Wow

When was the last time that we had so many Pinoys that raised our flag and waved it so high that the world sat up and took notice. When was the last time we actually felt real respect as a people and a nation. Think about it, in the midst of the world reeling from the effects of the recession and the fears of the swine flu, Pinoys have shone.

I was watching the NBA playoffs between Miami and Atlanta, and the commentators were interviewing the NBA’s youngest coach, Miami’s Eric Spoelstra. The Miami coach was gushing about watching the upcoming Manny Pacquiao fight and proudly proclaiming his Pinoy heritage. Eric remarked that in recent survey conducted, he came in third after Manny and Arnel Pineda of Journey as the most famous Filipinos. Yup, the NBA’s youngest coach is a half Filipino and very proud of it.

Manny Pacquiao in stopping Ricky Hatton so convincingly cemented himself as the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world. It was so dominant a performance that the boxing world is still stunned.

Recently, young singer Charice Pempengco has vaulted herself to number one on that list when she almost simultaneously launched her new single--, “Note to God” and debuted in live at the Oprah Winfrey show. The single released only in the United States and can be downloaded online at iTunes and Amazon, broke sales records and immediately shot up to top of the music charts. I was watching the video of her performance in Oprah and you can see how the audience was moved to tears by Charice’s emotional performance, at the end of the song, you can hear Oprah whisper, “wow”.

WOW! Wow indeed. It’s amazing how people are now changing the way they perceive our people. When I was watching Manny’s fight, I saw many members of the audience not only rooting for the Philippines but even wearing and waving the Flag proudly. The most shocking part about it was that they were not even Filipinos.

On another note, I would like to take time out to congratulate Governor Gwen Garcia for being one of the winners of the 5th Rotary Club of Manila Annual Tourism Awards. Governor Garcia is being recognized for the very innovative, creative and effective Suroy Suroy Sugbu. I have heard many praise the program and enjoy and delight in joining it. It has been one of the biggest contributors of Cebu being recognized as the top tourism destination in the Philippines. Congratulations Madame Governor.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

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