(2nd Dr. Paulino E. Albano Sr. Memorial Lecture and Graduation Address delivered by Mr. Laurentino V. Albano; St. Rita Hospital & College; PICC; 17 March 2011)Good afternoon. Leia, thank you very much. I am humbled by your generous introduction. Before I start my speech, may I ask the class of 2011 to please stand up and face the audience. Please acknowledge your parents, loved ones, relatives, members of the faculty and friends for their sacrifices and support. Without their guidance and assistance you would not be here for this milestone in your life. Class of 2011, let us give them a round of applause. Thank you and you may now be seated.
I have been given the honor to be the Guest Speaker of the Graduating Class of 2011. First, I will talk about the Founder of our institution and then, second, will be my Graduation Message.
In honor of our man of the year, Dr. Paulino E. Albano Sr. (as we are celebrating the centennial year of his birth) my topic will be his different roles: a brother, a husband and a father. I will be giving you some insights of the person he was.
Dr. Paulino Sr. came from humble beginnings. He was born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte on June 18, 1911. He was the youngest of seven siblings. His father was a street lighter in the “poblacion” or town proper of Sarrat. He went around lighting the “kingky” or kerosene lamp at dusk and putting the lights out at dawn everyday. His mother was a housewife tending to the growing household.
His oldest brother, Fidel or Apo Fidel was a priest. When Apo Fidel was assigned as the Parish Priest of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, the young Paul or “Paool” as the Ilocanos pronounced his name, went with his brother Apo Fidel. He was the “sacristan mayor’ of the church while in high school. On or about that time, one summer vacation, he saw a young “colegiala” from St. Scholastica’s College (Manila), home for vacation. Pilar Bonoan Valdes was also a daily churchgoer and like the young Paool, a daily communicant. It was during Mass and at the communion rail that the young Paool first laid eyes on Pilar. Pilar or Piling was a daughter of one of the prominent families of San Nicolas. Piling was the sixth of seven siblings and her father served as the Mayor of San Nicolas. Paool did not make his move to court Piling at that time. He waited until he was in college when both of them were already in Manila. Paool attended the University of Santo Tomas for his Medicine proper course while Piling was at the University of the Philippines. They got married on April 2, 1938 and lived in an apartment at Intramuros. They bought and moved to a house in Gagalangin in 1940. As the Valdes-Albano household grew, so did their extended family. Orphaned nephews and nieces were our older brothers and sisters. Child victims of the war, who were abandoned and left for dead at the St. Rita Dispensary and Clinic then, were restored to health and became part of the ever growing Valdes-Albano household. “What is another mouth to feed?” was his favorite saying.
In 1951, Pope Pius XII awarded Dr. Paulino Sr. the Papal Knight of St. Sylvester and Dr. Pilar, the Papal awardee Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. These were awards given by the Holy Father to Catholic laymen and women for exemplary support to the Catholic Church.
In the twilight of their years, Dr. Paulino Sr. took care of his four older siblings until their deaths. Caring for these extended families too, must have inspired them (Paulino and Pilar) to put up the hospital and the different schools. Charity truly begins at home. He took care of his kin first, before he undertook his other charitable works. And yes he was his brother’s keeper.
As a husband, he was a loving and loyal one. It is said that “Lucky is the girl to be the last love of the man she married and luckier is the man to be the first love of the girl he married.” It was said that their marriage was made in heaven. There was never a question of infidelity regarding Dr. Paulino Sr. His priority was always the unity of the family. He was a great provider making sure that we had what we needed.
As a father, the first character trait that comes to mind to describe him is discipline. He believed in the saying “Spare the rod and spoil the child”. His discipline had the greatest influence on me. All of us were required to work especially during summer; from driver, messenger, timekeeper during the construction expansion, paymaster and office clerk. At an early age, we knew how to say the Rosary and we memorized the different mysteries. Any infraction of the house rules would find us at the hospital chapel praying the Rosary. With his busy schedule, he had the time to check on our activities. Our dining table was round that seated 14. During mealtime, he would ask us one by one for our progress report. He made it a point to know how we were doing in school and our other extra curricular activities. Sunday family Mass at the chapel was at 5:00AM. It did not make any difference if we were at a party the night before. We had to be there for the 5:00 AM mass. He was all about discipline.
And now, moving on, I would like to thank you parents, for choosing St. Rita Hospital and College of Nursing as the nursing school for your child. You had entrusted your child to St. Rita. I am sure when they started, you had a lot of apprehension about your child graduating. I can relate to you. Like you I am a parent and like you, my daughter is a member of class 2011. When she decided to go back to school to take up nursing, relatives and friends thought it was impossible. Well, we decided to go to St. Rita, Patroness of the Impossible.
My dear class of 2011, graduation is the beginning of another chapter in your book of life. You have chosen a service profession. You have chosen to serve the sick, the poor and the less fortunate than you. You have chosen to serve because you are people of love and loyalty. You are products of the love of your parents, just as I and my family is the product of the love of Drs. Paulino, Sr. and Pilar.
Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, nurse, messenger boy, construction worker, mother, wife, father, husband, brother or sister keep your dreams alive. Understand, to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe. I believe that my daughter and her classmates are men and women of tremendous vision. Remember, in the words of Joel Barker that “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with vision is making a positive difference”. Vision looks outward and becomes aspiration.
You, as individuals and collectively, can change the world. Accept that challenge. What you truly and earnestly aspire to be is what you will become. Aspire to be the best of what you can be. Aspire to inspire before you expire.
Keep in mind the three simple words: LOVE, VISION AND ASPIRATION. May St. Rita, Patroness of our institution, guide you and protect you today, tomorrow and always. St. Rita, Patroness of the Impossible, pray for us. Pagpalain tayong lahat ng Panginon Diyos.
