Francis' not-so-impossible dream

If Francis Padua-Papica had his way, he would like to see the Philippines as a “reading” nation, all 90-million-plus Filipinos, that’s why he chose his eight-year-old Read to Live: Libro Ko Para Sa’yo project as the flagship of the eponymous foundation that he put up 13 years ago.

It’s not an impossible dream, is it?

A Bicolano from Goa, Camarines Sur, Francis is a corporate lawyer based in California. It’s easy for him to forget about dear old Philippines and enjoy life in America, the recession notwithstanding, but that’s not what he wants.

“My dream is to see every Filipino fall in love with books,” said Francis who would come home once or twice a year not so much for vacation but to see what more he can do for his kababayan. “It is such a worthwhile endeavor to be able to read to people and let them know that even in this age of computers, video games and movies, reading a good book transports one to a whole new dimension, a whole new world of adventure, intrigue, suspense and fantasy.”

Francis graduated valedictorian in 1985 from St. Paul Academy in Goa where he was the Student Body president and the Corps Commander; cum laude from Syracuse Law School in Syracuse, New York in 1992; and now works as a partner with the law offices of Nordstrom, Steele, Nicolette & Blythe which has five offices in California. He’s the eldest of the three children of Dr. Juan Pinto-Papica (deceased) and Maria Padua-Papica; and the first recipient of the ABS-CBN Gawad Geny Lopez Bayaning Pilipino sa Amerika Award.

Two years ago, Francis came home with boxes and boxes of books, more than 100,000 copies which he collected from donors from different parts of California. My friend Raoul Tidalgo and I, together with Rissa Mananquil, readily accepted Francis’ invitation for us to help distribute those books in various schools in Camarines Sur, some of which were located in remote areas. A month before that, the Bicol Region was devastated by a killer typhoon, so aside from the books, we also helped Francis distribute bags of groceries to the victims who lost their homes and their means of livelihood because the typhoon felled coconut trees, too, leaving residents with no products to harvest and sell.

At each school, we talked to students about the importance of reading, how it could not only broaden their minds but also how it could, as Francis was saying, transport them to faraway places and introduce them to all kinds of people. The students must have been impressed because as soon as the boxes were opened, they scrambled over one another and eagerly browsed through the books (novels, how-to books, all sorts).

Since he put up the Read to Live: Libro Ko Para Sa’yo project, Francis and company have donated tons of books to different schools nationwide. His foundation distributes 100,000 every year.

Is there any political motive behind it?

“No,” said Francis. “I just want to give back, I just want to help our less fortunate kababayan.”

The Francis Padua-Papica Foundation, Inc. (FPPFI) is also supporting scholars, one of the most prominent being controversial 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Maria Venus Raj who graduated cum laude with a degree in Journalism from the Bicol University.

Four years ago, the foundation sponsored a nationwide essay-writing contest among elementary and high-school students. The winning pieces have been compiled into a book, titled May Kuwento Po Ako (A Book for Kids by Kids), which should be “must” reading not only for children but adults as well.

Francis put up the foundation, a non-profit public-benefit corporation, to encourage and acknowledge the outstanding individual achievements of young Filipino men and women, and hopes “to educate and empower the Filipino youth to strengthen our nation through community service... guided by three principles: Leadership, Scholarship and Community Service.”

Being a bookworm, I give Francis my all-out support.

That’s why when he asked me to be “Dr. Jose Rizal” in the poster for Read to Live: Libro Ko Para Sa’yo, I said, why not? I am in good company with Boy Abunda as Apolinario Mabini, Vince Hizon and his wife Shai Bermudez-Hizon as Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara, Franco Laurel and his wife Ayen Munji as Rama and Sita, and Francis himself as Lapu-Lapu. We had fun during the pictorial with A-List photographer Jojit Lorenzo. The poster now hangs on the walls of schools throughout the country and I hope it will encourage not only students but all Filipinos to read.

(Note: For more information about the Francis Padua-Papica Foundation, Inc. [FPPFI] and its Read To Live: Libro Ko Para Sa’yo project, visit www.papicafoundation.com. Book donations are welcome.)

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