Mr. Jose Francisco Cifra
Mr. Jose Franciso Cifra, Blessed Brother Arnould Reche FSC Distinguished Alumni awardee for Church Involvement, Community Service or Social Responsibility and Environment, went to De La Salle Lipa from 1968 to 1972 for his secondary education and started to make a mark even as a young Lasallian. Back in high school, he has already displayed wit and talent. He became the chairman of Circulo Literati, a Bulik staff and editor, a student council president and was an active member of other organizations.
He studied at De La Salle University Manila where he took AB, BSBA and MBA. He has built a career in banking, having worked with Philippine banks here in the Philippines, in Honk Kong, and in Italy.
His belief is clearly and beautifully demonstrated in his life as a Rotarian. In 2001, he became a member of the Rotary Club of Loyola Heights. In 2002 he visited a depressed area called Brookside in Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, a relocation site for informal settlers evicted from their temporary shelters, mostly made of scrap tin, lumber and nylon sacks. As a member of the Couples for Christ, he was there to explore the possibility of doing evangelical work in the area. Walking along a muddy alley, he saw a middle-aged lady putting her child to sleep in her arms as she sat on an old chair. From her he learned of the miserable life of the family and how difficult it had been for her child to live in such conditions. Her story touched him and as he left, he laid his hand on her shoulder and promised to be back.
A few days later he presented to his club and the district governor a proposal to provide shelter to the squatter families in Brookside. The proposal was readily approved and a memorandum of agreement was then signed among Rotary International District 3780, Gawad Kalinga, Couples for Christ and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. That agreement planted the seed for the Rotary Gawad Kalinga Village-Brookside.
Today 300 homes make up the Rotary Gawad Kalinga Village-Brookside, which shelters the city’s poorest of the poor. Over the years, Rotary conducted pediatric and adult tuberculosis treatment programs, vocational trainings, organization of a Rotary Community Corps, medical-dental missions, book donation, mass wedding, deep well drilling and construction of a water purification station, projects for sanitation and upkeep of the environment and a host of other activities for the community’s order and beauty and the residents’ well-being.
In recognition of his rare passion for service and unbending commitment to excellence, he was accorded honor and praise on the club, district, and international levels. The Rotary Club of Loyola Heights presented him with the Most Outstanding Baby Rotarian Award in 2002 and the Most Outstanding Rotarian Award in 2003, 2006, and 2010. Rotary International District 3780 recognized him as the Most Outstanding President in 2004, the Most Outstanding District Officer in 2005 and the Most Outstanding Rotarian in 2006.
In the district and in other countries, he has been recognized for the shelter-for-the-homeless project, the Rotary Gawad Kalinga Village-Brookside. Rotary clubs and other organizations around the world look up to this project as a perfect model for building better communities and bringing hope to the lives of the less privileged.
One of the most recent awards that he received was from the Hawaii State Legislature for his contributions to the Rotary Club of Loyola Heights and Rotary International District 3780. He was honored for his vision to bring water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, medical attention to the sick, education to the illiterate and clothing for the needy.
He is married to Helen Sulit, herself a former banker, with whom he has three children: Andre, Marc and Don; and is currently the Senior Asst. Vice President of China Banking Corporation.