17/09/2021
Father CJ, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ and those who are following us on livestream in
the various PHINMA schools all over the Philippines…
What kind of schools do we need now in the so-called new normal? What kind of schools,
colleges and universities, should we have in the Philippines and in the world so that we can meet the
challenges of our time? I can tell you with pride, also with gratitude, that the PHINMA schools all over
the Philippines are doing very well in terms of being competitive in the professional field; in terms of
making a dent, I mean with dent, in terms of becoming game-changers in the running of society with the
professionals been able to contribute to the society; with proficiency in English; with proficiency in
technology; with international quality standards; the PHINMA schools are doing very well. But in spite of
our success in the competitive professional world, as your pastor in church, as your brother in the Lord, I
want to appeal to PHINMA for three things. PHINMA, if it is to be a game-changer in the society, should
produce three very important qualities among students. The first is character, the second is character,
and the third is character. Because competition and championship would be meaningless if it is achieved
by dishonest means.
It is true that the PHINMA schools must be competitive in the world but we must compete with
character, we must compete in character, and let the schools of PHINMA produce men and women of
character. It is not just competence, it is not just championship, it is not just success in the exams, it is
rather character. Because there will come a time in our lives, my dear students, my dear school
administrators, when the salary will not matter anymore. There will come a time when somebody will
be more competent than us, but there should never come a time when our character diminishes
especially in moments of darkness, especially in moments of anonymity, especially in moments when we
are needed.
Character must precede commitment. It is true we have leaders who present themselves in
elections and occupy elected positions because they promised to serve but we did not qualify, we did
not ask. They said, “I will serve, vote for me” but we did not realized what they meant is “I will serve my
family dynasty, vote for me, ” “I will serve my personal interest, vote for me,” “I will serve my own
needs, vote for me.” My dear graduates, commitment is important, but we must qualify, describe the
commitment, not just commitment to your personal interest, it is not a commitment to your dynasty, it
is a commitment to the common goal, sacrificing yourself for the sake of the country, sacrificing yourself
for the sake of the common good.
There were four men competing to become the president of a corporation because the owner
was retiring. So, they were all called to the President’s room and said, “I am willing to give up my
corporation to anyone of the four of you but you must pass my test. I want to test how productive you
are.” So, they were all given four seeds and the president said to the four applicants, “Make the seed
grow in one month. If you can prove to me that you can cultivate the seed in one month, I am going to
award you my own corporation” and they left.
The fourth of them planted it, watered it, fertilized it, but it will not grow. One week, two weeks,
and he was already resigned. He said, “I don’t think I will get the corporation.” So after one month and
one day, they were back in the President’s room. The first applicant came with a pot with a seedling as
tall as this proudly and the President said, “Let’s see. Let’s wait for the second.” The second one had a
tall plant in the pot and it has flowers so the first one was beaten, “Let’s see the third,” the President
said. And the third, did not only have a seedling, did not only have flowers, it had a pot of a fruit. And
the third one was very proud about it and said “I have beaten the first two.” The fourth one who was so
frustrated came forward and said, “Sir, I know I have lost my chance, I will never carry the corporation.
No matter what I did, no matter how I tried, the seed will not grow in my hands. I gave it the best soil, I
watered it and fertilized it, nothing. Sayang, I was dreaming but maybe this corporation is not for me.”
And the President of the corporation said, “My company is going to be given to the fourth.” The fourth
man was surprised and the three previous ones were surprised and the President said, “Dear four
applicants, I gave you plastic seeds. I gave you plastic seeds. How did you make it grow? And the start of
the application, you were already cheating me, there was only one of you who did not cheat. He did not
know it was a plastic seed, he wanted to make it grow as instructed, but he chose character rather than
competence, he chose character rather than his dreams.”
My dear brothers and sisters, the real game-changers in the society are men and women of
character. Believe me, honesty is rewarding. Believe me, integrity is more important than your dreams.
Believe me, integrity is more important than competence, than championships, than medals and
awards, because what will win the day for you is character, is integrity, is your commitment to principles
of honesty, to principles of selflessness, to principles of sacrificing for the common good.
I know PHINMA dreams of that. But PHINMA can not fulfill that dream unless you, my dear
students and administrators, embrace the same vision. Let us produce men and women of competence,
let us produce men and women committed to the country and to make this world a better place, but
most of all, let us produce men and women of character, men and women of integrity… there is no
substitute for that.
