A few words on graduation; Happy birthday to Sir Roel

By Herbert Vego

THE past few days have seen thousands of elementary, secondary, and tertiary Filipino students moving up and down the stage in a familiar ceremony known as “graduation.”

At least three high schools in Iloilo City — Ateneo de Iloilo, Iloilo City National High School, and Sun Yat Sen High School — have already held their commencement exercises.

Colleges and universities will hold theirs on different dates between April and June this year.

They are not synchronized primarily due to the shift of several universities to an August-to-June academic calendar to align with international standards, while many others have retained the traditional June-to-March calendar.

Anyway, this column is addressed to all graduates.

College graduation is a means to a crucial end. It represents the sum total of years of burning the midnight oil in the hope of carving out a successful living for the graduate and a future family. We have heard it repeatedly said that commencement is not an end but a beginning.

To the college graduate, we ask this question: Have you learned enough to practice a profession or vocation?

Sad to say, many starry-eyed graduates end up disappointed because of their failure to realize their dreams. One of the many reasons is that they do not actually possess the skills they were trained to master. A mediocre lawyer, for instance, attracts no clients. A journalism graduate who cannot write is not uncommon.

On the other hand, there are supposedly skillful graduates who “blush unseen” due to mistakes of their own making. Among them are fresh graduates who marry early — before even joining the labor force — and so derail their career advancement.

Therefore, it behooves a young graduate to develop himself or herself first in his or her chosen profession or business before plunging into domestic responsibility, which, to reiterate, could prevent career advancement. A “marriage degree” could bring more problems than solutions.

To the high school graduates, you are at that point when you have to make a decision on what college course to take. If you know you would make a good lawyer because you have the ability and the aptitude for it, then go to law school. If your parents have the means to send you to medical school but you have no natural empathy for the sick, then you would be putting yourself on the wrong track.

Wisdom and knowledge are the lights that will show graduates the way to the future, where wealth, power, fame, career, and happiness wait.

The earlier we seek that future, the better. In the Bible (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus taught that followers should actively invest and grow the “talents” (resources, abilities) given by God, rather than burying them out of fear. This is interpreted as a call to excellence and productivity.

He also told them (John 12:35), “Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.”

To the graduates, congratulations and Godspeed!

-oOo-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIR ROEL

“Sir Roel” is how we address the humble human dynamo behind MORE Electric and Power Corp., Negros Electric and Power Corp., and Bohol Light, of which he is the President/CEO. All three are among the corporations under Primelectric Holdings, owned by billionaire Enrique Razon.

Sir Roel is Roel Zabala Castro, whose birthday falls today, April 1. It is hard to forget his birthday because the date is traditionally observed worldwide as April Fools’ Day, an occasion for playing tricks.

I have known Sir Roel for many years, since 2016 when he was president of Palm Concepcion Power Corporation in Concepcion, Iloilo. But since asking for someone’s age is generally considered impolite, I may never know. To my mind, what matters is that he has achieved more than others his age.

He is best known here in Iloilo City for being the “transformer” of electricity distribution with his assumption as head of MORE Power, which started operation in 2020, overseeing its growth from 62,000 to around 115,000 today.

MORE Power has also extended its franchise to Passi City and 15 towns of Iloilo. That number could double soon.

Sir Roel initiated Negros Power by inking a joint venture agreement between Primelectric and the debt-ridden Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) in June 2023, actively modernizing the electric distribution system in Central Negros, covering Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, Bago, Murcia, and Don Salvador Benedicto. It has approximately 245,000 customers.

Primelectric has acquired a 70% stake in Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) from SPC Power Corp. The remaining 30% belongs to the provincial government of Bohol. It has 24,138 connections.

Castro also serves on the board of the UP Alumni Association, Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc., UP Visayas Foundation, Philippine Electricity Market Corp., Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association, among others.

He has an agribusiness degree from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and a management degree from the Asian Institute of Management.

He attended an advanced senior executive management program at the IESE Business School of the University of Navarra in Spain.

What he treasures most is his citation as “Adopted Son of Iloilo City” through Executive Order No. 162, signed by then-Mayor Jerry P. Treñas on December 12, 2024.