The Promise of Hope

Every goodbye means a new start, while a new start means a new hope for something good to happen. The year 2017 was a roller-coaster ride for me both on the professional and personal aspects of my life. The challenge in the mining industry still prevails despite all the achievements and religious compliance by the company of all its mandated obligations not to mention of its being a responsible mineral processing company. Somehow this also affects my line of work. On a personal note, I experienced so many challenges that also tested my faith. Nevertheless, I stand still. I am grateful that the everyday experience of my more than 15 years of service in the company was not only of loyalty but more of commitment to the people that we serve in Bataraza. I have seen the ups and downs of Palawan. I have experienced the dynamics of politics, I have been involved in the clash of environmental and mining groups. There may be “eternal” conflict but at the end of every day, the most important is not to lose hope for unity. And our major “hugot” for that ultimate dream is love. Negative issues and happenings are inevitable. It is already part of our everyday lives. But it really depends on how we perceive life. Let us look more on positive happenings to “compensate” the negative ones and go beyond so what remains is just optimism. Helen Keller, a popular author once said that “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”. This saying can be applied to one’s professional and personal life. By having never-ending hope, we can make the present moment less difficult to bear. We will believe that tomorrow will be better, and we can bear the hardships today. Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe, there is no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for the most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic. A life well-lived today makes every yesterday a dream and every tomorrow a vision of hope. In particular, for ComRel (Community Relations Department), I hope we will do our best to further enhance our social development efforts towards achieving our 5th Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA) this year. I hope the remaining months of 2018 will be much better and most productive for all of us and the company. I hope Rio Tuba will continue to be a peaceful and happy place to live in. Finally, I hope and dream of a better Philippines with free flow of goods and services, investment, capital and skilled labor and I dream that we will be able to achieve our goals quicker and enjoy more success through cooperation. Let our hopes, not our hurts shape our 2018 and eventually our future.