JOE TALE

JOE Tale was suddenly thrust into center position in the Couples for Christ community following the events that resulted from the resignation of CFC’s top leaders in February 2007. Joe was chosen by the remaining Council members as CFC Director (Chairman and President), and by the GK Board as Chairman of Gawad Kalinga. After the June 2007 election of the new International Council, Joe was again chosen to the same positions. Joe and wife Babylou have been members of CFC since 1986, or 22 years ago, and Joe has been a member of the International Council since 1995.

In 1989, Joe and Babylou, who are both from Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, brought CFC to their home city and province. They served as the first provincial head of Negros Oriental. Later, they served as Regional Head of Central Visayas, consisting of the provinces of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor.

Joe and Babylou and their two daughters Vida and Rica are a devoted CFC family. Vida and Rica grew up in community, starting from Youth for Christ and later Singles for Christ, holding leadership positions in the Family Ministries. Vida, after finishing college in Ateneo de Manila University, served in YFC and later in KFC, all told for four years before seeking a career elsewhere. Rica, a dentist, served as a unit head of YFC, and later continued to serve actively in SFC, also as Unit Head. She recently got married to Jon Hizon, another active Unit Head of SFC, and son of CFC fulltime pastoral workers Bing and Ellen Hizon.

Joe has had extensive professional experience both in the private sector and government. A lawyer, he served as General Counsel of the Shell Group of companies in the Philippines. He was also invited to serve in government twice. He was Cabinet Undersecretary and Deputy Head of the Presidential Management Staff during the term of President Cory Aquino. He returned to the private sector but in 2001, upon the assumption of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as President, he was again invited to serve in government as Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of the President. Joe’s service as a senior government official afforded a great opportunity to evangelize government. Thus, under his leadership, the STMA-led CLPs in government offices intensified. In Malacanang alone, three CLPs were conducted for government career officials there. Now, CFC is established in about 60 national government departments and agencies, in addition to evangelization initiatives at the local government level.

As CFC Director, a position he did not seek, Joe is committed to be submitted and faithful to the one vision and mission of CFC of renewing the face of the earth. He also is committed to preserving and defending CFC, to maintaining its essence as one governance structure and process, one culture, one global family.

ROUQUEL PONTE

ROUQUEL Ponte was first elected to the International Council in June 1993, right after Couples for Christ was spun off from the Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon, CFC’s mother community. He has been in the Council for 15 years.

Rouquel and wife Nina (nee Faustino) attended their Christian Life Program in August 1982 at the Corinthian Gardens home of Paquito and Pinky Tanjangco. At present, aside from being a member of the International Council, he is also a member of the Gawad Kalinga Board, Pro-Life Director and International Missions Director. Nina is an artist and writer and is a much-sought after training consultant. She likes to say that, like a good CFC wife, her major service is to be a good wife and to fully and wholeheartedly support her husband in the performance of his pastoral and service duties.

Rouquel and Nina were wed on January 10, 1976 and have a daughter, Ma-an (Fatima Antonia) who is a graduating medical student from the UERMMC. Ma-an is active in Singles for Christ. Rouquel speaks of the grace of being a servant and how he is able to balance his service and his personal responsibilities: “Being a member of the International Council presents a challenge to personal and family life, especially because of my full schedule and the frequent traveling I have to do as part of my mission responsibilities. Being in the IC gives me an opportunity and privilege to serve God and the CFC community. I need the special grace of God, a strong personal prayer life, grounding in the Scriptures and a solid sacramental life, as well as the strong support of Nina and Ma-an and of course the entire community in order for me to do the work God has given. The recent trials that we faced as a community shook us but it did not destroy us because of our prayers and our reliance on God as our protector and guide. I believe the crisis was our moment of grace. The Lord wants to move us to a higher plane so that we can be more fruitful in our service to Him and to humankind.”

ERNESTO E. MAIPID, JR.

ERNIE Maipid is now on his second term as member of the International Council. At present, his responsibilities as Council member is as Pastoral Formation Office Director and as overseer of the Ugnayan magazine. Ernie left his Country Director post at the United Nations Development Programme to be a full time worker. He finished his high school at the Ateneo de Manila and his Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication and his Master of Arts in Communication Research at the University of the Philippines.

Ernie met Gigi (the former Cherilyn de Castro) at the Sacred Heart Parish in Kamuning where they were both youth church leaders, Ernie as head of the parish youth organization and editor of the parish newsletter and Gigi as youth leader of another organization. At that time, she was discerning a call to join the Pink Sisters. Instead she married Ernie (on December 10, 1977) who, if his mother had her way, would have been a priest.

Ernie suffered a stroke in 2001 but this did not deter him from doing more service for the community. He continues to travel all over the country and even to far off places like Africa to give talks and to monitor pastoral formation activities. Ernie and Gigi have been in community for the past 22 years. Like many others, they speak of their journey in CFC in terms of servanthood. Ernie says, “I am at no better place, at no better time. I consider this the peak of my service thus far, enhancing both my personal, as well as family life. When Council service ends, I am confident God will continue to use me for His purposes to the end. My only task is to obey.

My family serves with me. Gigi is a full time worker too, as Office Manager for Health Services. Paolo, our 24-year old second son, an Economics graduate from the Ateneo, is also a full time worker, serving as a GK volunteer. Karlo, 26, our eldest, is a registered nurse and is in Singles for Christ. Our youngest, Camina, 20, is in third year college at the UST and is an active member of Youth for Christ TORCH. We have a four-year old foster son, David, who is waiting to join the rest of the family of Gigi’s sister in the U.S.”

We are reminded of our original intent to grow and truly be Couples FOR Christ. The Lord has enabled us to move from goodness to greatness, and there is indeed much, much more that lies ahead. The future indeed spells a “fullness of hope.”

LITO TAYAG

LITO (real name Jose) Tayag and his wife Linda have been with CFC for 24 years, having attended their CLP way back in October 1984.

Lito’s list of service positions held in CFC is a long one, considering the length of time he and Linda have been in community and considering that Lito has never refused any service. This is not Lito’s first time to serve as International Council member. He was elected to the Council way back in 1995 and served three terms until 2001. Prior to this, he was a member of the then CFC Board of Trustees from 1991 to 1995. Lito is a Certified Public Accountant and until his retirement very recently, was a partner at the Price Waterhouse Company, an accounting and auditing firm. He was only 19 when he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the East. He took the accountancy board at age 20 and was in 14th place. Because he was so young, he could not practice his profession and so at the tender age of 21, he became a professor. He also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

It was while Lito was teaching that he met Linda. She was one of his students in Accounting. They got married on October 21, 1976 and the union has produced three children: Nina, now a dentist and serving in SFC, Mito, a UP graduate and now serving in Tekton, also with SFC and Jenni, a marketing accountant with URC, also in SFC. Nina and Mito served in YFC and they also went to different provinces and countries to conduct youth camps.

Lito and Linda are proudest of the fact that aside from their family, they have both brought into CFC and its Family Ministries all their blood brothers and sister.

JOE YAMAMOTO

JOE Yamamoto is simply “Joeyam” to everyone. The distinguished surgeon does not mind not being addressed as doctor. He also does not mind people knowing that he came from a poor family and that his father exerted all efforts to ensure that his children could get the one treasure he could leave them – a good education.

These are the facts of Joe’s life that he will not willingly announce to everyone: He graduated magna cum laude from his Bachelor of Science course at the University of Santo Tomas. Four years later, he also graduated magna cum laude, when he finished medicine from the same school. During graduation, he was awarded the Philippine Medical Association Award for Academic Excellence. He was also adjudged “Outstanding Intern for 1974” at the UST Hospital. When he took the medical board exams, he was the 6th placer.

It was in medical school where he met Mila, who would become his wife. What followed graduation was the usual residencies not only in the Philippines but in prestigious hospitals in Texas and Washington, DC, USA to further his training in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. He also is a member of many medical boards and organizations. He has been an examiner of the Philippine Board of Surgery (Cardiovascular & Thoracic Specialty) from 1986 up to the present. He has received many awards but the one he treasures most is his being awarded the order of the Knight of St. Sylvester in 1999 by the Holy Father at the Vatican.

Joe has been a member of the International Council since 1997. Prior to that, he was also a member of the Board of Elders (1995-97). From the time of its inception in 1997 up to the present, Joe has been head of the medical mission ministry. He is also a member of the GK Board.

JOEY ARGUELLES

JOEY Arguelles is a very unassuming person, and he himself will tell you that he is a “promdi,” (slang for “from the province”) complete with Batangueno accent. But his dedication and commitment to Couples for Christ is unquestioned. He and wife Tess (nee Evangelista) attended the Christian Life Program in 1987 in Batangas City and they have never looked back.

Joey graduated with degrees in Commerce and Management and worked in various positions in government, among them in the Records Section of the Rizal Provincial Hospital, as regional budget officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for Region 4 and finally as Executive Assistant to the then Governor of Batangas until 1990. He even tried his hand at business when he opened, in 1990, his own restaurant and catering business together with wife Tess. He left all these in 1991 when he became a full-time worker for CFC Batangas. “I could no longer reconcile my being a member of Couples for Christ with the demands and the worldly lures of my public administration career. I chose the work of the Lord and I have never regretted it.”

Like everyone else, Joey has run the gamut of service within CFC – from being household head, to unit head, to chapter head and provincial area head of CFC Batangas. He has also served as Regional Area Head for Bicol, and now, as an elected member of the International Council, as Luzon Mission Director.

Joey and Tess were married on October 10, 1964. Their union has borne five children: Ma. Teresita, a dentist and member of the Singles for Christ; Ma. Josefina, a doctor connected with Philhealth and who is the Provincial Coordinator for SFC Batangas; Ma. Antoniette, a lawyer connected with Robinson Land and a chapter head in SFC; Joselito, an assistant manager at Metrobank who is a sector head in SFC; and Ma. Zarah Charisma, now working fulltime at the Home Office as Events Manager with GKom. She is a household head with SFC.

Joey has a very simple philosophy, one that has stood him in good stead, even in the face of the trials and difficulties of 2007: Fix our eyes on Jesus. He is in control!

MELO VILLAROMAN JR.

MELO is the youngest among the seven Council members. But he has equally impressive credentials. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines in 1984.

He worked with Procter & Gamble Company for 22 years, the last 12 years of which were with P&G Asia based in Singapore. His last assignment in P&G was Director for Customer Business Development covering the countries of ASEAN, India, China and Japan.

In December 2005, at age 42, he retired from this very lucrative and challenging job to go back to the Philippines and serve as a full-time mission volunteer in Gawad Kalinga. He was the most surprised when, after two years of dedicated service in GK, he was nominated and elected to the CFC International Council on June 22, 2007. As Council member, Melo has oversight responsibilities over the Family Ministries. He has also been appointed as Home Office Director where he is putting his administrative and human resource skills to work, transforming the Home Office into what he calls “the Heart, the Home and the Hands of our CFC vision and mission.”

According to Melo, the Home Office radiates “the Heart of God’s presence in our community.” It also should be “the Home…where members (gain) experience of our Father’s love, guidance and joy.” The Home Office is also tasked to be “the helpful Hands that enable God’s work – effective, efficient and faithful.”

Melo is happily married to Nini (for 18 years) and very proud of his two sons, Dave, 17, and Sam, 11. His whole family serves in Couples for Christ and its Family Ministries (Singapore, Malaysia, and Philippines).