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ROTARY CLUB OF BATANGAS
Club No. 16943
Chartered March 17, 1950
District No. 3820
Location Batangas City, Philippines
Sponsoring Club Rotary Club of Manila
Background and History
The Rotary Club of Batangas came into being under the sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Manila, the pride of Filipino Rotarians as the first Rotary club in Asia. Likewise, the club became the "mother club" in the whole province of Batangas and among its daughter clubs are RC Downtown Batangas City, RC Lipa, RC Taal-Lemery, RC Calapan, RC Ibaan, and RC Bauan. The men behind its formation were PP Marciano "Anong" Evangelista, a minister by profession of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Batangas City and District Governor's Special Representative of the sponsoring club, PDG Marianito Lichauco. However, the district governor at that time was PDG Emilio "Emy" Javier.
The whole of the Philippines then was named District 91 created in 1938. Later on during RY 1951-52, this was changed to District 48 and again changed to District 385 during RY 1957-58. Soon after, the district was partitioned into two; one in the south which retained the original district number and the other in the north comprising the whole of Luzon, including the islands of Mindoro, Palawan, and Marinduque which became District 380. And later it was changed to District 3820 which is now composed of Rotary clubs from Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Marinduque, Mindoro Oriental, and the Bicol provinces.
When the club was finally organized, it has 25 members at the approval of its charter on March 17, 1950. However, the charter presentation was not held until April 23, 1950 due to political unrest at that time. All charter members came to the occasion at the elegant Manila Hotel on high spirits and anticipation of a memorable event for the baptism of the club. Obviously, they were filled with enthusiasm and determination to band together in order to carry out Rotary mission of service in Batangas City and its neighboring communities thru the four Avenues of Service. And the rest is history......
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Invocation
(For the Weekly Meeting)
Heavenly Father, we thank You for this opportunity to break bread with our fellow Rotarians and guests on this nth
time regular meeting, as we once more reaffirm our committment to the noble ideals of the Rotary.
We implore Your Providence to look kindly on us Rotarians so that in everything we think, say and do will be guided by the
principles setforth by the founders of the Rotary and dedicated Rotarians ahead of us.
Thank You for all the blessings You have showered upon us, for the wonderful gift of life, for answered prayers, and forgiving
our sins and shortcomings. May your love and grace be the center of our activities this evening.
Bless our family, our loved ones, our friends, our collegues, our leaders, our nation and the whole world. May your everlasting
love and mercy touch us in our goal to build and serve communities in need, now that the future of Rotary is in our hands.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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| Then & Now: The City of Batangas |
Spanish missionaries first set foot in Batangas City in 1572. The settlement was founded in 1581 and named "Batangan" because of the numerous big logs that abounded the Calumpang River. The logs were called "batang" by the natives who settled near the river and called the settlement "Batangan". This name was modified and became Batangas in 1601. Don Agustin Casilao was appointed as the first Gobernadorcillo. Since 1754, the city has been the capital and administrative center of the province. Henceforth, Batangas became a city in 1969 through Republic Act. No. 5495.
The city of Batangas is now known as the "Industrial Port City of Calabarzon" and classified as one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the country today and the home of approximately 255,981 peace-loving, hospitable and hardworking inhabitants. It was proclaimed as a City on July 23, 1969 which became the accelerating point of trading, commercial and industrial activities in the locality. The city is presently classified as a Regional Growth Center and identified as one of the sites for the Regional Agro-Industrial center and Special Economic Zone as mandated by the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan and the Ecozone Act of 1995. This capital city is one of the nation's top revenue earning cities and the site of one of the biggest oil refineries in the Philippines. The city is also hosting the first three power plants using natural gas with a combined capacity of 2700MW. It is located 112.00 kilometers south of Manila. The city's fine harbor was declared as an international port and an alternate port of Manila. The city is a land of historical places, of fresh fruits and marine resources and of great opportunities for social and economic advancement.
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Armando Gonzales
