CARING FOR OUR HEROES’ CHILDREN
Aquino, being a widow herself, sympathized with the families left by the fallen soldiers and, together with then AFP Chief of Sta Renato de Villa, would visit them at the soldiers’ wake to o er comfort. The widow, now having to raise a family on her own and receiving meager government assistance, sought help from the president. “Almost consistently, the widow would ask her, ‘Mrs. President, can you give me a job?’ followed by ‘Can you help me send my children to school?’” narrates Gen. Renato de Villa. As a response, Aquino would o er a modest sum of money before she leaves.
Occasionally paying her respects in a fallen soldier’s wake in the evening had been part of Aquino’s routine, until on one occasion, de Villa pointed out to her that while she was genuinely helping out a lot of families, she was doing it the wrong way. Taken aback, Aquino asked what the problem was, to which de Villa replied, “We are only visiting the wakes of fallen soldiers around Metro Manila; but how about the others, especially those in Visayas and Mindanao?”
A quiet bang
Aquino acknowledged de Villa’s sentiments and asked him to organize a means of extending support to families of fallen soldiers all over the country. Knowing that there’s no better sector than the business community to collaborate with in creating a solid foundation, de Villa turned to his friend, business tycoon Don Jaime obel de Ayala. Without any hesitation, Don Jaime mobilized the top guns in the Philippine business community to back up the project.
“For the president of the country herself to bring to our attention something of utmost concern, we knew how important it was to not think twice, but rather to act quickly to help our Filipino soldiers,” says Don Jaime. “Gen. de Villa gave us the details on what our military was going through at that time. There were hundreds of military orphans who truly needed help. There was no turning back after then.”
The next step was to christen the foundation with a name that best represents what it was all about. “We have to relate it to the idea that soldiers are heroes,” says de Villa, and eventually they adopted HERO, which stands for Help Educate and Rear Orphans. Accordingly, the HERO seal is composed of three human gures inside a semi-circle, symbolizing orphans protected by a soldier’s steel helmet.
HERO revolves around the philosophy that when a soldier dies, he should be replaced with a fully educated and productive citizen. “Each of the scholars is a hero standing as a memorial to his or her father who is the real hero,” he continues.
With a name, logo, a clear purpose, and the right group of people for the job, Gen. de Villa was ready to present the foundation to President Aquino.
HERO Foundation was launched at the
Heroes Hall in Malacañang Palace in 1988. Around a hundred leaders of the Philippines’ largest corporations were invited. De Villa recalls that in her speech, Aquino requested each guest to make either a contribution or pledge right then and there. By the end of the night, about P15 million in checks and pledges were made.
“We started with what I’d describe as a quiet bang,” says de Villa. “It was quiet because the event was not publicized, but it was undeniably a big bang as the big guys of the Philippine business community were present, and a huge sum of money was raised for HERO.”
The rst members of the HERO board of trustees were: Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Gen. Renato S. de Villa, Patricio L. Lim, Wilfrido C. Tecson, Cesar A. Buenaventura, Don Pedro Cojuangco, Don Francisco Delgado, Henry Sy, Sr., Henry Brimo, Antonio Chan, Teresa ChanSola, Raul T. Concepcion, Oscar J. Hidalgo, Domingo Lee, Rizalino S. Navarro, Perfecto F. Quicho, Andres Soriano III, Washington Z. Sycip, Roberto T. Villanueva, and Atty. Waldo Q. Flores as the corporate secretary.
Because the NPA was still very active then, even in Metro Manila, Don Jaime advised against publicizing HERO. For 22 years, the HERO Foundation provided nancial aid to soldiers’ orphans without fanfare.
We care for our soldiers
Now on its 25th year, the HERO Foundation has helped 2,377 scholars, 939 of whom graduated from college and became engineers, accountants, nurses, doctors, light attendants, police officers, and soldiers, among others. Aside from granting educational assistance in the form of stipends, HERO also conducts various fund-raising activities that let scholars mingle with different people, enjoy themselves, and develop their personalities.
Through the years, the foundation improved its services and continues to do so. Children and dependent siblings of fallen or completely incapacitated soldiers due to enemy action or as a result of their participation in disaster and rescue operations are now quali ed for scholarship as well. Aside from that, HERO champions vocational courses that allow for greater prospects of gainful employment even without a college degree.
The atmosphere during Cory Aquino’s time may have changed, but the need for HERO remains. “As long as there is the AFP
— as long as there are security problems, there will be casualties,” explains de Villa. “Although the casualty rate has gone down already, we still need to help the orphans of our heroes.” The state can only shoulder educating two children per soldier at one time and the government fund is not enough. Furthermore, a soldier’s salary is, more often than not, insufficient for the needs of the family.
Another goal of HERO is to boost the soldiers’ morale. At times, soldiers in the field would ask, “What are we fighting for? What are we dying for?” and admittedly, de Villa found it difficult to explain in relevant terms. But to him, the HERO Foundation is one meaningful way of telling the soldiers that their sacrifices are not in vain.
“A soldier ’ s morale is of critical importance,” de Villa stresses. “He has to have a high morale all the time, so he’ll be willing to sacri ce his own life when it comes to that. If he knows that his country and the people are behind him in his mission, then he will ght harder and better. And more importantly, he will behave.”
De Villa further notes that supporting our soldiers does not only mean shelling out money. An awareness of their value is what matters. “Who cares for our soldiers? Only the president, the secretary of defense, their fellow soldiers, retirees and veterans,” he says. But now, through HERO, the soldiers will see that the business community also truly cares, and ultimately — hopefully, the general public, too.