Serendipitous Delights

So far, De La Salle Araneta University President received nothing but praises from the alumni because of his quiet yet efficient performance. By Cristine Antonette B. Catu

Almost in his seventies, this avid golfer, who comes on as diplomatic and awe-inspiring especially with his deep resonant voice, continues to enthrall and touch the hearts of many Lasallians. He’s a public servant with a passion to serve.
Meet Br. Rafael S. Donato FSC or Br. Rafe [GS, 1952; HS, 1956; BSE, 1961] in real life.
After a preparatory period in St. Paul’s College of Vigan, Br. Rafe left his native Ilocos in the late 40s and early fifties to begin his long and devoted stay with La Salle. He took his education at De La Salle College in Taft where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Education with English Literature as major in 1961. In the same manner, his older brother Doy graduated BS Commerce in Taft [1953] while his younger brother Ray [HS, 1959; DLSU, 1963] was also a Green Archer all the way from grade school to college. Br. Rafe became a Christian Brother in 1956 and is celebrating his Golden Anniversary this year.
“Vocation to religious life is not a one time call. It is ongoing and one’s response is on going as well, daily even. Renewed effort is the key to perseverance,” Br. Rafe shares solemnly.
But vocation to religious life runs in his blood. Earlier, the Brother was an active Catechist, a Sodalist, and a member of the Student Catholic Action. Moreover, his aunt Mother Rosalie RA was the first Filipina Assumption nun and his other aunt Sister Cecile OSB was a concert pianist and music teacher at St Scholastica’s Manila.
Another side of him that people don’t know is that he’s acquainted with many sports in college. Some of which are soccer, basketball, and track. “I contributed to our school paper,” says Br. Rafe, who was also the sports editor of their high school yearbook in La Salle.

Further Down the Steps
Br. Rafe was a scared second grade boy when he first set foot on the grounds of De La Salle Taft. Upon entering the iron gates, he remembers noticing an elegant-looking shield of green and white. Brother Edward or “Big Ed” wore military fatigue and Brother Anthony or “Big Anthony” interviewed him in their small office by the South Gate [now the mail room]. He was asked to add multiple columns without the use of paper and fingers.
Residing on Arellano Avenue just two long blocks to Taft gave him quick access to the school. The school itself was like his second home. His contact with the Brothers and the close ties he had with his classmates made more soberly but nonetheless exciting memories of his life as a student in La Salle.
“Papa finished at the Ateneo in Intramuros in 1919 and then graduated as an Electrical Engineer in 1923 at Notre Dame. Marquitos Roces says Papa was the first Filipino graduate of Notre Dame. Papa must have known of the Christian Brothers in the U.S. when he decided to send his sons to De La Salle. If he had stuck to tradition, I would have gone to Ateneo and I would not be here today,” shares Br Rafe without a tinge of regret.

Plunging into the Teaching Pool
In 1965, Br Rafe graduated on a Fulbright - Hays scholarship from Columbia University with a master’s degree in English as a Second Language and Linguistics. That same year he received yet another Fulbright grant, this time to travel to Europe and Vietnam. He consequently became the first Filipino brother to visit the Generalate in Rome.
Concurrent with his personal academic pursuits, Br Rafe held many teaching positions at La Salle Academy in Iligan City, La Salle Green Hills, and La Salle high school in Lipa during the mid-1960s. It was also around this time that he was a member of the Linguistic Society of America, the Linguistic Society of the Philippines, and the US National Council for Teachers of English. He was also very much involved in school productions and an active member of PETA. He directed the first ever off Broadway musical THE FANTASTIKS at La Salle Greenhills.
Br Rafe’s career as an educator skyrocketed in the 1970s when he became the first Filipino director of De La Salle Lipa and the first Filipino president of La Salle Green Hills. In 1974 after receiving another grant he obtained his Certificate of Advanced Studies from Harvard University and a doctorate two years later in 1976 with the project thesis entitled “Concept Ombudsman: A Theory of Change.”
Teaching positions and a first Filipino presidency at La Salle College Bacolod, where he also sat as dean of its Graduate School, followed. Not an apathetic Ilocano transposed to the South, he plunged into Bacolod socio-civic concerns of police advisory, youth development, and mental health and founded the Handumanan Science Foundation. Together with other administrators, he founded the Negros Occidental Sports, Cultural, Educational Association (NOPSCEA) and the NOPSCEA Foundation to improve the delivery of educational services in the province and enhance the cohesiveness of schools and administrators.
The country’s political climate during the late 1980s and early 1990s spurred Br Rafe to focus his efforts towards peace, progress, and nationalism. He was elected the first noncleric Chairman of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Men in the Philippines at the time when the religious were at the forefront in witnessing the brutal violations of human rights under Martial Rule which culminated in the People Power uprising in 1986 and subsequently the restoration of democracy in the country. While Brother Visitor from 1983 to 1990, he founded the EDSA Ortigas Consortium (EDSOR) that promotes education for peace and justice and published several works on leadership, teaching, ethics, and professional competence. In 1990, he was one of the conveners of the National Peace Conference (NPC) representing the religious sector and, in 1994, became a British Council Fellow for Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, UK and, in 1995, a Research Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Truman Institute of Peace. In these latter appointments, he met, sat and discussed peace issues with a number of international peace advocates and researchers at forums in Northern Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands and Israel.

Mishaps… Squabbles…
Upon assuming the presidency of De La Salle University in 1991, Br Rafe was in the middle of the first DLSU – UAAP crunch. Just a few weeks in office, he got embroiled in a situation which deprived De La Salle University from an unprecedented number of basketball championships as a result of a UAAP board decision to nullify the game and ordered a replay against the better judgment of experts such as the referees, table officials, commissioner, BAP and FIBA. This incensed the Lasallain community. It was during this time that he appreciated the better judgment of the basketball players who decided not to show up at the scheduled replay.
It was also significant that his first class at De La Salle University was celebrating its Silver Jubilee
“I was in my practicum but my mentor Brother Gabriel never visited my class and I learned by doing and shouting many unruly boys in 7C. I developed pharyngitis and had to see Dr. Emmanuel Almeda twice a week for my treatment. But my beloved 7C who have once again renewed their relationship with me and made my life as a Brother meaningful,” shares the Brother.
For over 50 years, his perseverance as a Brother is largely on the notion that kids like them needed a teacher like him.

Efforts – Small Undramatic Steps
Br Rafe sailed to more success when he went to Lipa. He was president for eight years of DLS Lipa and principal architect of its expansion. Pioneering the Foundation for Sharing Lasallian Education, with the help of his classmates and of some Manila-based Lasallians, he was able to make 26 underprivileged Batangueños in various college courses.
It is important to note that to date, the Foundation has graduated 35 college students in Lipa at a cost of P5M and many donors or sponsors in the likes of Danding Lucero, Bobby de Ocampo, and Tony Sumbingco, who took over the leadership of the Foundation, have heartfully given these scholars a job upon graduation to start them off into a career.
Br Rafe made such a difference that he was adopted as a son of the city in 1996 and after his tenure was bestowed the title of President Emeritus of DLS Lipa.
He has served as chair, vice-chair, or president in practically all Lasallian schools in the Philippines with the possible exception of La Salle College Antipolo. He is a professor-on-call in DLSU-Dasmariñas, De La Salle Lipa, and DLSU-Manila’s College of Education. Br Rafe is the current auxiliary brother visitor of De La Salle Brothers – Philippine District. “Recycled,” he says since he was Brother Visitor for 7 years in the 80s.

Honoring one of the Pillars of La Salle
Looking back at the daunting challenges that came his way, he can easily say that a major key in success is to keep looking for solutions to problems and not to give up easily when the challenges get to become too heavy.
To succeed, Br Rafe knew he had to work extra hard, to be consistent, and to live a Christian life. It was the only way to get ahead as one of the pillars of La Salle institution in the Philippines. “Education is a very important mission of the Church and our participation in it according to the charism of the Founder St. John Baptist de la Salle makes it a driving force,” opines the Brother.
It may all be worth it when they do make the cut for this year’s Distinguished Lasallian Awardee… “I feel very honored to be among so many alumni who have done well in life as a result of their Lasallian education. There are many more who are doing very well but doing it so quietly and competently that only a few know of their life and accomplishments. These alumni are the ones that give me inspiration and indicate that our educational philosophy is embedded in wisdom,” Br Rafe later advises.
“These are the serendipities of my life as a Brother and as a graduate of this university. The discoveries either by accident or sagacity have been a source of wonderment and a continued well of energy to inspire me not to be weary in doing well (St. Paul) and do more for others as we continue the arduous task at Nation Building”, he candidly says.
By being open to discovery, one discovers in a delightful way new experiences. The life of a Brother and the activities that are involved in it can open layers of serendipitous delights. The people that one meets open up whole new worlds and vistas of vicarious experiences.