Don’t kill the CAT

Given the emotion and sentiment stirred by the EDSA People Power commemoration – not to mention the vibrant online and offline discussions about “historical accuracy” versus “historical revisionism” – the term “move on” has almost become a contentious phrase.

Personally, I am a big believer in “learning from” rather than “moving on.” This applies on a personal, community, social, and even national level. Regardless of the scale, it is paramount that we remember mistakes with vivid recall, so that we can rectify them and do our best to ensure that the same mistakes are not made in the future. History is there to be reviewed, reflected on, and ultimately to learn from.

Take for example Hacienda Luisita. The mere mention of the estate’s name stirs up dark recollections in Filipino history. The massacres of 1987 and 2004 still strike grief in the hearts of Filipinos, and the innocent lives lost must never be forgotten. On the other hand, these dreadful events can teach future generations about the sensitive dynamics that define the relationship between government, land owners and farmers.

Another important lesson to be learned from Hacienda Luisita is about making hasty generalizations and kneejerk associations. In the heart of Hacienda Luisita lies Central Azucarrera de Tarlac (CAT), a successful sugar processing plant that is often mistakenly linked to the turbulent legacy of its past. This is both inaccurate and unfair; CAT is located within Hacienda Luisita, but it is most assuredly not Hacienda Luisita. Moreover, the new owners of CAT have made vast improvements to this company and surrounding communities.

The changes began almost immediately after the company was bought from the Cojuangcos. Businessman Martin Ignacio Lorenzo’s first action as the new owner was to offer all staff a voluntary retirement program with the option of either, a) receiving one and a half month’s payment for each year of service, or b) a minimum sum of P100,000. This went above and beyond the pre-existing plan at CAT which was one month of pay per year of service, and only available to those who had been working for over 15 years.

Consider also that CAT is currently approaching one million worker hours without accident reports due to increased worker safety and training. The plant’s equipment has been replaced with more modern, efficient, and most importantly, safe machinery. This will be a record for the refinery.

It is also worth noting the environmental impact that CAT’s operations will have, where not only sugar is produced, but also bioethanol, a sustainable and renewable energy source that will have a reductive effect on the carbon footprint of the Philippines.

Lorenzo is well-known in the Philippines not only as a successful businessman, but as someone who actively promotes corporate social development and community uplift.

He is  a serial entrepreneur and operations specialist who has acquired, managed, and exited companies across various sectors including agriculture, F&B, retail, real estate and cable television over more than 25 years. He is the former chief executive officer of Pancake House Inc. (which he sold last December 2013 for more than P3 billion) and managing director of Del Monte Pacific.

He has been chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Central Azucarera de Tarlac since Oct. 15, 2014. Concurrently, he serves as chair and chief operating officer of CAT Resource & Asset Holdings Inc. among other corporations.

Given that Tarlac is a key component of the so-called “Central Luzon Growth Triangle” (together with Subic and Clark), the ultimate objective of CAT to lead the way in transforming the area into an industrial-commercial destination definitely deserves full support. At the very least, the public should not interconnect the company’s current and future activities with the restive reputation of its locale.

In the end, perhaps the best way to honor the legacy of Hacienda Luisita is to get behind a good-willed business bound for success. Indeed, while the enterprise is separate from the estate, it will hopefully be a role model for the entire vicinity’s  future practices. Let us learn from what must be remembered, and more importantly, fix what deserves to be rectified.

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On another front, a  few years ago, members of Class ’67 of St. Scholastica College of Bacolod City started Kariton4Kids which sponsored informal classes and a feeding program every Saturday for street children and out-of-school youth ages 4-14 in the city to prepare them for higher education.  The project, held in cooperation with La Consolacion College of Education, was  inspired by CNN informal educator Efren Penaflorida’s mobile library.

Today, the project continues, albeit under another name, Klasmeyts4Kids, undertaken by the Scholasticans and Assumptionistas, and LCC students.

Klasmeyts4Kids is a feather in the cap for the SSC Class ’67 which held its golden jubilee celebration early this month. As Salou Palao Sobrepeña relates it, “The golden girls from near and far came in full force, carrying with them a cornucopia of memories.” Everyone came in identical t-shirts, with the emblem of their school tastefully printed on the front and back of the tees,‘’ looking like a wave of one solid color as they moved through the crowd – red on Feb. 1, orange on Feb. 2, white on Feb. 3, and teal and gold on Feb. 4.”

The jubilarians took turns sponsoring meals for each other at different restaurants, never ever in want for stories to gab and laugh about – at Bob’s Restaurant on North Drive,  Aboy’s on Lacson Street Ext., Chifa's on 17th St., the Roofdeck of La Chalet, and 21 Restaurant on Lacson cor. 21st Street. “Their meets were always highly charged,” writes Salou.

During the school’s extravaganza sponsored by the silver jubilarians (Class ’82) which showcased a dance travelogue of the countries where the Benedictine nuns planted their mission schools, Class ’67 represented the Philippines. Looking very elegant in their black and gold costumes, they gracefully danced to the alluring cadence of “Tanda de Valse,” an officially recognized historical piece composed by the late Señor Jose “Pitong” Ledesma of Bacolod and currently under the exclusive use and safekeeping of one of Bacolod's celebrated dancer/choreographer Janette Garcia-Sanchez, who also happens to be a member of Class ’67.

As any group would have it, not all classmates lived long enough to experience this milestone in their lives, and the class took time to visit, offer flowers and prayers at the grave sites of their dearly departed classmates – Marilyn Araneta, Rebecca Velasco-de Jesus, Mila Yulo-Cabuñag, Amalia Lopez-Lizares and Marilu Villarosa-Sta. Maria.

After the school events were played out, this energized group of ladies hied off to Manggapuri Villas, a charming resort on the hilly terrains of Don Salvador Benedicto, for a few days of some serious bonding.

Writes Salou: “Thinking about it all now, one might say it was a reunion of hearts, sewn together by the many cherished experiences shared in one classroom since their early single-digit ages, as well as the mini-reunions they held in attending each other’s weddings or children’s birthday parties, plus, seeing each other through the many highs and lows that came along with living life in the real world.

“But, perhaps, of more significance is the fact that these ladies take time to pray for each other’s concerns. Be it health-related, a need for traveling mercies or just about any driving concern, they have made a covenant to  communicate with each other  twice everyday wherever they may be, at 9 a.m. and again at 9 p.m., Philippine time, to accommodate time zones of those among them who live abroad, via a Messenger chatroom that they all share, giving credence to the old adage ‘a (group) that prays together, stays together.’”

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