On my junior year at UP College of Engineering at Diliman, one afternoon after collecting the book allowance from GE Scholarship fund at UP Admin building, I took a DM bus in front of the Oblation, got off at Raon and walked towards Claro M. Recto. There, on the strip between Avenida Rizal and FEU are second books for high and college students.

From a pile of second hand books mostly medicine titles, I chanced upon an easy to recognize title - it hase "IBM 360" on its spine. Excited, I pulled it out and browsed through its contents. Jackpot, it was one its kind in the Philippines - "Programming the IBM 360" by Clarence B. Germain, copyright 1967 and published by Prentice-Hall.

Lifting from the Preface, the books contains "As far as practical, the coverages of PL/I, COBOL, and Assembly Language are independent of each other so that the reader may omit topics at will. The book is written for 360 Models 25, 30, 40, 50, 65, 75 and 85."

Its maiden journey in the academic world was at my ES26 (Fortran Programming) class at UP Engg. The machine problems solution in Fortran IV are punched on 80-column IBM cards and processed on an IBM 360/40 of the UP Computer Center beside the chapel.

After which it has gone a long way. After UP, I used it to assemble lessons in teaching Basic Computer Systems (BCS) at Data Center in Avenida and also computer school of Vince Vargas and Dr. Paul Aquino. Teddy Tiu, my former champion at IBM now with AutoCad was one of my COBOL students at a special computer class from Dr. Aquino's office.


During an interview in January 1981 for a designer/programmer post at Brunei Shell, the book was an excellent material for the Programmer Aptitude Exam. Then in July 29, 1981 it was in a check-in box full of books on a PAL flight to Brunei Darussalam. For eight straight years, it stayed with we in several company houses in Panaga, Seria and W51/2, W21 Kuala Belait.

Today and forever, the book will now be part of the digital world - in my blog.

Labels: brunei shell, CEO blog, COBOL, COBOL. FORTRAN IV, IBM 360, Programming the IBM 360, UP Computer Center, UP Diliman

 
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Last week, I finally reorganized my home blog MaSci to GSI to include those activities, issues and creative efforts I wish to share. Ryan, our Web designer, enhanced the home page and it is ready to go.

Dropping some of my interests such as carpentry, gift wrapping, frame making, etc, a final list was made:

1. TENNIS - Oh, without tennis my life as an entrepreneur would have been spent most of the time taking pills and resting in the hospital. Hitting a ball either cross-court forehand or inside out forehand is executed properly and consistently during practice. And it follows naturally during games.

There is something I wish to share with you - tennis sharpened my skill to make my competitor irrelevant and discipline to hit a winner!

2. PHOTOGRAPHY - Good photographs are made not taken. I am not referring to the use of image processing tools to create excellent shots nor making artists out of PhotoShop operators. Photography made by an artist needs creativity not software tools, imagination not experimentation and a great deal of abstraction not manipulation on PCs.

Visualization and photography assembles various components of a event effortlessly creating myriads of opportunities to arrive at a unique picture. It is similar to shooting a winning photo by capturing a fleeting moment.

3. POEMS. My users at Brunei Shell commented that I can paint a picture to describe a solution while my parents used to advice me to be more direct to explain something. That's how I learned to write poems - explaining in words to basic minimum. Hmm, that does not compute!

4. eGOVERNMENT - Developing several information technology solutions for the government gave me an opportunity to explain why the Philippines missed the boat unlike IT leaders such as India, Singapore and Vietnam who are now riding high.

Moving forward, let us have leaders and champions to act as conductors, enterprise architecture not information strategic systems plan to serve as music sheet, knowledge experts not bureaucrats to perform as musicians and we have a symphony called eGovernment.

If and only if (the usual Geometry iff) a harmonious, normalized, and focused egovernment team rides the boat (no lawyers, zero kibitzers and politicians), "this nation can be great again".

5. THE DISCIPLINE TO LEARN - Bad news - fewer people are reading, students are not performing well is aptitude exams. Good news - lesser TV viewing, more reading, minimize computer games and Nintendo, more creative efforts to make your own toys than plastic Toy Kingdom stuffs, engage in competitive sports, play a musical instruments are the ingredients for success as a student and entrepreneur.

The Discipline To Learn are for parents, brother and sisters, tutors, house helps, teachers, DepED, guardians, principals, out of school youth, school administrators, UPCAT reviewers, board examinees... and many more.

Eleonor Roosevelt said, "The world belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Dream that we will build a community of happy students and entrepreneurs.

Finally, we will say to each other, "Success belongs to those who are disciplined to learn."

Labels: CEO blog, egovernment, Photography, Poems, Tennis, The Discipline to Learn, UPCAT

 
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As a company, our second most important innovation was a major shift to IBM technology, ie, the five pillars and Linux. The "creative destruction" happened in a blink. And the following blog item described how a brave maneuver was executed.

A Comment To Buell Duncan's Blog

Trackback URL: http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/trackback/Buell/Weblog/vb_developers_embrace_linux_say

Dear Buell,

As the leader of GeoSpatial Solutions, Inc or GSI (www.gsi.com.ph), I have a wonderful experience to share about Java and Linux.

Prior to joining the IBM ISV program in September 2003, GSI is a 100% Microsoft shop for six years. Our SI projects were developed primarily in VB and .Net. In that that period of time our company did not grow.

Overnight, upon signing the ISVA contract, GSI was transformed to a 100% IBM based solutions provider. But there were many challenges in that shift. These were: fear of the transition to a new platform, lack of confidence to market and sell IBM based solution, and uncertainty of generating business.

With those mother of all challenges, GSI got over the hill. How - IBM assisted GSI. It changed the GSI business model, i.e., from delivering SI solutions to deploying repeatable solutions, introduced the SSM to monitor opportunities and sales, provided joint sales and marketing initiatives, and joined in solutions architecting activities.

Now,we have strategic wins and created many applications using IBM technology, Java and open source. GSI is deploying PRC LERIS, eMindanao Portal, eCREBA Portal, and eNTC Portal. All those applications are developed using the IBM Five SW Brands, eServer, Java and Linux.

From zero growth during the 6-year Microsoft era, GSI grew 5x in one year and 10 months of being an IBM partner.And still growing. Out of the eCREBA portal, a fulfillment company is formed - CGI (CREBA-GSI Inc). CGI is 50% owned by GSI. (For your information, GSI is NOT anymore a partner to CGI.)

GSI is completing a MOA with a major bank in the Philippines. The partnership aims at providing an On Demand GIS service, a component of eCREBA. For 2005, GSI envisions to start portal and GIS projects for the energy, environment and banking sectors.

After attending the IBM PartnerWorld Conference at Las Vegas last February 2005, I bought an interesting frame in New York which says : "JAVA - Give me enough coffee and I will rule the world". It seems that's a lot of IT leaders drinking coffee!

Regards,

Efren E.S. Ricalde
President/CEOGeoSpatial Solutions, Inc
www.gsi.com.ph
Posted by eericalde on Aug 18 2005, 05:19:00 AM EDT

Reply from Buell Duncan

efren, thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience. our goal is straightforward...ensure this mutual success between geospatial and ibm continues to grow and for the long term!! you are a great example of taking advantage of real shifts in the market and what can be accomplished when we work together.
Posted by Buell Duncan on Aug 19 2005, 10:48:00 AM EDT

http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/Buell?entry=vb_developers_embrace_linux_say

Labels: Buell Duncan, CEO blog, eMindanao, GeoSpatial Solutions, GIS, IBM Premier Partner, IBM Software, NTC, Portal, PRC

 
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Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil. In grade one was where I learned that quotation from my teacher and former principal, Miss Honesta Cruz of Rafael Palma Elementary school.

Forty three years later, though I did not speak evil, however I heared evil and saw evil. And the evil was a of bunch of thieves right inside our office. With apologies to Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves for the thirty four unaccounted thieves.

That in broad daylight, these gift bearing thieves in business suit and barong tagalog attacked by gaining our trust and confidence with sweet tounge, little intelligence and slight of a hand.

With a swift scoop, they stole a lot! Our savings, work, allowance for our children, money for a new car, vision, our sweat, early retirement, a white "genius" elephant and our dreams were lost drying our eyes of its tears and tearing our hearts apart.

But before that happened, I had warned my folks that "I thought I saw a thief" and I named them all. If it were not for the two knights in shining armour in rescue, the thieves would have cleaned everything including our honesty and integrity. What a sigh of relief when a fortress and moat was built by the knight in golden armor and a phalanx of spears from the knight in platinum armour were mounted. We are secured.

But thieves beware.

Sometime in1983, a bully neighbor turned thief was knifed dead on a basketball court two decades after he stole my wooden gun toys. That time, being so poor my parents could not afford to buy a toy so I have to make one out of scrap wood. He got my toys but not justice even though the killing was witnessed by everybody watching the game.

Working in Brunei at about mid-1996, a similar bunch of thieves attacked me and my close friend, Pg Redzuan. Months later, the car bearing the thieves met a horrific road accident. The car was total wreck as it was sliced into two. A tragedy struck the thieves like a lightning bolt felling a tree in two pieces.

And what would probably happen now that we lost a million times that of Brunei? Well, maybe a bunch of thieves turned to a heap of dust on a basketbal court or ionized in the middle of the road.

De ja vu?

Labels: Ali Baba, CEO blog, corporate fraud, evil, intellectual property theft, IP right, karma, thieves, white collar criminals, white elephant

 
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We could not imagine what GSI is today without the opportunity given to us by Gabriel Leiva because GSI could have been a vanishing dot on a radar screen just like a crashing jet plane.

Sometime in the first quarter of 1999, as we were in middle of a negotiation for the PhP 22M contract to develop a computer system, I was called by Gabriel in his office. Without hesitation, he asked, "Do you have any enemies in the industry?". "No!", was my immediate reply and explained that GSI was just 10 months in existence and we are not even known in the industry.

He was referring to an email sent by a company engaged in... (my lips are sealed). As quickly as he retrieved the email, its content was read to me. It seemed that the sky has fallen flat on my head when I heard the company was advising Gabriel not to sign the contract with GSI. He continued to read the email, "(Efren) will sell the company, not finish the project and ran away with the money".

Seeing that the color of my face changed from red to pale white and outspoken to speechless, Gabriel stood up and exclaimed, "Do you think I will not sign the contract. Don't I trust you?" Still motionless from the shock of the email, I replied, "Please, give us this opportunity and we will deliver".

Knowing the email sender, I was scared to death that they will strike again to win a contract fraudulently. The persons mentioned in the email were known in the industry to rig bids and corrupt public officials. But common good prevailed. The dark clouds of greed and deception were all wiped out by Gabriel's single stroke of honesty and integrity.

All negotiations were done at UNISYS office in Makati. Several technical discussions with key UNISYS guys, Vic Monroy and Ernie Del Rosario, were conducted professionally. Prior to any technical proposal evaluation and contract negotiation, we never had coffee, lunch or dinner with any UNISYS officer or staff. Maybe, GSI then has no budget for marketing!

After probably about 20 revisions of the contract , a final agreement was reached and a version for signature was circulated. That was the big break that made GSI.

Looking back it was the triumph good over evil, prayer brigades over corrupt corporate giants and David over Goliath.

Since the project contract was signed, deliverables completed and GSI fully paid, I can tell the whole world that Gabriel, during his entire stay at UNISYS, was such a man of honesty and integrity. Even in my next lives, I would not probably be able to pay back the value that he has created for GSI and for our country.

A straight "A" Peruvian/Canadian student with PhD in naval engineering from Germany, Gabriel Leiva is best remembered when said "The fun has just begun." each time I shared with him a successful milestone. So, for each passing year, it was "Not good enough", so he said. During his stay in the Philippines, I had several tennis games with his beautiful and intelligent wife Jocelene, a French with MA in Germany. She was an excellent singles player.

After his tour of duty at UNISYS Philippines, he moved to UNISYS Mexico and now settled back in Canada.

Viva Gabriel! Mabuhay ka!


(Years later, the same company influenced and manipulated the result of a bidding conducted by a government agency. With letters and meetings protesting the outcome of the bid, the agency declared a failed bid. But the company managed to do the job indirectly with another government agency. Hmm, the usual birds of the same feathers corrupt together.)

Labels: CEO blog, Efren Ricalde, Ernie Del Rosario, French, Gabriel Leiva, GSI, honesty, integrity, intelligence, jet plane crash, Jocelene Leiva, Makati, Peruvian, UNISYS, Vic Monroy

 
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Found, a public servant. My father, Ric (as he was called by his office mates, I call him Tatay) was a public servant. For over 30 years years, he served the government.

While studying to earn a degree in accountancy at FEU, Tatay worked briefly at the Bureau of Lands as a rod man, moved on and stayed until retirement at the Insurance Commission. IC was previously at Escolta. On several visits to the office, Tatay allowed me to walk the floors. There were no aircons but ceiling electric fans, no PCs (obviously) but massive typewriters.

Tatay's payday was on a Friday. So, at around 5:30PM our brother and sisters were all sitting outside the house waiting for him to walk from the bus stop at Camagong Street, just 2 blocks across our house. We all jumped with joy whenever we saw a small manila paper bag as we eagerly welcomed him by the small bridge across the three foot open canal. Soon, we were feasting on pansit (noodles) bought from Plaza Miranda or bibingka from UN Avenue.

While serving the government, Tatay lived a simple life and sustained the family financial needs of 8 children with his salary and Nanay's (mother) income from her small sari-sari store.

Today, some of those who occupied similar position as my Tatay have several houses and cars. Some were even suspended and investigated of corruption by the Ombudsman. He retired from IC without experiencing the benefit of owning a car even an owner type jeep. He built a house in Makati using the proceeds from the sale of a property in Better Living subdivision. Food on the table was not plentiful during the construction period. The house was finished in 10 years after five phases of construction.

Developing IT systems for the government since 1999, I encountered government servants like my father. Some were not.

A proud son of a government employee, I detest corruption and all forms of dishonesty because I knew that hard work and integrity spell success and happiness.

Wanted : Public Servant. Any more taker? Me!

Labels: Bureau of Lands, CEO blog, Efren Ricalde, Enrique Ricalde, Escolta, FEU, IC, Iking, Insurance Commission, IT systems, public servant, tatay, UN Avenue

 
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Lolo Tibo, my grandfather from mother side came from As-is, Bauan, Batangas. The Batanguenos from As-is were known for hard work, honesty and entrepreneurship.

Most of the sidewalk vendors selling eyeglasses and other stuff on collapsible shelves along the stretch of Rizal Avenue, particularly the span between Carriedo and Raon streets, were from As-is. As I walked along Avenida Rizal to buy science pocket books from Alemars Bookstore in the late 60's, I often passed by Ka Juaning, one of the vendors.

Victor Arellano, one of Lolo Tibo's nieces, exemplified not only an ideal "ala-e" but a very successful professional of As-Is. His father, Lolo Tino, was a puto-kutsinta vendor and a stevedore at the Manila pier. When we were in living San Andres St, I remembered buying puto from Lolo Tino. His booming voice signalled his presence in our duplex house at La Paz, Makati. And hours and hours of listening to his stories of hard work and love for his children consumed most of my day when he was around.

While Lolo Tino was working in Manila, his son Victor was a very conscientious student studying in Batangas to become a teacher. And he became one. The last time I visited him, he was completing his PhD.

Victor visited our house each time he was in Manila. No matter what the schedule was, he ensured to have a session with my father, Ka Iking. He confided to me that Ka Iking was his advisor. That explained their lengthy meetings as I sat beside them during my elementary and high school years.

Today, Victor is a manager of the Port Services Division, Philippine Port Authority, PMO Batangas at Port of Batangas. A victor serving the government is a man of intelligence, honesty and hard work. A Victor to many victors. Our country needs more Lolo Tino and Victor!

Labels: As-is, Batangas pier, Bauan, CEO blog, Efren Ricalde, honesty, integrity, Ka Iking, Lolo Tibo, Lolo Tino, PPA, Rizal Avenue, Victor Arellano

 
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Frederick the Great, a renowned Prussian general, cited the importance of foreknowledge in his quotation - "It is pardonable to be defeated than to be surprised". With the ubiquitous information and communication technology solutions, it is easier to gather intelligence and leverage intelligence for better performance and global competitiveness.

Technology affects competitive advantage if it has a significant role in determining relative cost position or differentiation. In his book “Competitive Advantage”, Porter identifies that a “firm than can discover better technology for performing an activity than its competitor thus gains competitive advantage.”

Geographic Information System or GIS is one of the technologies. GIS is a computerized database management system for capturing, storing, analysis, and displaying of spatial (locationally defined) data. Its primary function is to store, access, analyse and visualize spatial data thereby creating information to spatial intelligence.

Spatial intelligence provides direct benefits to businesses as a result of improved use of data for operational, management, and planning functions as well as synergy effects resulting from improved data integration, both for data internal and external to the enterprise itself.

Changing our paradigm to maintain competitive advantage in providing quality solutions to our customers is a logical stage in this business transformation process.

Labels: CEO blog, competitive intelligence, Efren Ricalde, Frederick the Great, Geographic Information System, GIS, GSI, spatial, spatial intelligence

 
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In October 2006, I visited Korea to attend "e-Covernment Experience & G2G Collaborative Program" forum sponsored by the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency (KIPA).

Aside from technical presentations, we also visited the City of Gangnam where its e-government solutions were shown to the participants. Seeing almost a paperless transaction processing of city services through information kiosks, I was awed by the city government's commitment to serve its constituencies.

Looking back in January 2001, I talk about "Transforming LGU to eLGU" in a conference on Best Practices on Local Governance at the University of Asia and the Pacific at Pasig City. Six years has passed and the transformation has barely moved forward. Citing the e-government brochure of Gangnam, "A Progressive City Making the Dream Come True", our eLGU roadmap needs to be revisited to come up with an architecture and deployment strategy based on best practices from our ASEAN neighbors.

Moving on and working with new partners from USA, Japan and Korea, GSI aims to pursue the development of eLGU solutions immediately after the May 14 election.

Thus, we are looking forward to write a sequel to an article published in the The Nation Today about a conference on "Best Practices On Local Governance" :

“Good Governance and Computerization Go Together”

In this computer age, many offices, even in the local government units (LGU’s), are trying to have their operations computerized not only to speed up their operations, but also to organize and to bring in more revenues.

However, bringing in technology to the LGUs in the “new economy” is not enough. The LGUs must have a “solutions framework” to be successful e-LGU ( electronic LGU), said Efren Ricalde, chief operating officer of GeoSpatial Solutions, in his speech” Transforming LGU to e-LGU” in the forum on “ Best Practices on local Governance” held recently at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) in Pasig city. The forum was sponsored by Geospatial, a geographic information system, and the UA&P.

He stressed that among the most important aspects of computerization is educating the employees. ‘If the people concerned, or the LGU employees, are not given education on the merits of computerization, they will not see the need in implementing the project, and render it a failure,” he told TODAY.

He said that an employee can just pull the plug of a computer being used for the issuance of licenses and continue with graft practices if the employee is not enlightened on the need for computerization.
At the same time, Ricalde said that computerization aids in good governance because the LGU can efficiently deliver its services to the people.

He stressed that the benefits the LGUs can derive from computerization are endless, among which are increased operation efficiency, higher customer service level, and the capability to rapidly, deploy new technologies, services and business.

The LGU functions from the regional to provincial down to the barangay level can be accessed electronically by the residents. These include the revenue generating functions such as the treasury, business permit and licensing, real property and tax administration, public transport and public market administration.

The regulatory systems can also be linked electronically, such as the tax mapping and zoning , police and crime information, and engineering operations. The same with the administrative support, such as the health services and civil registry, and resource management. (The Nation Today, March 21, 2001, L.Resureccion)

Labels: barangay, CEO blog, crime information, e-Government, Efren Ricalde, eLGU, G2G, Gangnam, KIPA, Korea, L. Resureccion, LGU, Pasig, Ricalde, tax mapping, UAP

 
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In January 1989, I was one of the students of Jimmy Licauco in "Silva Mind Control". Doing a lot of photography in Brunei, I got interested in Silva Mind Control because it was about creativity and visualization. Two of my classmates were Mike Relon Makiling and Maryo De Los Reyes.

Our final "exam" was to vizualize three events, places or people which were sensed from three of our classmates. Going back from aplha state after a long process, my classmates read their notes of what I described during the visualization process. They were all very excited when I vividly described three subjects :

• A relative suffering from epilepsy. I described him falling to ground in several places
• A relative staying Australia. The documented description showed the row houses and the cold temperature where the relative stayed
• A squatter house. I vividly described a very cramped room with one incandescent lamp located in a chaotic neighborhood

With the 3 out of 3 hits, I was elected president of the class.

Towards the end the class, I met Tito de Jesus, a dream analyst and a radio boradcaster ,was one of our facilitators. One hot summer day, I got a call asking for an assistance to locate a church worker, Julius Caesar Falcone, gone missing after sailing out to the sea. T

The next day, Tito with two nuns who worked in the parish as Julius helped me go aplha state to processed the scene. And they documented what I "saw" during the visualization process. Here's what they wrote:

Transcriptions from the conversations with Tito de Jesus as related to him by Efren Ricalde while in alpha state on April 11, 1990, between 4:00 p.m to 6:00 p.m.

The following scenarios are not in sequence:

1. Julius is seen wearing a bracelet, flesh colored.
2. His silver-steel watch records on his arms at 9:00 a.m time. He wears a blue t-shirt with apiece of cloth tied to a part of his body.
3. A small banca is floating with an old blue rope tied at its tail . A small island is seen with a statue, and this statue grows bigger and bigger.
4. In a small island, seated on a rock are two men, one holding a black bag, looks like Julius. Somewhere in the island there is small house burning.
5. A recurring scene is Julius bubbling water with head alternating up and down, for quite sometime.
6. Efren felt a great pain in the chest, and then a pain in the throat. This was the most difficult part of the process. He was feeling very weak and Tito had to energize Efren to continue with his journey.
7. A white object is seen floating on the sea. This scene appeared earlier in the process. Efren mentioned he could not bear to look straight into this object. However, this scene replayed again. During the sharing, when Tito asked Efren could it be that this white object is Julius and that’s why he could not look at it straight, Efren answered yes, but he was afraid to look at it.
8. Efren sees himself together with Tito looking up to the sky and sees a hole, a small one. Suddenly Julius’ face with smiles peeps through this hole. Then he disappears. The hole becomes bigger and bigger, showing a very beautiful scenery that Efren could not describe and wish to take a picture of it, and names it “paradise”. After some time, Efren looks up and sees the sky and the clouds.
9. A high white wall. On it is written with Julius’ own handwriting this word “Goodbye!” , underlined, in a slanting position with a blue color. This scene of Goodbye appears twice.
10. Consistently, a hand was seen with a rosary extended over to Efren, this was seen many times. Efren had to go to Quiapo church to locate at a certain place where a rosary similar to what was seen could be found. The scene in Church was detailed. The rosary was colored green with silver, inside a whole bundle of rosaries on the right side of the altar, with novena prayer books below it, flowers beside, and a woman nearby.
11. The floating white object was seen in the Cebu-Manila navigation line in the open seas. (cf. marks on drawing)
12. Julius wearing a cassock, is preaching in a small chapel, where there are many children, in the island.
13. There is a small chapel with a cross on top of it. There are six rows of chairs, on the far right Julius is seated.
14. Seemingly strange as Efren expressed, is the alternating position of Julius being on and down the water surface

The nuns confirmed the existence of steel watch, bracelet, small banca, small island, and the church. They shared with me a chilling revelation that when I got out of the alpha state our dogs were suddenly howling in fright. It was the first that I felt very exhausted after a visualization.

Since then, I never did a similar process.

Labels: alpha, alpha state, Brunei, CEO blog, Efren Ricalde, Jimmy Licauco, Julius Caesar Falcone, Mike Relon, Silva Mind, Tito de Jesus, visualization

 
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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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Returning back to the Philippines from an eight-year stay at Brunei Shell Petroleum in August 1988, there was an immediate need to acclimatize myself to the new business environment and establish a network. Reading an advertisement from a local newspaper of a seminar at Meralco Foundation, I immediately visited its office to get and submit an application form.

The seminar, "Problem Analysis and Decision Making" was held on September 13 - 17, 1988 at Green Valley Country Club, Baguio City. Exposed mainly on software and hardware subjects, the training gave me a new insight in looking at new knowledge and opportunities especially in business.

On the very first day of the seminar, I was surprised that a former classmate from UP College of Engineering in Diliman, Gilbert Azagra, was one of the trainors! He put me on the spot when he introduced my name and said : "my classmate and seatmate at UP Engg whom I ask some help during exams." Gilbert, still with Meralco, took Industrial Engineering while I did Geodetic Engineering.

As the seminar materials where distributed by Gilbert, he opened up the session by sharing a quotation of Thomas Watson, Sr. - "You cannot be a success in business without believing that it is the greatest business in the world. You have to put your heart in the business and business in your heart."

Since then the quotation stayed in my heart. Ten years later, I read it again to myself, and put it into use when GeoSpatial Solutions hit the road as a start-up company.

Labels: Baguio, Brunei, CEO blog, entrepreneur, Geodetic, Geospatial, Gilbert Azagra, Industrial, Meralco, quotation, Ricalde, UP, Watson

 
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Kabataang Manileno, Kaisa
40th Commencement Exercises
Manila Science High School
April 8, 2003

LIFE OF SCIENCE

Efren E.S. Ricalde, Batch '71
President/CEO,
GeoSpatial Solutions Inc.

So much water has passed under the bridge since the day I was privileged to wear the MaSci graduation cap. But time has not dulled my memory of that special day. And that is how it should be.

Listening to another graduation speaker many years ago, I felt privileged and proud. Privileged because I was educated in a special school and proud because such an education was made possible despite my humble background, intellect and hard work. Since that special day, I have been back to MaSci many times and have reminisced with my classmates about our happy days here.

I hope that you too will have fond memories of your days here in our Alma Mater. I was therefore touched when I was invited to deliver the commencement speech with the theme “Sa Matatag sa Republika, Kabataang Manileño, Kaisa.” I want to connect this theme to “The Life of Science” and I hope that the Matatag na Republika will be based, not on the Filipino culture, but on the culture of science.

What is the life of science? The physicist Lise Meitner wrote in old age, looking back: “I believe all young people think about how they would like their lives to develop; when I did so I always arrived at the conclusion that life need not be easy, provided only that it was not empty. And this wish I have been granted.”

I wholeheartedly embrace this view. The life of science is not easy but it is also not empty. Meitner had to flee from her native Austria and from the Nazis so as to remain free as a human and as a physicist. But as always, freedom has a price; for Meitner, the price was probably the Nobel Prize. In the Philippines and other Third World nations, students of science scientists also have to flee -- not from a totalitarian regime but from a culture that is indifferent to science.

Filipino culture and the culture of science are incompatible. Filipino cultural values - puwede na, bahala na, ningas-­kugon, palakasan, palusot, “who you know and not what you know,” transparency and corruption are the antithesis of the cultural values of science-accuracy and precision, patience, persistence, fairness, transparency and integrity. Sadly, Filipino culture is a culture of mediocrity and science is a culture of excellence. In the Filipinos’ hierarchy of values, trapo and trapos which embody the Filipino culture of mediocrity is at the top while science and scientists which embody the scientific culture of excellence is near the bottom.

Notwithstanding this bleak reality, I remain optimistic. I have faith in the positive resilience of the Filipino youth. By resilience, I do not mean the negative kind - that of the pliant bamboo permanently and forever bowing before the wind. Conventional Filipino thinking interprets the resilience of the bamboo as a positive and commendable Filipino trait but in fact such negative resilience is defeatist and fatalistic and is part of the Filipino culture of mediocrity. By resilience, I learn the positive kind -- the resilience to stand tall and steadfast and to transcend the limitations of Filipino culture. It is the resilience necessary to endure and then to overcome the Filipino cultural obstacles of puwede na, bahala na, ningas-kugon, manana habit, palusot and other negative traits.

This then is my question and challenge to you as you look forward to your career and to the future: Do you have what it takes to live a full life and to transcend the limitations of Filipino culture?

This question and challenge is of fundamental and profound importance to me. I am convinced that Filipinos exist in a cultural prison. All the fundamental and destabilizing problems that the Philippines face today can be traced to an intrinsically wrong set of cultural values. As one prominent writer said: “Filipino culture is a damaged culture.”

In contrast to my bleak cultural assessment, I am utterly convinced that if the basis is only intellect, then the Philippines’ future is bright and promising. I believe that the Filipino youth is intellectual, able and talented and you the graduating class is a tangible proof of this.

Having looked and examined the intertwined issues of science, culture and intellect - what can we conclude that is meaningful and relevant to you, the graduating class and to our nation?

It is this: we Filipinos have allowed our dysfunctional culture to dominate our innate intellectual talents. This has resulted in severe fundamental problems for the Philippines and in a climate and environment that is indifferent and not conducive to science and intellectual pursuits. Filipinos are forced to leave the country in order to exercise their intellectual talents in more conducive and hospitable environments. Trapos, probably is the group that find the current situation in the Philippines most attractive.

So what is it that we must do to make a difference to our country and to our individual selves? We must individually and collectively end the domination by culture of the intellect and science and then reverse the process. Intellect and science must dominate Filipino culture. Trapo is an easy and empty life. Science is a hard and full life. And as Einstein said: Politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity.


Class of 2003 of the Manila Science High School, I wish you full lives.
Congratulations and Thank you.

Labels: alma mater, CEO blog, commencement, Efren Ricalde, filipino, Life, Lise Meitner, Manila Science, MaSci, Ricalde, Science

 
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MSHS 38th Recognition Day Speech
22 March 2001
Theme : “ Manileño : Onward to a Meaningful Transformation”

Manila Science High School
Padre Faura Corner Taft Avenue



The MaSci Students : Agents of Change

Efren E.S Ricalde, '71
GeoSpatial Solutions
President/CEO


Introduction

Thirty years ago, when I was a graduating senior student, we were fans of the Beatles. We danced to the rock and roll music of the fabled ‘70s. Taft Avenue was dotted with trees; we played softball, volleyball and the banduria. Coke was 15 centavos and Sarsi, 10 centavos. Needing a new attire for the graduation, I sold my book “College Physics” by Weber, Maning and White at Recto to buy a Hickok belt. Being one of the poor students, my parents can not afford to buy a new one.

Since freshman, I was Einstein’s avid follower. What coincidence that at my senior year, I belonged to IV-Einstein, the honor section. I bought books on relativity and attended Professor Joe Valenzuela’s lectures at UP Diliman. One limerick I recalled was about time dilation in a relativistic travel :

“There was a lady named Bright who traveled much faster that light. One day she left out of sight and came back the previous night”.

Reading mostly Einstein’s contribution to science, I didn’t realize Einstein’s profound influence not only to theoretical physics but more important to our day-to-day experience as science students and alumni when I read the following quotations:

“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love”:
“If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.”

And there is humor in his definition of relativity:

“A man sits with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems shorter than a minute. But tell that same man to sit on a hot stove for a minute, it is longer than any hour. That’s relativity.”

Finally, Einstein couched us :

“Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and the profit of the community to which you later work belongs.”

Enough with Einstein, allow we then to share with you my experience in relation to our theme tonight “Manileño: Onward to a Meaningful Transformation”. On which I would like to suggest a sub-theme “MaSci Students – Agents of Change”.


Transformation to the New Economy

The wind of change is howling vigorously. The ubiquitous Web and Internet technologies tremendously transformed the way we do our daily activities, school works and businesses too. Indeed, this change created a paradigm shift – the transformation from the Old Economy characterized by industrialization to the New Economy of knowledge based industries.

Those who resisted by ignoring the pervasiveness of the Web and customer empowered Internet systems were “amazooned” and doomed to fail. In this paradigm shift, the science and technology entrepreneurs played a major role in the creation of an enterprise, and emerged winners.

Who are the winners? “The battle for supremacy in personal computers is over, and few will survive,” published in BusinessWeek in 1983. “The winner is IBM”. Computer guru Esther Dyson advised entrepreneurs of small computer companies to go instead to the restaurant business. However, a young Texan, named Michael Dell, a college student at the University of Texas in Austin, didn’t know enough to be frightened off. With his $1000 savings, he started selling computers out of his college dorm at the age of 18.

Ten years later, in 1993, IBM lost $4.97 billion, the biggest loss in American corporate history. Job eliminations rose to 100,000 in December 1993.

Who were the wild dogs that brought down the poor, old, arthritic, and misshapen IBM? Dell Computer for one. Dell has learned how to talk to its customers, while IBM talked to itself. With July 2000 revenue of $15B, Dell is still leading the pack.


What did we learn as a MaSci student?

Albert Einstein, Time Magazine Man of the Century said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”.

As MaSci students, that is exactly what we learned – being keen in identifying opportunities in our classrooms, homes and communities. Without us knowing it, we all developed the sense of science and technology entrepreneurship. We have sharpened our saws to have competitive advantage from among the high school students being recognized in the Philippines for the year 2001.

So, you are the science and technology entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur is best described by Kent, Sexton and Vesper in the Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship:

They said that “Humanity’s progress from caves to campuses has been explained in numerous ways. But central to virtually to all of these theories has been the role of the ‘agent of change’ the force that initiates and implements material progress. Today, we recognize that the agent of change in human history has been and most likely will continue to be entrepreneur.”


What is our success cookbook?

As science and technology entrepreneurs and agents of change, what is our success cookbook? Oliver Clayton, in his book “Planning a Career as a Business Owner”, wrote that an entrepreneur should be aggressive, competitive, goal-oriented, confident, decisive, an achiever very early in life, a loner in your final decision, persistent, an optimist (to an extreme), hyperactive mentally, a dreamer, a calculated risk-taker, a perfectionist and intuitive.


And where do we go from here?

We have the best domain knowledge derived at MaSci. So are our academic values and competitive culture. We are ready to go.

But how we do sustain the goals, dreams and aspirations in a transformed environment? What barriers shall we construct to arrest the marauding forces of fierce competition and globalization? What walls do we build to protect us from exploitation, environmental degradation, commercialization and social decadence?

There is no better effort than reinventing our mind set :

Being a leader is one. “Leadership is the ability to get other people to do what they want to do, and like it.” said Harry Truman. In the New Economy the first comer succeeds. They eventually became leaders. These leaders are trustworthy, honest and competent.

Being a creative student is another. Julia Cameron said “Leap and the net will appear”. As students and science and technology entrepreneurs, we must now see beyond the walls of our building. I challenge all you to make a big stride and leap to your dreams. That’s creativity.

Being a believer of the Divine Creator is paramount. With God, everything is possible.


Finally, we will always win

And that is because of the MaSci students’ passion to create and innovate. Beyond our academic undertakings and successes are us – The Science and Technology Entrepreneurs. We may start small but dream big. According to Demosthenes, “we see small opportunities that are often the beginning of great enterprise.”

To our beloved teachers, school administrators and staff who crafted this sea of brilliant MaSci graduates, we thank you all for giving me the opportunity to share with that wonderful experience of being a proud MaSci alumni.

With all due respect, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my teacher Mrs. Concepcion for believing in my dreams.

Mabuhay Kayong Lahat!

Thank you.

Labels: businessweek, CEO blog, change, diliman, economy, einstein, entrepreneur, Manila Science, MaSci, MSHS, relativity, Ricalde, Taft, UP, valenzuela

 
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AMW, a Scot, always reported for work earlier than me. If it could have been a tennis tournment, he would have gotten all the Grand Slam.

At 10 minutes before seven in the morning, I was seated on my desk almost infront of AMW who was busy scribbling on his notepad. Having an open space arrangement, we have a 360 degrees view of the department as the staff of FIC/7 reported for work one by one.

A notepad supervisor, that is how I would describe him. Every morning, sensing that I am seated, he would raise his face from a stationery position and smile at me. With his notepad marked AMW FIC7 on his right hand, he walked to my desk and sat on my visitor's chair.

Business as usual, he started recalling the activities we had yesterday with the users from Petroleum Geology (DPG)and scribbled my things to do for the day. With about three bullet points of things to do, he demonstrated his exceptional skill of remembering user requirements by discussing the details of the tasks.

A very inspiring supervisor with happy disposition, I was motivated to excel in my work.

The notepad worked, the following year I got the maximum increment of six percent. Without wasting any minute, I was on the phone talking to my father at his office at the Insurance Commission informing him that I was one of the top performer at FIC7.

Work at Brunei Shell ended at 4PM. With Panaga Club and Brunei Shell Recreation Club, most of my officemates played golf, tennis, squash to name a few sports and activities. Before a game of tennis, a two-kilometer of jogging along the beach fron of Panaga kept me ready for my opponent usually a British or Dutch guy.

With a dog leash and not a notepad on his hand, AMW and his wife was also running along the beach. Aside from running, golf and squash were what kept him very fit.

Then, a FIC memo was circulated. A few minutes before the end of work, I stood in front of his desk and inquired about the contents of the memo. Without referring directly to the memo, he said that it is about time for him face other challenges.

Most mornings, the notepad session went on and on until he was finally posted to Shell UK.

A few days before AMW left Brunei, he shared a piece of advice on how to prepare for life after Brunei Shell. Vividly I could remember when he said -"be very flexible and be a generalist".

About two decades have passed since we last shook our hands together. After unsuccessful attempts to obtain his email address from web searches, I hope this blog could reach him soonest.

Oh, 'soonest' is one of his favorite words.

Labels: Alan Wood, Brunei, brunei shell, business 101, CEO blog, Efren Ricalde, FIC

 
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Gabriel or Gabs, my eldest child was born in August 24,1984 at the United Doctors Medical Center near the Welcome Rotonda at the boundary of Manila and Quezon City.

While we were waiting for Gabs' arrival, a huge and agitated crowd has gathered around the rotonda. From the hospital window, I saw a sea of protestors with red and yellow streamers and banners. Shouting in unison, they were demanding for the ouster of the Marcos regime.

The red banners belong to the progressive groups like KMU. Not as many as the progressives, the yellow banner group on the other hand belongs to the moderate August Twenty One Movement or ATOM. As they were maneuvering to cut through the phalanx of the anti-riot law enforcers, slowly all the group of protestors with red banners were massing in front as the yellow banner holders and followers moving to the rear position.

Then, we heard the news, Gabs was born. Four hours laters, I was with the protestors marching towards Mendiola. As I was on my annual one month leave from the office, I left the Philippines after two weeks. Just before December of the same year, Gabs was with me in Brunei.
As he was growing in a Brunei Shell company house at G9/36 Panaga, I noticed that Gabriel was different. He has an intense focus to learn, a passion for only one type of toy - many kinds of fan, enjoys listening to music especially Abba, identifying the A or B side of a cassette tape,

At 3 years old, his lady pediatrician at the Panaga Hospital was astonished when she was assesing Gabs' ability to identify objects. Asked to identify an object in a picture book, without hesitation he said "uniform". At an early age he can differentiate a dress from a uniform.

As all of us were amused with Gabs' attentiveness and with an advance tip that he can read, the doctor went further to check if Gabs can recognize not just letters but words. Word after word, Gabs read the words like book,tea, cup, glass, tatay, nanay, and many nore. Finally, the pediatrician wrote on the baby book - 'A gifted boy'.

Labels: atom, Brunei, brunei shell, CEO blog, Efren Ricalde, Gabriel Leiva, gabs, gifted, gifted child, KMU, panaga

 
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My first encounter with Einstein was when I bought a second hand white colored book College Physics by R. L. Weber, M. W. White, and K. V. Manning. There I saw a chapter on relativity glowing as beautiful as the sunrise!

Then, came the second encounter when I bought a pocket book Relativity for the Million by Martin Gardner. Out my daily savings, I got the book from Alemars at Avenida Rizal as there were no National Bookstore at that time. Neither were there Mercury Drug as there were Botica Boei.

A group of Earth Science Students under Ms Nelly Ramos Rana visited Professor Jose Villanueva at the Physics Department of UP Diliman. There, we had some lectures on relativity theory of Einstein. After the lecture we played softball at the back of the Main Library. That was my third encounter and at the same time my first visit to UP Diliman, my university alma mater.

The fourth encounter came on the last day of my junior year and closing of the MaSci school year 1969-70. As I got my school card, I read : "promoted to IV-Einstein". With 35 of 68 incoming senior students in IV-Einstein, it was a huge challenge being in the honor section.

Much later, a day before our graduation day on May 1, 1971, the the book went back to one of the bookstores at Claro M Recto. It was sold so I can buy a Hickok belt at Good Earth Emporium for my new black graduation pants.

Now, Albert Einstein is in my office permanently. Hanging on the wall in front of my office table is a 2.5' by 2' framed picture with a caption - "I M A G I N A T I O N - "Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein.

Dream come true.

Labels: alemars, boei, CEO blog, einstein, MaSci, physics, recto, relativity, Ricalde, Rizal Avenue, UP

 
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In the early 60s, the batteries, radio and rainy season always go in a team. Intense moonsoon rains led to flooding or brown-outs that classes were suspended. Staying at home, the Sony transistor radio was my companion almost the whole day.

The radio did not use AC electric power but DC power from batteries. In no time, the batteries were dead and so was the radio. That started my curiosity about the batteries.

With the radio dead, I was missing the daily radio broadcasts of Kumander Fidela and Ito Po Ang Inyong Tiya Dely (This is your Auntie Dely) - very popular soap operas aired in the afternoon. The day was not complete without listening to Beinte Kwatro Oras (24 Hours)in the evening. With the exception of Tiya Dely Magpayo, all the radio stars were either retired or dead. Tiya Dely airs a daily evening program at DZRH.

One battery after another, they were opened up to the core to retrieve the black solid cylinder in the middle of the battery. Slowly the zinc casing was ripped off, then the pasty black substance or the potassium hydroxide electrolyte was removed around the cylinder.

That was the start of several experiments using the worn out batteries.

Labels: batteries, CEO blog, dzrh, fidela, flood, magpayo, monsoon, radio, rainy, Ricalde, sony

 
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At around lunch time, Metro Manila experienced the fury of Typhoon Milenyo. It has center wind of 135kph with gustiness of 160kph. Two hours later, I can see clear sky over Laguna de Bay from our office at 12th floor Philippine Stock Exchange Building in Ortigas. It has moved to China Sea.

Milenyo is not so strong a typhoon compared to Typhoon Dading that hit Metro Manila in October 1964. With center wind of 180 kph it tore a lot roofs and uprooted trees in our neighborhood at La Paz, Makati. Most of the streets of our barangay was inundated by knee deep flood water. Together with my Uncle Carding, we constructed floaters made of banana trunks. We went around the streets of Hawaii, FLeurdelis and Guam. During that time flood water was relatively clean.

Then came Typhoon Yoling in November 1970. With its 200 kph center wind and 240 kph gustiness, one whole roof of a three story apartment at Archimedes St, La Paz came off and landed a few meters away. We had a long school break at MaSci after Yoling. The monicker "niyoling" became a buzz word to describe any devastation like failed exam!

Labels: CEO blog, dading, Efren Ricalde, hawaii, la paz, Makati, Milenyo, ortigas, typhoon, yoling

 
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MaSci to GSI is a documentation of what I longed to share with human history. This blog stores snapshots of things I remembered that makes me today.

MaSci to GSI is not a history book nor an autobiography but links and networks of events, people and ideas as far as I can remember when I was a kid in our home in San Andres street near Singalong Church.

MaSci or Manila Science High School is a key milestone in my life. MaSci to GSI is a spectrum of experiences, knowledge and creative insights.

Before, I only know about my parents home. It crafted my integrity, resiliency and flexibilty. MaSci trained me to become a competitor - an honest and hardworking gladiator.

At UP, I became a First Quarter Stormer! UP my beloved gave my parents a beautiful dream.

Brunei Shell Petroleum made me a photographer, book worm, tennis player, Singapore tourist, and a family man. It changed my technology mindset. GSI or GeoSpatial Solutions, Inc shaped by entrepreneurship and dreams.

GSI, paves my vision for common good, entrepreneuship and nationalism.

This time, I may be able to answer questions, observations and eccentricities such as why I like photography, classical guitar, tennis, physics, poetry and dreams; that as a kid at 9 years old I would stand beside Nanay's sari-sari store in the evening and scan the sky using my home made telescope almost everyday.

Why I can feel and smell the weather. Why I can visualize the photo I going to take the night before a photo contest? Why I went to MaSci, UP, GSI and IBM? What made me an entrepreneur like my Nanay, who is a sari-sari store owner for 40 years! Why are my parents successful in discplining their eight children - including me.

Why I love my parents, kids, teachers,colleagues and soul-mate so much. Why do I dream of making people close to me successful?

Why do I dislike thieves who stole in the middle of the day? My relatives, officemates, honest Filipinos, and God know all of them!

Why I like Ms Cruz of RPES, Mr Valbuena of UP Geology, Ms Suzette Badon of UP Geography, Ms Nelly Ramos Rana & Ms Concepcion of MaSci, Prof Hernandez & Prof Vila of UP Geodetic Eng'g, Engr Bert Tato of GEP, Consul Hermes Dorado & his wife Susan of GSI, Gabriel and Jocelyne Leiva of UNISYS, Mr Jimmy Ledesma of Meralco, Ms Lynette Lim of Zenshin, Mr Jajo Quintos, Peter Laud, Loke Peng Yuen, Tesa Abaya of IBM.

Why I admired IBM.

This is dedicated to my Tatay (father), Enrique and my Nanay (mother), Virginia who are now in peace with God. They are my heroes!

Plato said - "the beginning is the most important part of the work."

This blog starts today, a very important part of my life.

Labels: CEO blog, Gabriel Leiva, GSI, IBM, Manila Science, MaSci, MSHS, nelly rana, plato, quintos, Ricalde, UP, valbuena, zenshin

 
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