PSRs: The spirit of volunteerism lives on!

Like what we wrote last week, we joined the first National Convention of the Regional Development Council Private Sector Representatives for two days at the Parklane Hotel and gauging from the attendance from all but three regions in the country, it was a great success. Indeed, the spirit of volunteerism lives on, especially upon hearing the speeches of Deputy Director General Augusto B. Santos of NEDA; Richard Osmon, private sector representative (PSR) of RDC 1V-A; my partner Manny de los Santos Rabacal, PSR of RDC-7; Assistant Director General Marcelina Bacani of NEDA; engineer Manuel Bella of RDC X11; Robert Go, co-chairman of RDC-7; and our very own NEDA Region 7 director Marlene Rodriquez.

Director Joselito de Vera of the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency spoke on "Harnessing Private Sector Participation through Volunteerism." He characterized volunteerism in three categories: first that it is undertaken freely and without coercion; second that it is not undertaken primarily for financial gain, in terms of salary or wage; and thirdly, that it benefits a third party or the community at large as well as the volunteer. In the last 20 years of serving their country, it was only last week that the PSRs had a convention, in order to share their experiences and build new relationships and strengthen PSR participation.

Special thanks to GTZ’s Dr. Herwig Mayer who also spoke about the Decentralization Program. I asked him if we could only leapfrog into the 21st century and move on toward a federalized Philippines because our politicians are merely using decentralization as a lip service to sharing power with the local government units. I guess that’s the new challenge to the PSRs.

* * *

While May 1 is always celebrated as Labor Day, few people remember that 109 years ago there was a great battle that virtually put the Philippines on the map of the world. I’m referring to the famous Battle of Manila Bay, (that’s tomorrow) where the US Asiatic Squadron under the command of Commodore George Dewey (remember Dewey Boulevard?) with his four cruisers (the USS Olympia, Baltimore, Boston, and Raleigh), two gunboats (Concord and Petrel) and a revenue cutter (MCCulloch) sailed from Hong Kong to Manila Bay to look for the Spanish fleet in Subic Bay.

But the Spanish fleet was already in Manila Bay. This once invincible Spanish armada was under the command of Admiral Patricio Montojo, who had approximately 20 ships, including two cruisers, Reina Cristina (Montojo’s flagship) and Castilla, and the gunboats Isla de Cuba, Isla de Luzon, Don Juan de Austria and Don Antonio de Ulloa. This was the beginning of the Spanish-American War, which was triggered by the mysterious sinking of the USS Maine in Cuba on Feb. 15, 1898. Because of that incident, the US press was hungry for a war issuing the battle cry, "Remember the Maine!"

Call me lucky that while I have read about this historic battle in history books, I came across when I was in the US last month an old Sea Classics magazine which featured this story written in great detail by A.B. Feuer, which included maps, drawings of the battle and photographs of the warships from both sides. The actual site of the Battle of Manila Bay was a couple of kilometers from Sangley Point. That’s because Admiral Montojo did not want to sail out to meet the US Asiatic fleet so he could have the added comfort of the ground-based naval guns in Sangley Point.

This great battle commenced early in the evening of April 29, around 10 p.m., when Dewey’s ships sneaked into the mouth of Manila Bay, passing through the Boca Grande channel right near the island of Corregidor. When they had sailed pass Corregidor only then did the Spaniards start firing at the US fleet, but American gunners were more accurate and silenced the guns of Corregidor. But since it was nightfall, Dewey decided to stop 20 miles off Manila for rest. The main battle against the Spanish fleet started at 5 a.m. The Spaniards fired first, which was answered by the Americans shouting "Remember the Maine!"

Naval shells found their targets on both sides, but the Maria Cristina was dealt with a mortal blow, an eight-inch projectile in her stern and began to sink. After three hours of naval gun exchange, it was almost a draw. But the American gunners were more accurate than the Spaniards, who fired either too high or too low at their targets. Obviously, they lacked practice.

Suddenly, Commodore Dewey ordered his ships to withdraw for breakfast. In truth, they were checking how much ammo they had left. His flagship, the Olympia (this historic vessel is now a tourist museum at the Delaware River near Philadelphia), only had 15 rounds of ammo for each gun left. When firing resumed, Dewey concentrated her fire on the Don Antonio de Ulloa and she went down with all hands. Montojo had no way of knowing that the US Asiatic fleet was severely low on ammunition, but sensing that all was lost, he ordered his men to abandon and scuttle their ships.

A total of three enemy ships were sunk and eight Spanish vessels were set fire by their crew and scuttled. All told, 381 Spaniards died in that battle, while only eight Americans were wounded and not one was killed. Today, the Battle of Manila Bay is considered by US historians as the greatest of American naval victories, which remains unparalleled even to this day.

If only Admiral Montojo held out a few more minutes… the Americans would have run away because they had no more ammunition left. But those are the quirks of history. A few months later, the USS Petrel would sail to Cebu to capture Cebu City… but that’s another story. I hope we gave our readers another lesson in history.

* * *

Last Friday evening, I huffed over to SM City Cebu for the sneak preview of the new SM NORTHWING… where the guests were given a glimpse of a new lifestyle for SM shoppers. As SM’s Big Boss Hans Sy told us, the NORTHWING is a 100,000-square-meter addition to the already whopping 160,000-square-meter SM City. But as SM’s top Cebu and Mindanao executive Marisa Fernan says, this is not an annex building… it is unique as it can stand on its own. More importantly, it can accommodate 1,400-plus cars in its vast parking space.

When it finally opens its doors in a few months from now, Cebuanos will have a new lifestyle experience as major Manila-based shops are already preparing to open their doors to the public. The more SM opens up Manila-based shops, the more reasons why Cebuanos will not visit Manila anymore.

* * *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," 8 p.m., shown every Monday only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.