I was a mainstay of the Malate YCW basketball team.

I still continued to play basketball and softball actively during the decade of the 80s and early 90s in Saudi Arabia. I was a regular member of the Marketing and Administration teams of Zamil Steel during the annual Intramural Games. I also played softball as a member of Zamil Steel's official team in the annual Softball Tournament in the Eastern Province winning two championships during the period.

I stopped playing active ball games when I switched to playing Tennis soon after I returned to the country permanently in 1993.