Top Takeaways I Brought Home from the 16th Achievers & Leaders Summit

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Here are the top takeaways I got from the 16th Achievers & Leaders Summit which was recently held at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel on November 9, 2016.

The summit had Etiquette Expert, Author and Speaker Jacqueline Whitmore as its featured speaker for the day along with a few more speakers like Gerry Plana, Carlo Mata, David Sutherland, Luigi Mapa and Bo Sanchez. However, I was only able to attend the morning session which had only three speakers. So that's supposedly half of the entire summit but maybe not because I feel that the bulk of the enlightening topics were discussed in the afternoon.

So instead of telling the entire story, which I could not really do since I was half-present, lol, I will just echo the most memorable sayings or statements during the morning talks composed of Gerry Plana, Carlo Mata and Jacqueline Whitmore.

A speaker emphasized on the art of 'listening" of which I also believe was greatly important if you really want to understand others. Most of the time we are deaf to what others want to tell us because we insist on making our own ideas stick out and is seldom open to accept our own mistakes. The root of understanding is the ability to listen and "absorb" like a sponge what other people are saying. It is a very important personal leadership brand that we should never take for granted.

DOE Statement: Sec. Cusi on the ERC-Villa Issue

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has written a letter to Charie Villa offering the department's sincerest sympathies on the unexpected death of her brother, Atty. Francisco Villa.

He said the Department, together with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), is resolute in finding out the truth behind the allegations and issues raised.

"We need a strong energy regulator and a united energy family. Our strength should be based on the truth. As the leader of the sector, I enjoin everyone to be fair," Cusi said.

"We need to ensure that ERC personnel are able to recover immediately. They are also affected by the loss of their colleague but their service is needed by our country," Cusi said.

"I have spoken to the commissioners of the ERC. I am pleased that they too want to get to the bottom of this. I have assured them of the department's support in carrying out their mandate in protecting electricity consumers," Cusi said.

"This is a challenge for all of us. Our commitment to fairness and the truth will be tested. I am confident that we will come out stronger after this," Cusi said.

#SalamatApo: When the #MarcosBurial Was Done Like a Thief in the Night

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"The Marcoses fast tracked the burial to stop protests from snowballing and to stop a national conversation that was dangerous to their interests." - Inday Espina-Varona

The surprising Supreme Court (SC) decision to give the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos a hero's burial has triggered protests. It is a decision that has truly divided the nation. The SC said that it could not deny the former president his "rightful place" at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). SC Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin says “President Marcos—being… a two-term President of the Philippines, a Medal of Valor awardee, a veteran of World War II, a former Senator and Senate President, and a former Congressman, by any of which was qualified to have his remains be interred in the LNMB.”

"Considering that the subject decision is not yet final and to foreclose the projected motion/s for reconsideration from being rendered moot by a precipitate burial of the late President Marcosin the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani, it is respectfully manifested and prayed that the Honorable Supreme Court may consider reissuing the status ante order."

But when we suddenly learned about the equally surprising and rushed, like a thief in the night, burial of his remains at the LNMB, we have to say that this country is beyond repair anymore. If we are talking about legalities, the SC decision was not yet final. There is still the Motion for Reconsideration (MR). So the Marcoses did defy the law in this case.

Petitioners against the burial of late dictator will file a motion to cite in contempt the Marcoses and the military for the "premature" interment of the late dictator, saying the SC's decision is not yet final. "They had hidden wealth, hidden human rights abuses and now a hidden burial - with complete disrespect for the rule of law."