Poveda at 50: A life of service in education and health

MANILA, Philippines - The year 2010 ushers in a milestone for Saint Pedro Poveda College as it marks its 50th year as an educational institution guided by the maxim “Con Dios sin limites (With God, without limits).”

The school opened in 1960 as a prominent pink building on Edsa known as Institución Teresiana, and welcomed students from kindergarten until the fourth grade. The school has since gone through many changes, including being renamed twice, from Institución Teresiana to Poveda Learning Centre in 1975 to honor the birth centennial year of its founder St. Pedro Poveda, and again in 2005, when it became Saint Pedro Poveda College upon the opening of its tertiary level. 

Evolving with the times, the AAP likewise had a change of name in 2002, and henceforth has been known as the Asociación de Alumnas de Poveda. It has initiated several projects to benefit various communities, particularly in education and health. Aside from supporting its alma mater and students, the AAP offers financial assistance to alumni whose children study at Poveda, and scholarships to seminarians and nursing students of Our Lady of Guadalupe School of Nursing. Its primary beneficiary, however, is the Makabata School Foundation, which provides free education and tutorial service, textbooks and supplies, uniforms, food, and transportation to the needy children of Sta. Lucia, Pasig. The AAP also organizes medical and dental missions in different communities, and disaster relief operations in times of calamities. This work of service to others remains a continuing mission among Poveda alumni.

In commemoration of the golden year of Saint Pedro Poveda College, the AAP launched the POWER Awards, (Povedans Outstanding in Work Ethics and Reforms, a label coined by alumna Paz Atienza). This is the highest honor bestowed by the AAP on its deserving alumni, an affirmation of Povedans who have distinguished themselves in living up to the legacy of St. Pedro Poveda.

The POWER Awards screening committee, headed by alumna Virma Potenciano-Vergel de Dios, drafted the criteria and guidelines, screening and recommending the nominees. Committee members included Dean Sally Villavicencio, AAP adviser Concepcion Pacía, and alumnae Annie Ferrer and Patricia Olbes.  

Last month, the first POWER Awards were held at Poveda’s new gymnasium, and well-attended by alumni, key officials of the Institución Teresiana de Educación y Cultura Foundation and Saint Pedro Poveda College, and friends of Poveda.

The affair was hosted by PR honcho Noel Nieva and alumna Rissa Singson-Kawpeng. It was made even more memorable by the stirring performances of flutist Jong Cuenco, the Ecole de Ballet Manille founded by Poveda alumna Nina Anonas-De Santos, and talented Poveda artists Jenny Villegas and Karylle.

The POWER Awards honorees who embodied the dictum Con Dios sin limites were Ma. Lourdes “Marides” R. Carlos-Fernando and Rebecca “Becky” B. Singson-Zahar, in the fields of government service and health, respectively.

Marides Fernando (Class of 1974), daughter of industrialist Meneleo Carlos and Filomena Reyes, is married to vice-presidential candidate and former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando, and they have a daughter, Tala. Marides has been the dynamic mayor of Marikina City since 2001. Becky Singson (Class of 1975) is a respected obstetrician-gynecologist. She was a consistent honor student who graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) with magna cum laude honors. She pursued her medicine proper course at the UP College of Medicine, where she was among the top 10 of her graduating class.