GABRIEL B.

BERNAL
MAY 21, 2014

ANSWERS TO THE PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS: S.E.E.D. INSTITUTE
Please confirm if you have received already the answers to the preliminary questions. Thank you!

1. We wish to establish and strengthen a culture of extended family within our organization. Along
this line, we wish to ensure your family understands and appreciates our values, our visions, and
our concerns for country and God. Please describe to us your family, starting with your parents,
followed by each of your siblings. Describe their academic and work backgrounds.
I have a simple family. I could say that, we just live with a simple life, but we are working hand in
hand, through thick and thin. For about 26 years of happy living, Im proud to say that we are a
testament of a family with a strong foundation that could withstand any challenge in life.
My parents are simple and hardworking individuals. They both started out our family,
independently. Despite of the lack of financial resources that time, they managed to get through,
and they were able to successfully fulfill their responsibilities as parents, and impart the proper
values towards us, to become a good citizen of our country and God.
My father is a product of a large family. He started working when he was still at a young age. He
worked as a delivery boy, a salt-laborer, and a fisherman. Though he was not able to finish his
secondary education, because of financial difficulty, He was still a firm believer of education and
learning. He always reminds us, as children, the importance of finishing our studies, so that we could
be successful persons in the future. He was the one who looked closely over my growth, and made
sure that I grew up with proper values and attitude. I could say that hes very strict. He was the one
who disciplines me, whenever I made bad acts or behaviors. Currently, he works as a canteen
concessionaire of a factory.
Though she came from a typical family, my mother started working when she was young. To finance
her studies, she started working when she was in the Secondary School. She used to perform a part-
time job with his uncle in the business of dress-making, in exchange of subsistence allowance. My
father used to tell us the story that my grandfather, did not allowed my mother to go to school
because, he felt that she will just be a housewife someday, and that any effort for education will just
be wasted. But because, my mother was eager to finish her studies, she worked double-time. She
managed to work in the evening and study in the morning. With her passion and diligence, she
graduated and became a certified public accountant. I could say that shes a hardworking person. No
one else could ever be compared to her. She works hard as a Finance Manager of a non-profit
organization, a professor of accountancy and taxation, who loves to inspire students and teach the
proper values and skills for their development, and most of all, a loving mother who never gets tired
of doing household chores and responsibilities for her family. Shes not the kind of mother who
tolerates our wants. She taught us that in life, nothing is free, and that we really need to work hard
to achieve what we want.
Im the eldest of the three sons. My brother whos next to me, has just recently graduated, and hes
now working as a data encoder in a diagnostic clinic. Hes a very goal-oriented individual. He has an
ambition. I could say that hes not someone who could easily be enticed by short-term happiness,
but instead, someone who has bright plan for himself and towards his family. I remembered his
graduation letter for my parents. He said sorry for it took him sometime to finish his studies, but
pledged to help already and take care of us.
My youngest brother is currently pursuing his college degree in financial management. Hes also
interested in current events, which we always talk about, be it political, environmental, social and
economic. Hes very thrifty. I never heard him complained of getting low allowances, nor about
using old things that we have already utilized when we were still in school. He understands well the
status of our family, and the concept of saving.
2. What exactly are your short-term and long-term career goals?
Im very determined to take up a job that is in lined with my field of study, International Relations,
because thats what I believe Im best at, and more importantly, thats what I love. Perhaps, I have
been exposed to debate experiences that made me seen the real pictures of the surroundings.
Politically, economic, environmentally and socially, I become aware of these current issues that we
are being confronted of. I used to dig into the details and every angle of propositions and policies
being forwarded to solve those problems. So, perhaps, this is where Im happy with, and where I
could see myself dealing with even for the rest of my life. I could say that this has been my long term
plan, to be part of an organization committed for the transformation of the environment. 5 years or
even 10 years from now, I could see myself still part of the organization, if given the chance, helping
advocate the concept of sustainable development to my fellowmen.
After graduating college, I already intended to find a work that would fit in my interest, but because
at that point, our family encountered a financial problem, and as an eldest, I felt the greater
responsibility to, at least, ease the burdens of my parents, I decided to temporarily let go of my
intended plan, and look for a more practical solution. I started to work in the BPO industry, where
the compensation is more competitive.
Now, I could say that weve surpassed that problem and since I think Ive achieve already the state
where Im now financially secured, here I am, already beginning to work on my career plans, hoping
to work with your firm under the advocacy of sustainable development, and ready to take greater
challenges.
As a short-term goal, Im pursuing my Master degree in Communication Management. This would
help me fulfill my task effectively and efficiently.
3. Given the choice between getting a scholarship for further studies with subsistence allowance
and a steady rise in your learning, or earning curves to above industry standards, which might
you be inclined to choose and why?
Im a firm believer of continuous growth and learning. Maybe, this has been the influence of my
parents. So, given the choice now, I would prefer to get a scholarship grant for further studies with
subsistence allowance, rather than receiving an above-average compensation. In the long-run, it
would be advantageous to take the benefits of education, because this is something that cannot be
easily lost nor stolen. Moreover, knowledge and skills are prerequisites to stay competitive,
especially nowadays, where there has been a rapid technological advancement. I believe that, for
me to become socially-relevant, I need to have up-to-date skills necessary to fulfill my part in every
task that Im working at, and to be able to work along with others who has the same knowledge and
skills. This has been the main reason, why Im currently taking up my master degree in
Communication Management.
4. What motivates you to go the extra mile on a project?

In every project that I work on, I always exert my best effort to make it beyond the standards. By
just seeing the fruits of my labor being appreciated by my clients, its more than enough for me to
push for more.
5. Can you give a few examples of what you consider are your major achievements in life to this
date?
I never forgot the feeling when I became a semi-finalist of the Intramuros Debate Cup before. I
never expected to be at that position, because I have a very competitive pool of challengers that
time, who are already veterans of debates and who came from prestigious universities. When they
announced that my teammate and I made it through to the semi-finals, I was very happy, because
our hard-works paid off. I remembered, we practice and deliver speeches for about 5 hours in the
morning. After which, we do some rigorous research. At night, we devoted another 4 hours of brain-
storming and one-to-one debate stand-offs. For me, it was the most memorable achievement of my
life, probably because, I know I put so much time and effort on it to make that happen.
6. Give an example of the biggest challenge or problem you may have encountered in work and/or
in life, and describe in detail how you manage to sort out, address well, and overcome such a
challenge.
The most difficult position that Ive been into was when I got promoted to the rank of an Accounts
Retention Specialist. Unlike in previous roles, I needed to balance customer satisfaction, convince
the clients to stay and use our products, and lastly, made sure that the customer will still get
another product. Since most of them had previous bad experience with my co-employees and with
the companys product, more often than not, they were really upset. At the beginning, I almost felt
that I will not any more stay long with the company. I almost lost my confidence. So what I did, was
to ask for the help of my supervisor, and ask for advices and tips. Of course, I know that the
improvements will not happen overnight. So, I kept practicing after work, even before I slept. I also
did some research on how to engage customers that are upset. I found the importance of active
listening, empathizing, and reestablishing the value of the products. After several months, I became
consistent of having excellent customer feedbacks, and at the same time, meeting the required
number of sales.
7. Give an example of leadership roles you have experienced and how you managed people either
during your college days or previous/current work.
During my college years, I have been given the opportunity to become a leader in my debate
organizations. In the UPLB Debate Society, I started out as a member, and then was entrusted with
the role of being their Publications Minister, and later on risen to the ranks as their President and as
a Prime Minister.
As a Minister of Publications, I had a pool of members in which I closely worked with. I usually
delegated tasks towards them, and monitored their progresses. Im an action-oriented individual
and leader, so I always checked their daily reports, and made sure that everything was properly
taken care of on time. If there were problems, I worked hand in hand with the member/s to identify
the root cause, strategize and implement the necessary adjustments.
As a President and a Prime Minister, I exercised an open-minded and democratic type of leadership.
I believe that the problems of the organization is not just my problem, but the issue of the members
also. So, I consulted each one of them of their opinions and suggestions. In deciding, I made it to the
point that my members will be able to understand why I chose such decision, and take full
responsibility on it. In terms of ruling, I could say that Im strict with the implementations of the by-
laws of the organization. Everyone was equal. I didnt give special treatments. As for me, I had
applied the laws of the organization, not because I would want to show off my power and authority,
but because I would want the whole organization to benefit, and at the same time to produce and
hone members that are well-disciplined, have the right attitude and to come up with outstanding
performances.
As a Vice-Chancellor for Varsity of the Lyceum of the Philippines University, I also employed the
same strategies. I made sure that discipline should be imbibed by the members for their growth as
an individual, and as part of the organization. Since the role of the VC for Varsity is a very crucial and
sensitive one, I led with transparency. Their performances were closely tracked. I made sure that
they were aware of it, so that they will be able to improve on it after. Being a VC for Varsity, it takes
a lot of patience, and I must say, passion. I understood that everyone doesnt have the same
intellectual capacity, knowledge, skills and personality, so, I implemented strategies that would fit
their backgrounds. I did not lose hope, and kept helping them improve until progresses were
observed. Whenever they lost confidence, Im made myself present at all times to listen, cheer them
up, and inspire.
8. Which project or job did you enjoyed doing most? Cite an example of your work related
successes.
The task that I enjoyed the most was when I took the Vice Chancellor for Varsity role. I was very
happy whenever I saw positive changes, be it big or small, from those whom I helped with.
As for work related task, I enjoyed being an Accounts Retention Specialist. Though, there were
pressures on quotas, and most of the time, burst on emotions from clients, no amount of fulfillment
could equate their words of appreciation, thanks and apology. It was such a great accomplishment
whenever I made the upset customers realize that Id been there to listen and eager to help.
9. What do you understand of sustainable development? What do you think is the most pressing
issue for sustainable development?
Sustainable Development is a development in line with the balance between satisfying our needs
with that of meeting the demands of the future generations. Its about making sure that whatever
we have now, should be extended to the next generations. Given that the resources of the world are
limited, Sustainable development is about the responsible preservation, utilization, and
improvement of these finite resources for the benefit of the next stakeholders. Sustainable
development rests on the interrelated value and giving of priorities to economic growth, ecological
balance and social progress.
Nowadays, since there has been an over-priority of economic wants, we had exploited so much the
environment to the point of almost exhausting it. Forests were being transformed into farm lands
and realties. Mountains, together with its mineral deposits were heavily extracted to make money
out of it. Our marine and land creatures, even the infants, were being poached. Our air and waters
were being polluted by factories and vehicles. Environmental degradation and the climate change, in
my opinion, is the most pressing issue of sustainable development.
10. How important do you think is it for the following to undertake sustainable development
measures?

LARGE COMPANIES
The maximization of profits and the minimization of expenditures are the main formula of
businesses, especially the large corporations. Many big businesses are hesitant to engage the
calls for sustainable development, because they feel that the more environment-friendly they
become, the less revenue they will earn and the more cost they will incur. Contrary to this idea, I
believe that it is important for the large companies to embrace sustainable development on
their system, not just because of their corporate social responsibility, but also, since it would
translate into less input-requirements for the production, and more innovative products, in
which the public is most in loved with. In short, sustainable development promises less cost of
production-inputs, and more revenue due to the increasing demand of green products.
SMEs
Given that small and medium enterprises has less capital and more susceptible for collapse,
sustainable development has just been given a little priority by the SMEs. What must be realized
by the small and medium enterprises, is the competitive advantage that the sustainable
development may bring for their survival. With the pressures being exerted by National
Governments, Non-Government Organizations and the responsible citizens, some firms have
already started to reconstruct their competitive advantage in the areas of sustainable
development. With such market trend, where people are becoming more health and
environmentally conscious, it would be beneficial for small and medium enterprises to exploit
sustainable development, rather than catching-up, when everyone else has already rode the
trend. Furthermore, since it has been predicted that energy prices will continuously increase,
there will definitely be big savings that will be gained in the long run, by investing now on green
technologies.
LGUs
Local Governments as a smaller unit of the government has a very important role to play in
promoting sustainable development. As the unit that is nearest to the people, it is the most
knowledgeable of the needs of the community. By undertaking the road of sustainable
development, every member of the community would be expected to get a job, most especially
in the field of eco-tourism. This would mean greater public participation, more employment,
and an increased revenue for the local government units, necessary for the delivery of basic
social services.
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
The national government bears the full responsibility of improving the lives of the people,
spurring the national economic growth and maintaining the ecological balance of the nature.
Therefore, it is in the best interest of the country leaders, to implement policies enveloping
sustainable development to easily achieve all of the states objectives.
WORLD AS A WHOLE
It is unarguably in the best interest of the entire world to practice sustainable development at
the moment. The climate change, the endangerment of species, the deadly catastrophes, the
environmental degradation and the scarcity of resources, are only some of the consequences
that confront us by continuously ignoring the road of sustainable development. It is not yet late
to counter the effects of our laxity and greed. Thus, by applying sustainable development
measure with the sense of urgency, there is a big chance that the next generations will still be
able to see the exact real world where we live in, a world where there is economic prosperity,
clean and green environment, and progressive human lives.
11. Do you believe the following are doing enough for sustainable development?

LARGE CORPORATIONS
It has been reported that one-third of the total of the worlds environmental damage was
contributed by the large corporations in exchange for gaining profits. It is definitely a must to
make sure that big firms should give more share of care towards the surroundings. Even though,
corporate social responsibility projects were already being employed by the large corporations
as pay back, I believe that its not yet enough.
Despite of the study presented by the S&P 500 index of more than 300 firms complying and
presenting reports of their greenhouse gas inventories each year to the Carbon Disclosure
Project, and the Fortune 100 companies allocating millions to meet the renewable energy
targets, these developments are not yet of comparable to withstand the destruction that our
earth confronts. Not until the big businesses have integrated the sustainable development
practices in their long-term strategies, the efforts to mitigate the environmental degradation
would still be insufficient.
SMEs
In the Philippines, there has been a positive reaction by the small and medium enterprises to
the appeal for a sustainable development. Many of our entrepreneurs are already using raw
materials that are organic, environment-friendly, and recycled, and are also taking part of the
sustainable development efforts such as tree planting and so on. I recognize the level of efforts
forwarded by the SMEs, but I believe that there is still more to contribute. With further
education and trainings to the public, they could even pressure their big competitors to join the
sustainable development trend.
LGUs
Perhaps, the greatest challenge for the local government leaders to fully win the battle of
sustainable development would be the vested interests that usually envelope themselves. Being
the nearest to the nature and the people, it should be their mandate to properly enforce the
laws. Unfortunately, there has been numerous reports that the local leaders themselves are the
ones who are allowing themselves to be used by large corporations, in exchange of bribes. The
result was not just a toothless government unit, but, sadly, a conspirator of the crimes against
the environment. Lucky enough that our country never loses people who are hopeful of the
sustainable development advocacy. With the help of the civil society groups, the ordinary
citizens, and the media, what the local governments is negligent of, has been reversed and
supplanted. Though this may be seen as a good sign, it would have been easily attainable if all
the sectors, most especially the LGUs will cooperate and take lead.
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
For many years, the Philippine government has already began setting up concrete mechanisms
on sustainable development, through laws and regulations. Starting with the creation of an
office that would look into the details of the environmental concerns of the country by the
Aquino administration, going through the formation of the Philippine Agenda 21 of the Ramos
regime, up to the passages of the Comprehensive Air Pollution Control Policy and the Solid
Waste Management Act, clearly, there has been at least an attempt by the government to
engage the sustainable development consciousness and environmental concerns of the public.
But, still, we could see continuous corrosion of efforts, in terms of the monitoring and the
implementation of such mechanisms. It would have been stronger, if there will be a continuous,
corroborated, and persistent translation of writings into actions. As regard the implementation,
I believe that thats where the government has a greater opportunity to work on.
WORLD AS A WHOLE
For the world as a whole, I believe that we dont have to wait for the big consequences of
setting aside the sustainable development to occur. As the caretaker of the world, all of us
should be united in addressing the global concerns for environmental and social degradation. It
is not sufficient that we fulfill our responsibilities within our own backyards. We also have the
responsibility to educate and even force those stakeholders that keeps on disregarding our plea
to take actions.
YOURSELF (MYSELF)
Waste segregation, recycling, and water and power conservation are some ways that I carry out
to accept the challenge of sustainable development. However, I feel that I could still do more.
These significant pieces of efforts, could have been more productive and has a potential to
become insurmountable in the mitigation of the looming environmental and social catastrophe,
if I could be able to pass-on the knowledge and the skills to other people. Feasibly, with my
background and with the help of your organization, I would be able to plant the seeds of
sustainable development to others. I am very much hopeful that I would be able to convince
more of my citizens, and leaders to take part in this global call for sustainable development.
12. Are you prepared to undergo rigid training for 3 months, considering you will need to learn
many new things within a short period of time to fully contribute to the team effort?
I am used to pressures, and comfortable of undergoing rigid trainings for a small amount of time,
due to my debate and work experiences. I have been used to perform more than what is expected
from me, and to be able to attain that, I know that I have to sacrifice and exert more efforts.
13. Are you willing to travel around the Philippines for short durations to conduct trainings, to help
gather pertinent data, and /or to conduct interviews of LG executives, and/or to help manage
the project that might be assigned to you?
Travelling is one of my hobbies. Im very much willing to travel around the Philippines in conducting
trainings, gathering pertinent information, and engaging local authorities to be able to accomplish
my assigned task. I would deem it as a great learning experience to improve on my job, and also to
know more about our environment, our culture, and our country.
14. Do you reside outside of Greater Manila Area?
I reside in Marikina City, which is still part of the Greater Manila area.