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Proudly green: 100 years

By Elfren S. Cruz
The first group of three La Salle Brothers arrived in Manila on March 10, 1911, and the second group of six Brothers on May 3. On June 16, 1911, the first La Salle school in the Philippines opened on Nozaleda Street, Paco.
The school started with 100 students and an additional 75 students the following year. As news spread of the school’s high scholastic standing, 275 students had enrolled by the beginning of the 1913 school term.
According to historian Carlos Quirino: “At the beginning probably two thirds of the students were children of American, British, European and Spanish ‘mestizos.’ But more and more Filipinos sent their brown-skinned sons to the Paco school such that by the time the location was changed to Singalong, the great majority of students were Filipinos.”
This was the beginning of Archbishop Harty’s vision for the establishment of a school run by the Christian Brothers in Manila that would, according to Quirino “become the premier Catholic school in the Philippines and would draw the sons of well-to-do in the provinces; and thus counterbalance the nonsectarianism of the public schools dominated by American Protestant teachers.”
This year will mark the 100th year of Lasallian education in the Philippines. There are now 17 Lasallian educational institutions (at my latest count) throughout the country. They range from universities like De La Salle University-Manila, acknowledged as the premiere private university in the country to schools offering Lasallian education to the very poor like the Br. Jaime Hilario School in Bagac, Bataan, which charges a tuition fee of only 50 pesos per semester. There are also regional educational centers like University of St. La Salle-Bacolod in Western Visayas and DLSU-Canlubang. High schools catering primarily to the rich like La Salle-Greenhills and La Salle-Zobel offer evening high school classes for the poor using the same facilities as their wealthier counterparts.
The centennial celebrations will cover a one-year period starting June 11, 2011, and the last official event on June 15, 2012. The theme for the opening week (June 11 to June 19) will be Proudly Green, Proudly One La Salle.
The opening event will be a Green and White Fiesta that will be called “Proudly Green: 100 Years of La Salle” at the SMX, beside Mall of Asia in Pasay City. This is expected to be the largest fellowship event of Lasallians in the Philippines.
According to its spokesman, Toto Acosta: “Proudly Green is both a theme of the centennial celebration of La Salle in the Philippines and the name of the general aggrupation of Lasallians/La Sallites who take pride in their La Sallian education, acknowledging that they have become what they are, and owe their accomplishments to La Salle. In terms of individuals, the Grade School and High School Taft chapter of the De La Salle Alumni Association initiated the Proudly Green Movement as a thanksgiving and a celebration of the La Sallian Family.”
The official activities of the centennial celebration during the opening week are as follows:

  • June 11 Proudly Green: 100 Years of La Salle (SMX Pasay City)
  • June 12 Movie Premiere: Ang Paglipad ng Anghel, Manila
  • June 13 Launching of Ako Ay Lasalyano, Tapat na Pilipino Movement ( La Salle schools)
  • June 14 Launching of Project Carbon Neutral (All La Salle Schools)
  • June 15 Veneration of the Relics of St. John Baptist De La Salle (DLSU)
  • June 16 Opening High Mass and Program and Visit of the Vicar General
  • June 16 Start of the Tour of St. La Salle’s Relics and Centennial Exhibit around the Philippines
  • June 16 Planting of the One Millionth Seedling for the One Million Trees and Beyond Project
  • June 16 Book Launching (DLSU)
  • June 17 Opening of Bahay Pag Asa Dasmarinas
  • June 17 DLSU Centennial Lecture Series
  • June 18 Green Run ( All La Salle Schools)
  • June 19 Cantata.

One of the most highly expected events this year is the launching of the centennial coffee-table book. Unlike the usual centennial books, this will be a thematic book. I was privileged to be the co-author of the Business chapter where we reviewed the history of business education in La Salle and included short bios of some of the most outstanding Lasallians in the history of the school like Joseph McMicking, Francisco Ortigas, Jr., Ramon del Rosario, Sr., Al Yuchengco, and Enrique Aboitiz.
We also included quotations from many of today’s prominent La Sallians in business on the role of La Sallian education in their personal lives and business successes.
The DLSU publishing office is expected to publish at least 100 books this coming school year.
The 17 educational institutions in the De La Salle Philippines system also have their own separate programs. Aside from the celebratory events, one major project will be raising funds for scholarships for the poor.
Br. Edmundo Fernandez, Brother Visitor of the Philippines, has said: “Access and equity to quality Lasallian education is a concern which all our schools take seriously… All our schools, no matter the financial capabilities, have made very real progress in trying to address aspects of poverty through scholarships, reach out activities, new projects for the poor and community extension programs.”
This coming centennial celebration will include activities in all areas including religious, arts, culture, environmental protection, fund raising, lecture forums, book publications, and alumni gatherings.
This is a centennial celebration of an educational institution that has, through its alumni and under the leadership of the La Salle Brothers, become a major force in all aspects of Philippine life — in business, government, education, culture, media, and religion.
Elfren S. Cruz is a professor of Strategic Management at the MBA Program, College of Business, De La Salle University. Please send comments or questions to elfrencruz@gmail.com
(This article was published with permission from the author.)

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