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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed last Thursday,
February 17, Presidential Proclamation No. 794 declaring February 17 to 23, 2005 as Rotary Centennial Week.
The president enjoined all departments, agencies and
instrumentalities of the national government to extend cooperation and assistance to the various Philippine Rotary Districts nationwide to
celebrate with appropriate ceremonies and programs the role played by Rotary in the upliftment of the disadvantaged members of our society
and in bridging the gap between the privileged and underprivileged sectors of Philippine society.
 Rotary is now celebrating a century of service, and opens a new century of success. Rotary
was founded on February 23, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois, USA by Paul Harris (photo
right) together with three friends. Over the years, it has grown into a
service institution known as Rotary International with 529 Districts worldwide and 31,936 Rotary Clubs consisting of 1, 219,532 members in
166 countries. It has served and continues to serve practically every humanitarian need through its humanitarian, cultural and educational
programs.
Rotary was introduced in the Philippines in 1919, with the
organization of the Rotary Club of Manila, the first Rotary Club in Asia. The popular and prestigious movement has now grown into ten
Philippine Rotary Districts with more than seven hundred (700) Rotary Clubs all over the country.
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