NPC elects its officers

The Negros Press Club elected its new set of officers  Saturday.  The winners were led by Julius Mariveles of Aksyon Radyo as president and Annie Calderon of Sunshine Channel as vice-president. 

The other newly elected officers are good, too.  Chrysee Samillano of DAILY STAR, reelectionist, topped the board.

The secret in a Club is the membership.  As long as we have a strong membership, the leaders may be weak but the Club can remain strong.  And what is important is because of strong membership, they elect the better candidates.

Last year, Edgar Cadagat was elected unopposed.  This time Julius had two opponents, incumbent vice-president Henceboy Cestina and director Tootsie Jimenez.  Julius is also an incumbent director.

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The sad note in the election was the absence of Club office secretary Mae Marañon who was at the intensive care unit of the Our Lady of Mercy Hospital.  Mae is nearing her 30 years of  serving the Club, a very efficient office secretary who has been practically running the Club all these years.

Because of her absence, the treasurer and secretary were not able to make  a report.  Their job was being done by Mae to show how efficient she is.

I recall the last 30 years, she has not taken a vacation.  And she does all the work at the NPC office, doing the janitorial job of sweeping the floor, cleaning the comfort rooms, and running errands.

She is helped by her husband Butchik.  They are childless but have an adopted daughter.

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One important trait of Mae is her honesty.  All funds are very well accounted for.  And for all those controversies in the Club, never was her name been involved.

She started working at the Press Club during our presidency.  I helped her in taking her secretarial course.

Mae is the daughter of the late Eugenio Esteron, tenant of my father in Iloilo.  When I bought a farm in Bago I asked my father if he could give me his tenant.  He did and Esteron brought his family here.

The eldest son, Primo, named after me, was left to take care of the farm in Iloilo but all the other children were brought here.  What I liked in her father were his being a hard worker and honest.

And all his children are.  Primo is very honest and all his children are.  The eldest daughter was assistant in our clinic under my late wife.  She got married.  Then taken over by a younger sister who also got married. 

The third is the one manning the clinic now under my daughter.

Mae’s sister and brother are working in my Bago farm.  The other sister is married in Hinigaran.

During the election we passed the hat for Mae.  And we gathered more than P10,000 from the members present.  We turn it over to Mae’s family today.

I was told Mrs. Elsa F. Leonardia, wife of the Mayor visited Mae Saturday.  We visited Mae too Saturday morning but she could not be disturbed and visitors were not allowed in the I.C.U.

We know her hospital bill is staggering.  We ask friends of the Negros Press Club to give whatever help they can spare. And their prayers too for her recovery.

The Negros Press Club which Mae has been serving very well will be very honored by the help.

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I could see the strengthening of media here with the election of the Press Club last Saturday.  There was no open campaigning.  Members voted for those they believed deserved the vote.

And there was no vote buying in the form of paying the dues of members by the candidate, a very bad practice in the past.

It is too undignified for one to be called a media man who will have a candidate  pay P120.  I don’t know of a Club whose membership fee is P10 a month, not even enough for jeepney fare going downtown.

If one cannot afford to pay P120 annual fee to NPC, I believe, he should be removed and not allowed to be an NPC member.

All NPC members at DAILY STAR have their dues paid for by DAILY STAR.  We don’t want our people to indignify themselves by allowing others, candidates, especially, to pay for their dues.

And no expensive campaigning.  When a candidate spends money to win at NPC, he will recover this by selling his services to other, politicians especially.  So, he becomes the spokesman of politicians.  This destroys the NPC.

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I hope we follow the culture at the Rotary Club.  In our Rotary Club, just as old as NPC, a candidate who campaign loses.  The candidates who win are those who are really working and do not ask members to vote for him.  He asks for the vote?  He will surely lose.

The principle is it must be the position that seeks the man, not the man that seeks the position.

We hope to have this culture at NPC.  It must be the position that seeks the man, not that the man seeks the position.*

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