Gigi De Villa

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Why EI Chose Gigi De Villa

Through our Theology and Philosophy classes, we were all taught about the importance of relating to the marginalized, and the preferential option for the poor. As Ateneans, more so, we have always been called to be men and women for tohes. Everyay Idealists found the perfect personification of these values in Ms. Gigi De Villa, a senior taking up Management Economics and Development Management, who has been very active and all out in her support for the marginalized sector. It was our first time finding someone with such great passion and commitment to giving voice to those who have none.


Hope in Everyone

Gigi De Villa begins the interview right on by stating her greatest conviction. By the way she talks, one can really feel the level of passion she has towards her commitment. “Malapit sa puso ko ang mga marhinalisadong komunidad tulad ng mga magsasaka at mga katutubo; at para sa akin gusto ko sana maging bahagi ng pag-uplift ng dignity nila as human person, gusto ko na matulungan silang mangarap ulit.” [Those who are in the marginalized communities are very close to my heart, like the local farmers and the indigenous people, and I want to take part in uplifting their dignity as a human person, I want to help them dream again.]

Gigi explains how she can’t stand just being a witness to the state of helplessness and hopelessness that these people are currently in, and that for her, she has to take action and initiative for the movement that would rekindle in these people hope, confidence and inspiration. As one of her steps in accomplishing this mission, she envisions herself serving at the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines (JVP), and/or working for government institutions such as the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) or the  DepEd (Department of Education), that would help in promoting the rights of these people.


Walo at Saka Tatlong Dumagat

Gigi explained to Everyday Idealists interesting stories of how she got inspired to fight for the marginalized. First of these was her story on how she felt attachment to the indigenous people.

According to her, it all started through a documentary she watched, wherein aetas were being misled by people as they travel by directing them to wrong buses, just because they know that these people are unable to read. Gigi shared how disappointed and sorry she felt for the misery of the aetas, who have been taken advantage of through their weaknesses.

This cruel reality was strengthened to her, through a lecture of her Theology professor, about a certain indigenous group called the “Dumagats”. The story tells of how, upon the arrival of other people, the Dumagats would say “O nandito na mga tao” [Oh, the humans have arrived]. The students were astounded of how they were received. A Dumagat then explained that this is because whenever they would ride a jeepney, he would hear a person, not belonging to their group, would say, “Walo at saka tatlong Dumagat” [Eight, and 3 Dumagats], as he pays. The Dumagats have been judged as different, and for Gigi, she can’t deny how angered she was upon hearing how these people have been treated.  “Alam ko na hindi naman dapat ganoon ang pagtrato sa kanila. For me, isa silang gem ng Philippine Society at dapat na alagaan natin sila.” [I know that they shouldn’t be treated that way. For me, they are gems of the Philippine Society, and they should be taken good care of.]


The CARPer Campaign

The second story Gigi shared was that of how she was inspired to work towards the rights of poor local farmers. She traces back her devotion to this cause, way back when she was still in freshman year. Early on, she has been exposed to the issues and dialogues held reharding the matter. In fact, she even cut her InTACT class, just to be able to march along with these farmers and the people who share the same sentiments with her. According to her, it was through this experience that she realized the importance of these poor local farmers, and how their rights were deeply underpromoted.

“Nakita ko doon na, mahalagang bahagi sila ng society natin and yet, hindi sila mapahalagahan. Ang laki ng kontribusyon nila, pero ito yung nararanasan nila.” [I saw how they are really essential to the society, yet they are not given importance. They offer great contributions, but they suffer that way.] These farmers, are those who, albeit their many decades of tenure, have not been granted title to their lands. Gigi expressed how she felt injustice upon the realization that these people have been exerting much effort, and yet, they have not been fairly compensated.

It was also through this event that she was able to meet people who are passionate about fighting for the rights of the underpivileged as well. Gigi tells the story of Karen, also an advocate of these local farmers, who died fighting for their rights. According to Gigi, she was deeply inspired by the conviction of this person. “Bakit ako di ko kayang subukan lumaban? Given na ako, naprovide ako with Ateneo education so, sana ako din maglakas loob para sa kanila.” [Why don’t I try to fight for them as well? I have been given an Ateneo education, so ideally, I should also have courage to stand up for them.]


The Driving Force

Gigi shares, that even though these issues that she fights for might seem very heavy and controversial, at the end of the day, these are the same things that drive her to get going with life, most especially in her academics and the path she’s taking.

“Yun ang nagiging drive ko para mag aral. Pag nag-aral ako ng mabuti, mas mapapaglingkuran ko sila. Yun ang nagpapabangon sa akin sa umaga. Pag hellweek na and everything, alalahanin ko lang na ang lahat ng ito ay para sa kanila, na kung maging magaling ako na Atenista, sila rin maeempower ko rin sila in the long run.” [It’s what drives me to study hard. Because if I do well, I can serve them better. That’s what keeps me up everyday. Whether it’s hell week and everything comes tushing through, I just remember that all of these is for them. And if I’m a good Atenean, I can empower them as well in the long run].

The Week After

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The week of August 6 was very reminiscent of what happened to the Philippines, three years ago. The strong rain matched with the strong winds scared people as it reminded them of Ondoy and the chaos it brought. Different areas of Manila were gravely affected as some areas were flooded, making people have the need to stay in the second floor of their houses, while some had to really evacuate and leave their homes, hoping that not too much damage take place in their homes while they are away.

A situation of how Metro Manila was submerged in flood water during the hit of typhoon 
Ondoy in 2009.
Photo taken from http://reynaelena.com/2009/09/28/ondoy-situation-map-for-metropolitan-manila-list-
of-flooded-areas/ 


While some people were stuck at home due to impassable streets surrounding their houses, some are in evacuation centers, there are also those who braved the rains to assist in relief operations that took place around Metro Manila.

Relief operations initiated by different schools, foundations and other groups of people were successful in their own ways to help out the victims of the Habagat. There were a lot of generous people who donated so much goods, and so much time in assisting these relief operations that one can feel the Filipino spirit really acting in all of us.

Relief Operations Poster of the Ateneo DREAM TEAM, taken from the Ateneo Batch 2013 Facebook page.


Bayanihan is the idea where there is communal effort from people of a society to be able to achieve a goal or simply to be able to achieve something where the whole of society benefits. Perhaps, in this case, we can say that is one conviction that resounded throughout all of the Filipinos last week. Whether you have called your friends to check up on them, donated goods for the victims, helped out in packing the goods or even simply making people aware of the situation  of areas like where is it flooded and such, you had in you the spirit of bayanihan. Maybe, we can say, that we have in all of us, an Everyday Idealist-in-Action.


Relief operations begin at the Ateneo de Manila campus. Photo courtesy of Dominic Go. (from Rappler.com)

And perhaps here we see the potential of the Filipino nation to truly unite to reach great heights. We shouldn’t need to wait for another calamity to pass us by just for us to be of service, to be one nation. We have witnessed from previous storms, be it Ondoy or Milenyo from way back, and even just recently with the strong storm, that we all can truly practice bayanihan, that we can most certainly be one nation. 

Photo from THE GUIDON Facebook Page

Mr. Allan Ko

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Why EI Chose Mr. Allan Ko

He may be known by his students as the professor who gives out-of-the-box requirements (such as the recent “Call Me Maybe” videos), which need to be accomplished in a certain amount of time. His students would agree when told how his classes could be so different, so unconventional, so demanding. But by the end of the semester only one thing would be heard from them, that is, all of them really learned a lot.

Everyday Idealists Macky, Dominic and Apple were all privileged to have taken a semester under Mr. Allan Ko. His resourcefulness and creativity in coming up with non-traditional teaching methods continues to inspire all his students that education is really not just about reading and memorizing—that there is a lot to discover in learning and growing through experience.

How He Entered Teaching

Sir Allan Ko is one of the instructors at the John Gokongwei School of Management under the Leadership and Strategy Department and the Department of Quantitative Methods and Information Technology. He teaches two subjects, one is Operations Management (under QMIT) and the other is Organization Behavior (under L&S).  

Initially, he is a corporate professional, who has worked in multinational firms such as Procter and Gamble and IBM, and also an entrepreneur, through his brainchild restaurant Cusina Royale. His path to teaching in the Ateneo, however, was paved by the referral of two of his good friends, who happen to be teaching in the JGSOM as well—Mr. Wilson Gan and Ms. Bing Paraguas. And through the semesters, he has been known to be one of the well-loved professors of JGSOM students because of his expertise in teaching and his ability to foster a good learning environment and friendship amongst everyone.


Just Do It.

When asked about his greatest conviction, Sir Allan explains how he believes that experience is the best way to learn. True to these words, his teaching style is usually in the form of unconventional tasks and creative groupwork. (e.g. Viral video production for his LS classes, and photography homework for OpMan). Of course, he insists that it’s still very much important not to do away with textbook concepts, but at the end of the day, you have to couple it with real-life cases for it to be fully appreciated and understood.

“Experience is the best teacher so what I try to do when I teach, is encapsulate experiences I’ve had in my career or my business endeavors into what I impart with my students.” Sir Allan explains. The highlight of his LS class is the famous “grilling session” which aims to give an evaluation and critique of the events and outcomes of the week’s task. True enough, this openness to learning with each other and sharing it with everyone really is one of the secrets why even after (and even during the semester), Sir Allan is able to foster good relationships with his students in and out of class.

What Keeps Him Going

When asked what keeps him going, Sir Allan clearly said that it’s really his students that allow him to be inspired as a teacher everyday. While the tasks and requirements he has assigned might have made his students experience a roller coaster semester, it’s really in seeing how they learned and changed, not just in terms of amount of knowledge obtained, but also in the work discpline honed.

“It’s definitely seeing young students thrive, learn and flourish, especially after the sem when we’ve become informal friends and I see them taking on their careers, taking on leadership positions or just being themselves and learning more what they like and what they don’t like to do, and thanking me and thanking their experience in class. That keeps me going, that definitely is something I think money can not buy.” –Sir Allan Ko

If you’re a SOM student who’s about to take LS100 or POM102 in the coming semesters, we suggest that you try to give it a shot with Sir Allan Ko. You definitely won’t regret it. J

James Nicolas Cruz

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Why Everyday Idealists chose James Cruz

James Nicolas Cruz represents an over-all Atenean SOM student. Being among the top of his batch in the John Gokongwei School of Management, and winning various debate competitions inside and outside the Ateneo, are only some of the many achievements that James was able to reap from his hard work and motivation. His excellence as a debater and as a student made EI decide to probe into what inspires this prodigy. 

Involvement

James arrived as a casual fellow for the interview, but EI was sure that this guy had a lot of things to share. When asked to introduce himself and explain what keeps him busy, James simply started, “I’m involved with the Ateneo Debate Society. I debate competitively.” It’s been a normal experience for James to miss some of his classes from time to time, as he represents the university in different competitions all over the country. However, he clarifies that for now, he’s a taking a break in the debating field, as he has been pursuing more and various efforts. “I’m involved in the advocacy of debate education. So currently, I’m the director of debate education I’ve also involved myself in.”

Debate, Education and Management—all rolled in one.

What amazed EI during the interview was how James clearly laid out the path for us. While most JGSOM students concern themselves with earning profits and building strong and wide networks, James does not lose grip of his Atenean values through an advocacy he stands up for.

“I’m a firm believer of how education can empower people’s lives, but I also really believe in the power of business and management.” According to James, people who know management have the power of fixing the living conditions of people in the society, and in the end, produce a good kind of change. While he believes that education is important and various efforts of teaching students academic disciplines are essential, he cannot disregard the fact that external factors such as the environment they thrive in and the society they interact with, can still be a hindrance to their success.

“I’ve realized that even if I’m involved in education, it’s still really so difficult to empower students, if once they go out to society, the opportunities aren’t there for them.” Thus, James explained that his way of contributing to this ideology is by involving himself in helping various communities doing their businesses. He’s currently involved in a consultancy project, where he is guiding the communities in starting up in micro finance programs. Part of this project is by teaching them accounting, and by creating an accounting system for them such that it would be easier to attain financing.

Aside from this, James is also currently holding a project which helps non-profit organizations in training government leaders and private leaders by equipping them marketing knowledge and skills. He believes that this tool can help these organizations come up with more holistic graduates, such that when they go out into society, they can have a chance to improve other people’s lives as well.



What drives James Cruz

Like most college students, James admitted that at first, he was unsure of what he entered himself into. Alongside management, there were also a lot of things he wanted to try out. Being a scholar in the university, James understands how education plays a key role in making a difference in people’s lives.

“As a Management student, I really start thinking, 'What can I do?' so at first I was trying to help by involving myself in organizations that were helping people, but then I realized, I really wasn’t able to see what I was doing in Management.” James disclosed to EI, that based solely on his academic pursuits, he still felt that what he was learning wasn’t enough, if it would go back directly to the people. 

For James, part of what motivated him to pursue his advocacy of education and management would be the opportunities presented to him by the JGSOM, such as the professors he met, the ethical issues he studied, and even the products he developed, which all point to the social-orientedness that the department has always been pushing for. However, these efforts have all, in his own words, “been crystallized”. According to James, the School of Management has always been criticized, citing the Occupy Job Fair incident last school year as an example. “Things like that, the way the really think that the School of Management is profit oriented and that it seems to be marginalized in the role of nation building, so I thought my personal response to it is I had to do something to show people.”

Empowering People through Business Education

James believes that education is important, but as a management major, he believes that there are even more things he can support, to be able to inspire other people. With his assertiveness as a debater, intelligence as a student, and confidence as a management honors major, he leaves EI with this statement:

“We’re actually empowered the most to try to help people through what you know and that’s why I’m embarking on, not just these charitable organizations and institutions, but trying to integrate my business education into making people’s lives better.”