Proposed alumni core group involves town mayor

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

Batch 65

Port Moresby

IN A BID to flesh out and inject fresh blood into the present JPNHS Alumni Association, a prominent alumnus has proposed the creation of three core groups that would involve the town mayor and the high school principal.

The core group scheme is being pushed by Metro Manila-based Samuel Tatom, secretary of LaPIMa (Larap-PIM Association).

Tatom unveiled his proposal in email sent to a number of his batch mates overseas and in the Philippines in his effort to spur the association into “energetic action” needed to accomplish the association’s major projects like Tesda scholarships for sons and daughters of less-privileged members, high school development projects and community environmental push like the clean-up of the Mambulao Bay and Parang beach.

A copy of the email was also sent to Mambulaoans WorldWide Buzz (MWBuzz).

Already considered radical, the involvement of the sitting town mayor, who may or may not be an alumnus, to lead the core group for Mambulao would give the much-needed vigor to future projects that the association would carry out for the benefits of its locally-based members and their families.

The proposed Mambulao-based core group will comprise the town mayor, the vice-mayor or the No. 1 elected councilor, the high school principal, the coordinator of the LaPIMa, the municipal engineer and a long-time teacher or a student, according to Tatom.

The municipal engineer would be tasked to make a list of facilities in high school that needed repair and rehabilitation and to determine the cost involved, Tatom said.

The Manila core group will be made up of the LaPIMa president, the current JPHS Alumni Association president and three more members.

The Third group called “international core group” would comprise overseas alumni, namely Alfredo P Hernandez, Percy Ostonal, an officer of the Mambulaoans in America (MINA) officer, and two other members.

The creation of the core groups basically overhauls the current set up of the association, especially in areas where projects have to be carried out “with energy and enthusiasm”.

The town mayor, being the father of the community, would be a big factor in making the objectives of the association a reality, because his being the core-group leader would become an extension of his function as the town mayor towards his constituencies.

The presence of the two other core groups – the Manila and the overseas groups -- would neutralize whatever political undertones that would surface later once the mayor’s core  group begins working.

And with the involvement of the high school principal in the Mambulao-based core group, there’s no way that the development program that would be pushed could fail, according to Tatom

Tatom said: “Madaling mag-isip at magplano …pero madali ring mawala at mabuwag at ang kalalabasan ay wala ring patutunguhan ang lahat ng effort dahil walang strong organization with dedicated professional members with the right chemistry within them.”