During the 2nd General Membership Meeting (GMM) of the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), held last April 24, 2007 at the Philippine Intercontinental Hotel in Makati, Dina Salonga, chairperson of the Membership Committee assigned me as the programme emcee.

It was a really a challenge to be the emcee on that day as the keynote speaker was Prof. Winnie Monsod. Mareng Winnie, is a renowned economist and media personality. With the coming election in May 14, she talked about the economy, polity and a bright future ahead of us.

For an ice-breaker, I opened the session in saying that it is a unique GMM because software business will not be discussed but politics. So, I said -

Tonight we will discuss about Plato who described everyone of us. He said, "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

Towards the end of reading Prof Monsod's resume, I finally called on her. I said -

Fellow officers and members of PSIA, let me quote Charles De Gaulle : "I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians." Allow me please to call on Prof. Winnie Monsod, the best person to talk about politics than any politician.

Here are the other quotations I ad-libed in the meeting :

"The problem with political jokes is they get elected." Henry Cate VII
"Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity." Albert Einstein
"Nothing is so admirable in politics as as short memory." John Kenneth Galbraith

So on the next PSIA GMM on May 21, we will see more jesters elected and brilliant minds punished.

Labels: CEO blog, Dina Salonga, Efren Ricalde, election, election 2007, GMM, philippine election, Philippine Software, plato, PSIA, software, University of the Philippines, UP, Winnie MOnsod

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