Lights Out

If not for a quiet moment here in Manila, I would not really notice that my posts about DigitalFilipino.com's Janette Toral's visit in Naga and the story of Brother Richie Fernando, a perfect personification of an all-important and long-standing Jesuit philosophy, "homines pro aliis" or "men and women for others", as Ryan affirms in his comment, is already my 96th and 97th post respectively. The inextinguishable Pinoy phrase: "tingnan mo nga naman; parang kailan lang" immediately leaps into mind.

As The Quackroom nears its 100th post, allow me then to step back for a while and ponder upon this blog, its "journey"; and where it sets to go from here, considering that only a few days ago, I was questioning myself about this blog, the reasons why I started to blog and why should I (or should I not) continue doing so (--- Should I really continue?; should I not?); the expectations (or the lack of the same) that I brought along into the blogosphere and the joys and frustrations that eventually tag along with them, the so-called "blogging community" (is there really such a thing?, I remember one of my friends asking me, or only for a few who by some means or status, inherent or acquired, found their way into an elite group of bloggers that is sensitive and supportive to its kind and grossly indifferent to the rest of the emerging "community"?) and its real meaning to me (which prompted me to fervently seek definitions about "community" in the internet, in books, and deep inside me); The Quackroom's impact ( if there's any or none, so therefore TQ becomes some sort of a waste of internet space or whatever it is more aptly called) to my readers (kung meron man, aside from the ones being revealed to me, although rather loosely and roughly, by my statcounter these days which I, while in the mood of trying out something new, set up just recently); and how it can ultimately contribute to the betterment of this world (alright, I know, I am getting carried away already. Let it be) or at least to my own development as a person or to that of my immediate communities, and many other things...

Lights out.











The Quackroom closes its doors. And windows. Chill and be blest.

Who is Brother Richie Fernando?

My last post regarding Ms. Janette Toral's visit here in Naga City paved the way for me to be able to revisit the story of Bro. Richie Fernando of the Society of Jesus. So, I thought, why not post his story here in my blog for anyone who might want to learn more about the man after and in honor of whom one of the buildings in Ateneo de Naga University was named? For me and for many others, Bro. Richie and his story never fails to touch and move. I hope that anyone who stumbles upon this post will also find some meaning, light, and inspiration in the story of this extraordinary Jesuit. He's Filipino, by the way, just like you and me.

"I wish, when I die, people remember not how great, powerful, or talented I was, but that I served and spoke for the truth, I gave witness to what is right, I was sincere in all my works and actions, in other words, I loved and I followed Christ. Amen."

Richie Fernando's retreat diary,
January 3, 1996

In 1996 Richie Fernando SJ was killed aged 26 years by a hand grenade released by a student in the Jesuit Refugee Service technical school for the handicapped near Phnom Penh. On January 3, 1996 Richie wrote in his diary:

"I wish, when I die, people remember not how great, powerful, or talented I was, but that I served and spoke for the truth, I gave witness to what is right, I was sincere in all my works and actions, in other words, I loved and I followed Christ."

Richie Fernando was a long way from home. He was a Filipino Jesuit in Buddhist Cambodia. He was educated and full of promise in a camp where refugees maimed by bullets and land mines and scarred by hunger and disease fought for hope. He loved life in a land where life was hard and death nearby.

Richie went to Cambodia in May 1995 as part of his Jesuit training. He had entered the Society in 1990 and finished the novitiate and collegiate studies. Before going on to theology studies and ordination, he was sent to work at Banteay Prieb, a Jesuit technical school for the handicapped not far from Phnom Penh. Banteay Prieb describes itself as a "place that enables the disabled to tell their own stories, to gather strength and hope from being with one another, and to learn a new skill that enhances a sense of dignity and worth." Here people disabled by landmines, polio, and accidents learn skills that allow them to earn a living. Banteay Prieb means "the Center of the Dove."

When Richie arrived, his devotion to the students quickly won their trust. He began learning their Khmer language and came to appreciate their religious traditions. And he loved to share their stories, stories of survival during Pol Pot's genocidal regime, stories of the devastation of their society through poverty, displacement, and the nine million landmines that still plague their land.

One of these survivors is Sarom. Already an orphan, at 16 Sarom became a soldier; two years later he was maimed by a landmine. Sarom finished his courses at Banteay Prieb and wanted to stay on there, but school authorities found him disruptive and asked him to leave. Richie Fernando mentioned Sarom in a letter to his friends in the Philippines, saying that although Sarom was "tricky" he still had a place in Richie's heart.

On October 17, 1996, Sarom came to the school for a meeting. Angered, he suddenly he reached into a bag he was carrying, pulled out a grenade, and began to move towards a classroom full of students; the windows of the room were barred, leaving the students no escape. Richie Fernando came up behind Sarom and grabbed him. "Let me go, teacher; I do not want to kill you," Sarom pleaded. But he dropped his grenade, and it fell behind him and Richie. In a flash Richie Fernando was dead, falling over with Sarom still grasped in his arms, protecting him from the violence he had made.

Only four days before his death Richie had written a long letter to his Jesuit friend Totet Banaynal. "I know where my heart is," he wrote; "It is with Jesus Christ, who gave his all for the poor, the sick, the orphan ...I am confident that God never forgets his people: our disabled brothers and sisters. And I am glad that God has been using me to make sure that our brothers and sisters know this fact. I am convinced that this is my vocation."

Three days after Richie's death, his shocked family and friends in the Philippines celebrated his funeral. At the same time, his shocked Cambodian friends carried an urn containing cloths soaked in his blood to a Buddhist funeral mound. In their shock they mourned; and in their mourning they gave thanks for Richie, the man they knew and loved, their son, their brother, their teacher, their friend.

Shocked by what he had caused, Sarom sat in his jail cell and mourned too.

In March 1997, Mr. and Mrs. Fernando wrote to Cambodia's King Sihanouk, asking for pardon for Sarom; somehow, someone had to stop the violence. Sarom had not wanted to kill Richie. "Richie ate rice with me," he said; "he was my friend."

Story from the Jesuit Mission website.

Janette Toral in Naga

Irvin has recently announced this in his blog, and has even mentioned me in his post. That particular post may have directed some folks interested about the concerned person's business in our place here in my humble site (---which it does actually according to my statcounter).

So, let me therefore offer some information regarding Ms. Janette Toral's visit here in Naga this coming Saturday, 4 August 2007.

Janette will be the resource speaker in a seminar on "Online Marketing" organized by the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) of the Ateneo de Naga Univeristy.

Ms. Toral, according to the letter sent to us here in Avenue Square by the officers of JCCI (some of whom are former students of mine in Ateneo led by Ms. Jennilyn Ludovice and Karen Felipe, the group's president and internal vice president respectively), is considered to be the "Mother of the Philippine E-Commerce Law (RA 8792) and the author of DigitalFilipino.com website and the E-Commerce Workbook". JCCI is moderated by the dean himself of the College of Commerce, Dr. Edwin Bernal.

Further, the letter states that the rationale of the project is:

"The business development of Naga City is expressively developing and more student-entrepreneurs are engaging in versatile world of commerce. The Business Administration Department of the Ateneo de Naga University rigorously educates students to develop and promote socially responsible businesses for the country and most especially for the Bicol Region. In line with this, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Industry aims to further enhance the entrepreneurial skills of students by supplementing their classroom lessons with seminars from the country's renowned business gurus."

And the objectives:

1. To create a vibrant and business-friendly environment within and outside the Ateneo Community.
2. To further enhance the knowledge and skills of the students in advertising and promotion of their business through website marketing especially the student entrepreneurs of Ateneo de Naga University.
3. To be updated with the trends in software development that would allow student-entrepreneurs to be globally competitive.

Expected participants are the students of the College of Commerce and College of Computer Studies of the Ateneo de Naga University. Students of Universidad de Sta. Isabel and University of Nueva Caceres were also invited to attend.

Tentatively, I believe the venue is set at the Bro. Richie Fernando Hall inside the Ateneo de Naga University.

Ms. Toral is also the woman behind the The Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs for 2007.

Avenue Square Management led by G7Holdings Corporation president Allan Cu and Avenue Square Managing Director Gwen Cu via The Quackroom has agreed to host a dinner for Ms. Janette Toral and JCCI moderator and officers here at Avenue Square, Bicol's very first and premier lifestyle center.

For more info, you can reach the group thru their email: adnu_jcci@yahoo.com.