TACLOBAN Rotary Club President Jude Duarte, along with club officers and members, welcomed the official visit of District Governor Angel “Jong” Fernandez Jr. of Rotary International District 3860 Thursday, October 2, 2025.
"This visit is very important for our club as it brings guidance, inspiration, and encouragement for us to keep making an impact in our community. Together, we look forward to sharing our journey and embracing the call to Unite for Good in Rotary Year 2025-2026," Duarte said in a statement.
During the event, Duarte announced that their socio-civic group has been working closely with Manlurip Elementary School in Tacloban City for various outreach programs, including the "Basayaw," which combines reading (basa) and dancing (sayaw) with feeding.
"Our projects are rooted in education because we believe this is the foundation of community development," Duarte said.
The Rotary Club of Tacloban, the oldest club in the district, is 78 years old and has 72 members.
"Recruitment is ongoing, and we continue to welcome new members who are committed to service. In terms of contributions, our members are very willing to support financially and participate actively in projects. This shows that the Rotary Club of Tacloban is a truly functioning and dynamic Rotary Club," Duarte added.
Fernandez lauded the "strong leadership" of Duarte and the Rotary Club of Tacloban, saying his visit to the city and to more than 100 clubs across the Philippines "is to ensure that the plans of these clubs are in order, especially in terms of service projects."
"Rotary is working on seven major areas: basic education and literacy, environment, peace promotion, clean water and sanitation, maternal and child care, disease prevention and treatment, and livelihood and economic development," Fernandez said.
"All of these efforts are aligned with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which Rotary International fully supports. We measure our work based on three criteria: projects must be impactful, sustainable, and measurable," Fernandez added.
He maintained that Rotary "continues to serve with the vision of creating lasting change, not only in communities but also in the lives of people, all in alignment with global development goals."
As this developed, Duarte said that this coming November, they will welcome their English Language Fellow, an American teacher from the United States, who will work in Manlurip to help capacitate teachers.
"Alongside this, we are also integrating livelihood support, because our local university has the capacity to provide training and skills development. We are also expanding to cover environmental concerns, AI-driven crime prevention, and other innovative initiatives," Duarte said.
"With stronger partnerships, particularly with academic institutions such as the presidents of Leyte Normal University and Eastern Visayas State University who are set to be inducted, we hope to further strengthen our club’s reach and effectiveness," he added. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)