Amb. Roberto Mayorga“Are you proud to be Filipinos?” is a question former Chilean ambassador to the Philippines Roberto Mayorga would ask his Pinoy friends. His concept of pride is not about material wealth or affluence; he believes that the true beauty of a country is its people and their values. This is what he sees in the Filipino, their kabutihang loob sa kapwa which he calls calidad humana.

When he visited a community in Caloocan, Amb. Mayorga experienced firsthand the sense of community, hospitality and compassion of the people.

Meeting with the country’s business leaders gave him the opportunity to share this insight and motivate them to preserve this gift. This is how Lopez Group chairman emeritus Oscar M. Lopez met the ambassador, starting a friendship built on shared dreams of safeguarding the Filipino identity and values. They began talking about this Filipino calidad humana and how it can be leveraged as a wake-up call to Filipinos.

After his tour of duty as ambassador, the Lopez Group invited him back as consultant to the Calidad Humana project, this time under the aegis of Energy Development Corporation (EDC), which became the nerve center of the project. Last year, EDC published “Calidad Humana: Sharing the Filipino Spirit,” perhaps the magnum opus and main goal of Amb. Mayorga.

As Amb. Mayorga retires, he leaves behind a treasure chest of memories and lessons to be revisited as the project continues as a personal commitment to practice, preserve and promote the Filipino calidad humana. It is a never-ending story of inspiring Filipinos to promote good values and ensure that the next generations will be able to experience calidad humana. Let us continue sharing our kabutihang loob sa kapwa! Are you proud to be Filipinos? (Story/Photos by: Jared Echevarria)