For the first time in the Club’s 22-year history, the Club had two presidents in the same Rotary year and responsibility for running the club was shared in equal parts by the two presidents —Renato “Rene” Paras in the first semester, July-December 1987, and Alfredo “Fred’ Parungao in the second, January-June 1988. The happenstance came about with the resignation of Pres. Rene to assume a European posting with Procter & Gamble, prompting an automatic assumption of the presidency by Vice President Fred.

Two major projects were put in place during the year: the creation of a School for Street Children, which sought to get abused, abandoned, and neglected children off the streets and back to their homes, to their parents and siblings with whom they belonged. The project included a component meant to provide the waifs with basic education and values orientation. The Club joined hands with the Dept. of Social Welfare and other government and private groups, and committed resources for project implementation.

The year also saw the Club starting a new health project—Save-an-Eye. Spurred by reports of the growing number of needy people with failing eyesight who, due to lack of money, were unable to seek medical help, the Save An Eye Project provided eye check-ups and surgery to indigent cataract patients, with a club member, Dr. Vic Caparas, an ophthalmologist, performing the operations for free. The project was able to restore the sight of a good number of needy patients.

Another project in the health sector involved the provision of funds to the “Jaipur Foot Program,” under which the Club donated artificial legs to needy amputees. The project name, “Jaipur,” referred to a town in India where the prosthetic limbs were manufactured. The Club also demonstrated its strong advocacy for the cause of children with special needs by carrying on with its support of the Stepping Stone Learning Center.

Concern for the welfare of soldiers wounded in the series of coup attempts against the government of Pres. Corazon Aquino spurred the Club put up the Assistance-to-Veterans Project under which it donated wall fans and medicine to the V. Luna Hospital, where the wounded soldiers were confined. The Club’s Emergency Action group also sent relief goods to the victims of a typhoon in Samar.

In international service, the Club initiated Brother Club ties with RC Lipa in Batangas.