Welcome!
Thank you for visiting my website. It is here
that we sincerely hope that we can begin to discuss one of the most
important words we will be hearing more and more of in the coming
days. That word is CHANGE.
We have arrived at a time when the call for change
is growing stronger, more passionate and more urgent. Yet, in the
din of fiery speeches and drama of public protests, we have yet
to see where change will come from and what form it will take.
Change is a popular word these days and being
on almost everybody's lips, change has come to mean many different
things to many different people. Change can mean going from bad
to worse or it can mean going from good to better, but let no one
fool you into believing in change that is no change at all. More
importantly, don't let anyone tell you what that change is going
to be.
If there is one absolute right and one unquestionable
power that we all wield as citizens of this Republic it is the right
and the power to determine the changes that we want to make.
If you want change, you must be the change.
10 Principles for Success
in 2010
Asked how ordinary Filipinos can improve their
lot in life, Sen. Dick Gordon, who has enjoyed a fruitful and
accomplished life, shares his key principles for career and
financial success:
1. Be ambitious. Umaasa tayo lagi sa tulong.
Kahit anong hirap mo, you have to be ambitious. Being ambitious
is not negative.
2. Have the right work ethic. Bawal ang tamad.
Lalong bawal ang tanga. Manage by objective. Instead of a quick
fix or instant gratification, practice delayed gratification. We
should go for meritocracy. Hindi palakasan. Palakasan pa rin
dito.
3. Learn a skill. Poverty is an absence of
choice. That’s why you have to continue learning. You have to
learn a skill. I never tell people “good luck.” I always tell
them “good skill.” Be creative. Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang
gawa. God gave you skills. God will not help you if you don’t
help yourself.
4. Work, save, invest, and prosper. You have
to work. Address your needs but always save. Get into a
business. Get life insurance or a personal accident insurance
kung `yun lang ang kaya mo. We need a provident fund especially
for our OFWs. We have 11 million Filipinos abroad. You put them
and our people here in a provident fund, we can prosper
ourselves. Combine GSIS and SSS funds and come up with a
provident fund, just like what Singapore did. People have to
learn to save something.
5.
Help. Find extra time to help. Volunteer with the Red Cross.
Kapag alam mong ginawa mo, bibiyaan ka. Helping others is a
reward in itself.6. Lead by
example. The Philippines would improve if it elects a leader
who can inspire, able to communicate by word and deed,
provides a vision, extracts values, and displays integrity.
Demand from your leaders. Ask for their qualifications. Look
for their record.
7. Be independent. I had to fight big guys
but I couldn’t tell my dad. He encouraged me to learn judo
to protect myself. You have to learn to survive. You have to
learn to stand your ground. Those guys who tried to bully
me, I stood up to them.
8. Learn from your mistakes. I learn from
my mistakes. I learn from other people’s mistakes. There’s
only one thing I can never learn: to be overly
materialistic. I don’t pay the media to cover me. I don’t
pay for my press releases. If my being straightforward is a
mistake, that’s a mistake I’ll keep on repeating.
9. Be assertive. We’re like makahiyas. We
shouldn’t be. We shouldn’t be an adapting culture. We’re
resilient but we don’t assert ourselves. We’re a happy
people. That’s good psychology. We laugh at ourselves. We’re
an accommodating culture. We shouldn’t be. We should live by
the national anthem, by our oath.
Make fear your friend. During the Mt.
Pinatubo eruption, I told myself we’re not going to allow
ourselves to die here. I prayed, “If you’re going to take
me, take me. Please though, don’t make me look bad as I
lead.” You must make fear your friend.
MONEYSENSE MAGAZINE
Sen. Richard Gordon’s 10 Principles for Success
By: Lynda C. Corpuz
Read More
A Volunteer Forever
For 47 years now and as the current chairman
and CEO of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), Sen. Dick
Gordon and his able people are very active in the disaster
rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts.
He was there in the July 16, 1990 killer quake that hit the
Luzon provinces; the June 15, 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption, and
typhoons, the latest being typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng last
September.
He also negotiated (without ransom paid), for the release of 18
Filipino hostages from the Abu Sayyaf in in March 2000; the May
2001 Dos Palmas, Palawan kidnapping; the OFWs in Southern
Lebanon caught in the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict in August 2006,
and in March 2009, led a prayer rally and appealed for the
successful release of International Red Cross volunteers
abducted in Sulu.
“Dati, ang ganda ng Sulu. Ngayon, mas mahirap pa sa daga. Bakit,
niyayakap ba natin ang mga Muslim? Takot kayo sa Muslim, eh. Ako
lang ang tangang lumalapit sa kanila. Ako lang nakakakuha ng
hostages from them ng walang bayad. Ngayon naghahanap ako ng
koneksyon para mapalaya `yung pari (Fr. Michael Sinnott) at `yung
anak ng kaklase ko na arkitekto. Kailangan bang mangyari ito?
No. Pagawa mo ang mga infrastructure roon. Bakit hindi sila
magrerebelde? Kung ako nakatira roon magrerebelde ako,” Sen.
Gordon points out.
He also mobilized aid for the February 2004 Superferry fire; the
2006 Ultra stampede of the Wowowee anniversary show; the October
2007 Glorietta blast; the June 2008 MV Princess of the Stars
tragedy, and provided psychosocial and first aid assistance and
transported home the survivors of Superferry 9 tragedy last
June.
Sen. Gordon also appealed to the international communities for
support to PNRC. He launched the Millenium Partner fund in
February 2000 wherein corporate donations were pooled to sustain
disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts. Currently, it
already raised P27 million in funds. It was during his term as
PNRC Chairman and CEO that, for the first time, the organization
became an international donor when they gave $35,000 cash
contribution and disaster experts to help in the relief and
rehabilitation of tsunami-stricken areas in Indonesia, Thailand,
and Sri Lanka.
In 2006, he launched the Project 143 I Love Red Cross on
International Volunteers Day to prepare and train communities to
be self-reliant and ready in the face of calamities and
typhoons. Also, a total of 15,000 houses were repaired and built
from 2004 to 2008 in
Albay, Aurora, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Isabela, Nueva Ecija,
Laguna, Marinduque, Mindoro Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Southern
Leyte, Quezon, Quirino, Sorsogon devastated by Guinsaugon
landslide, typhoons Milenyo, Reming, Yoyong, Violeta, and Unding,
and armed conflict in Mindanao.
During the 62nd anniversary of PNRC, Sen. Gordon distributed 62
ambulances and fire trucks to their chapters, in line with his
dream of modernizing and strengthening PNRC’s rescue capability.
He is also active in important discussions and conferences on
disaster management and training, and climate change.
“Basta may disaster, naroon ako. Sinasama ko mga tao ko. I’ll
stay in the Red Cross for as long as I want. I’m a volunteer,
nobody can fire me unless I steal,” he says. He adds, “Even if
I’m the President of the Philippines, I’ll still be in Red
Cross. I’ll be a volunteer forever.”
By Lynda C. Corpuz
Moneysense Magazine
Photography by Carl Valentin
Read More
Rizal Day
Dr.
Jose Rizal
June 19, 1861
"I die without seeing the dawn brighten over
my native land. You, who have it to see, welcome it - and forget
not those who have fallen during the night."
-from Noli Me Tangere
There was a time when people never imagined that
man could land and walk on the moon.
Billions of people around the world linked together by the internet
could share information in a second.
Plant materials could fuel our cars.
An African-American could become President of the United States
of America.
GORDON-BAYANI
THE CHANGE YOU CAN EXPECT
Testimonies
of Hope
"Isang
tunay na maka Pilipino, na ang layunin ay i-angat at itaas ang kalidad
ng pamumuhay ng bawat mamayan sa ating bansa sa pamamagitan ng mahusay
na pamumuno at tunay na kasipagan na ang bawat pilipino ay kusang
loob na susunod sa isang lider dahil sa RESPETO, at ipinapakitang
"GALING, TALINO at TUNAY NA MAY MALASAKIT SA KAPWA". Ganyan kami
napasunod ng aming mayor na si Dick Gordon sa Olongapo. Dahil sa
kanyang Pamumuno at paghihikayat sa bawat tao na magtulung-tulungan,
nakamit namin ang tagumpay na inaasam sa Olongapo. Na kahit napakaraming
pagsubok ang dumaan ito'y aming nalagpasan dahil kami ay naniwala
at nagtiwala kay Dick Gordon na kung "Bawat Oras Sama-Sama" tagumpay
ang matatamasa."
Voltaire Tagle, Olongapo City
"For decades, the country has been mired in a political quicksand
of corruption, indifference and opportunism. What we need is a transformational
leader who can bring the best in us as people. It's time for the
Philippines to have a leader, a President like Dick Gordon."
Ferdie Magrata, Olongapo City
"I would like to help in
anyway I can. I'm a transplant and vascular surgeon by profession
but not a rich as others would think. I would like to help fulfill
the realization of Bagumbayan."
Marc Anter Mejes, Sta. Mesa Manila
READ MORE
TESTIMONIALS HERE
