A Beautiful Daisy

She is in her 80s now, and I haven't ever met her, but judging from her memoirs, The Drama Of It, A Life on Film and Theatre, Daisy Hontiveros Avellana, National Artist for Theater, is a beautiful lady.

Everything about her exhudes freshness-- a lifetime devoted to a singular passion, an idyllic childhood in a provincial town in a placid time, triumphant early years in U.P. before the war, a beautiful story of love and struggles with a genius who was not above designing her bridal gown, and now the quiet years, of affectionate remembering.

How I enjoyed reading this book! edited by my friends Monina Allarey Mercada and her daughter, An-Mercado Alcantara. Of her life during the Japanese Occupation, which saw a golden age of Philippine theatre, and her helping her husband Bert, as writer and over-all aide, produce and direct plays, and this man of hers horsing around with a Japanese officer to save his family from harm, and before that Bert's group of bright Ateneans, doing their thing in college theatre and later, during the War, fighting in Bataan and as guerrillas.

I like her evocation of Binan, where Daisy and Bert shot Nick Joaquin's Portrait of the Artist as Filipino which turned out to be one of their most memorable collaborations. Bert and Daisy founded the Barangay Theater Guild, which put on plays on radio and stage. She wrote the story for Sakay, Bert's first directorial job, now a classic.

Mrs. Avellana is a lady of great humility, a fact quite evident in this book. She could have gone on and on about the plaudits, and the talent and fortitude that won them, but does not. Or about her distinguished siblings, including Lenny and Father Ed Hontiveros, or her artist daughter Ivi, or her summa cum laude father, a Supreme Court Justice, and chooses not. She praises her grandchildren and great grandchildren

I like the quietness and tenderness of these memoirs. Did many people know Daisy wrote short stories as well? They are here, told with a clear sure voice. Especially precious is a still photo from Sakay, with Leopoldo Salcedo and, unnamed here, Arsenia Francisco.

Carmen Guerrero Nakpil who writes the Foreword, notes she wishes she had written this "splendid memoir" herself. Splendid too was their time and the people, including the valiant youth, who lived in it.

Read this book about a life of abiding freshness.

PR Seminar for Entrepreneurs, April 22

Although entrepreneurs are a smart lot, they need help, too. Like, in marketing and PR, making the most of new and traditional media, gaining new customers, creating buzz and enhancing competitiveness, and a lot of others.

The International Public Relations Association, Philippine Chapter and the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) are together mounting a seminar to precisely address this need: PR for Entrepreneurs: How To Make PR Work for Your Business, Thursday 22 April, at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex.

Edd Fuentes and Butch Raquel, President, IPRA Philippines and PRSP, respectively, announced that speakers at this seminar will be Rene Nieva, President/CEO, Perceptions: How PR Can Improve Your Business; Illac Diaz, social entrepreneur and founder, Pier One and MyShelter Foundation, Creating an Entrepreneurial Revolution Through PR; Ramon Jimenez, Founder, Woo Advertising, Traditional Media: How It Helps Your Business; Mike Enriquez, President, RGMA Network and Corrie Narisma, Assistant Business Editor, Philippine Daily Inquirer, What Makes News?; Jay Bautista, Executive Director, Nielsen Media Research, Why Media Analysis; Rupert Japlit, Marketing Director, Roque Digital, Inc., The Power of the New Media, and Carlo Ople, Managing Director, Catalyst Interactive Marketing, The Appeal and Value of Social Networking.

There's an advantage to registering for this seminar before 15th April. Find out from Ms. Sheena Ramos, 8939355, 8183109, sheenaramos@fuentesmanila.com. or Ms. Sonia Tejada, 6380010, publicrelations.prsp@yahoo.com.

The country's two major PR organizations are well-advised to carry on with this message: PR is for real, PR has real value.

Hail, IPRA Friends, Greetings Indonesia!

Our colleagues at the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), several hundreds of them, have begun to fly into Jakarta for their international conference which goes on this week, Feb 3-5. The President this year is the charming powerhouse, Dr. Elizabeth G. Ananto, yes, of Indonesia, and we know that she and her fellow directors have left no stone unturned to make this conference a rousing and long-lasting success

Theme of the Conference is particularly relevant for PR practitioners, Global Reach, Regional Leadership.

While PR has without doubt become truly international, it is high time for us to ask how we, in our particular locations, can assert stronger leadership and get the rest of the world to give us the attention that we deserve.

On the other hand, we also need to give more of the best of ourselves, like our view of the world, on top of our particular needs, to our fellow practitioners beyond our shores.

Two Filipino members of IPRA, are there in Jakarta right now to take part in the discussions. Edd Fuentes, chairman of our Philippine Chapter will attend a meeting of the IPRA Council, and Rene Nieva , President of Perceptions, will make a presentation on how his Agency crafted and made a success of a corporate social responsibility program for one of its clients.

Wish we could join you, Dr. Elizabeth... you have worked mightily hard and relentlessly to bring this gathering to your country. You will make it, and do Indonesia and all of us your colleagues proud.

Indonesia Hosts International PR Conference in Feb. 2010

Indonesia takes center stage in international public relations early next year when it hosts an IPRA (International Public Relations Association) International Conference Feb. 2-4, in Jakarta.

Theme will be Global Reach International Leadership.

What will make the Jakarta Conference doubly significant for Indonesia is that it will coincide with the assumption into office of one of her own, Dr. Elizabeth Goenawan Ananto, a prominent academician and active IPRA leader for many years, as President of IPRA for 2010.

The conference will look into how PR can help restore trust in institutions and its strategic importance in helping governments and the private sector in overcoming the global economic crisis.

PR practitioners in Asia have a unique perspective in relating to this challenge, faced as their Clients and their environments have been with threats to economic stability, posed by global and domestic conditions, and weakening trust in many established institutions.

Another topic that should be of particular interest to Filipino PR practitioners is Corporate Social Responsibility: Global Application.

Among speakers will be the international PR gurus and scholars, Dr. James E. Grunig and Dr. Larissa Grunig; Robert W. Grupp, 2008 President, IPRA; Richard Linning, 2011 President, IPRA; Paul Holmes, Chairman, Holmes PR Report; Ahmad Fuad Afhdai, IPRA National Chair, Indonesia; Prema Sagar, Founder-President, Genesis Burson Marsteller, India, and IPRA Past Presidents Loula Zaklama (Egypt) and Roger Hayes (U.K.).

Dr. Elizabeth is particularly eager to have her fellow practitioners from Asia, including the Philippines, to come to Jakarta for this Conference.

Following Jakarta will be IPRA's XIX World Public Relations Congress, to be held in Lima, Peru, June 1-3 2010.

Lessons of Ondoy

Ondoy killed, destroyed and left us dazed. It made us realize: in the face of angry nature, we are helpless, we can be snuffed out at any moment. Ondoy showed us how brave, kind, generous and all-giving we can be.

Only in 1986 perhaps did we see our people as united and as selfless in giving themselves to others. The impact of Ondoy has made us more reflective, and humbler.

It is obvious that we have not been all that good in putting systems, structures and training, perhaps budgets also, that might have made Ondoy not all that destructive. In the first hours of Ondoy, my family were frantically making calls to authorities, and got no answer. And they were not, perhaps could not be, around. Ondoy put us all together, helplessly engulfed.

Without absolving government, I would not spend too much time reminding it how it goofed on this one. Instead we would be better off telling it that it must shape up for the next Ondoy, because we will hold it accountable, and if need be to our courts.

We must honor those who perished, and lost property and opportunities in Ondoy. One way to do this is making ourselves smarter, more organized and more amply funded in the matter of disaster prevention, control and impact mitigation.

Another way is documenting and retelling the stories of men and women, young and old, famous and unknown, who risked their lives, and up to now are giving their time and money and to help the victims of Ondoy.

Figures and Statistics As a Basic Need of PR Industry

One of the first questions that investors ask when they size up an industry or a prospective investment site is--how large is your market? How big is its potential rate of growth, who are the key players?

Same thing with PR. In the Philippines, this has been a problem from the very beginning. We do not know how large, or small, the PR industry is, because there are no figures and statistics that anyone can refer to. Nobody seems to know how much the many corporations, PR agencies and other private-sector organizations, and even government agencies who practice PR, actually, all together, do spend annually on their PR projects.

Oh, a PR Agency may know how much it does, as may a number of big corporations, but not many others. Or, if a respectable number do, their figures are not made available to any central organization, like an industry association, where they may be verified, collated and analyzed for

the benefit, first, of PR practitioners themselves, and second, of prospective Clients or investors from here and abroad.

PR expenditures take several forms: actual project costs, fees earned as retainer or as part of project costs, or commissions from suppliers. Taxes are paid on these, and part of income is invested in business development and expansion. PR has its own economics and practitioners develop their own business models.

All together, these constitute factors that determine how large, or small, or progressive or retrogressive, the PR industry in our country is, or will be.

But first, let there be reliable figures on revenues, incomes and expenditures from which PR practitioners derive these. These figures and statistics will help us plan our growth intelligently.

And enable prospective investors to look with greater interest on the PR market in the Philippines.

Cory Aquino: Let Her Light Shine On

Former President Cory Aquino, who passed away early this morning, was exemplary as a leader, because she led by example and she put the lessons we learned from her example right where they mattered: in the hearts of her people.

In her people's hearts, her vision, her rectitude, her moral leadership and the grace of her character, will stay. There these cannot be stolen.

We have a stronger hold on the freedom that she restored in our country, because she dared not relent when its enemies tried to snatch it away.

Cory insisted on governing on the basis of what was right and wrong, and to hell with the consequences.

Our eyes are clear in the face of the craven, the corrupt and the opportunists, because Cory showed it was possible to lead, and to live, by sticking to what we know to be right and just.

A lot of inconvenience there, of course, but she showed us it can be done.

We will miss her clarity and simplicity, and the quality of her devotion to her country. When it was time to go, she did, without fuss.

I liked the grace of Cory Aquino, her utter lack of need to cower or grovel, the quietness she radiated, and the power that comes from a strong sense of self and commitment to the Lord's commandments.

A light has gone out of our lives. Even if only in our hearts, let her light shine on.