Sycip gorres velayo & co

In the many forums where he spoke he would be asked why he concentrated on education for his philanthropy. His eyes would light up, thankful for the opportunity to tell a story I heard many times from him. He was, he related, a product of the public-school system in Manila, and he remembered the very high standards exacted on students. The American public school system, which was planted in our country at the turn of the century, was rigorous and molded students to excel in all areas. A secular education was intent on making smarter students imbued with democratic ideals, rather than the cloistered, feudal and devotee students emphasized by the Catholic schools. Mr. SyCip was quite proud of his public schooling and Synergeia’s effort to overhaul and upgrade the country’s broken school system was the likely choice for parting with his largesse and returning the gratitude to the schools that made him.

I’m grateful to Mr. SyCip for a project I do at Synergeia. The main thrust of our work is raising the reading and comprehension levels of students,

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