UP Beta Sigma Fraternity Honors Eddie Jose
Testimonial speech by Brod Vic Ramos in honor of Brod Egmidio Cesar Jose
Awardee, Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon
Good evening, brods.
Looking around this long table, I can see that
this is greatest gathering of brains and soft power not seen since Founders
Jesus Jaime, Rico Arranz and Teddy Padilla sat down for coffee in 1946 to launch
the best campus fraternity of the University of the Philippines.
Tonight’s special occasion is to honor a brother, Eddie
Jose. When I first read in the Manila Times the news about Brod Eddie being
conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the
Japanese ambassador in behalf of His Majesty The Emperor of Japan, I felt it was
a Eureka moment. — a sudden realization that something really important has
touched our lives in the fraternity. This is the first time in our fraternity’s
collective memory that an honor of such magnitude was given to a fraternity
brother. The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon is the highest
honor in a hierarchy of awards given by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to
outstanding foreign individuals.
On a more historic level, the award connects us to an
inflection point marked by the Meiji Restoration that abruptly shifted the
trajectory of Japan from feudalism to a global power today. The year was 1868.
After 260 years of isolation from the rest of the world, Japan was fraying on
its edges as it was falling behind the Western World that have advanced with new
ideas and technologies. Worse, the black ships of Admiral Matthew Perry were
menacingly anchored outside the shores of Edo. He threatened to invade if Japan
refused to open its borders. Realizing their predicament, contingents of young
samurais rose against the incumbent Tokugawa Shogunate and installed the Meiji
Emperor. Thus started a concerted movement toward national unification,
industrialization, public education and a stable security with a strong
military.
The success of this civilization-defining event brought
about a system of awards, ranked according to levels of importance. The highest
and most exclusive is the Order of the Chrysanthemum, established in 1877 by the
Meiji emperor and awarded mainly to members of Japan’s royal family, to foreign
royalty and rarely to distinguished heads of state. This is followed by the
Order of the Paulownia Flowers, established in 1888, typically awarded to
Japanese prime ministers, senior statesmen, select foreign heads of government,
distinguished cabinet ministers, jurists and military officers of the rank of
General or higher. The Order of the Rising Sun with the category given to Brod
Eddie Jose ranks highest among those given to outstanding citizens of the world.
There are four other awards below the Order of the Rising Sun honoring
distinguished individuals for their achievements in their respective fields.
In my view, the news report gave a superficial
explanation of why Brod Eddie was conferred the award. They mentioned his
efforts in various positions to bring about closer ties between our country and
Japan. But I know many industry leaders and presidents of the Philippine-Japan
Societies who were not similarly honored. What was not mentioned in the press
releases were the subtle influences of inherent Japanese values that defined the
success of the Meiji Restoration which they want perpetuated and ideally
embodied by prospective awardees— for Japanese nationals, social cohesion and
Samurai loyalty. For foreign individuals - strength of character and track
record of empowering others. In other words, they are looking for authentic
leaders. As modern management gurus today express it: “Managers organize;
leaders enable their people.”
The processes for these awards are quite thorough.
First nominations are evaluated. When accepted, they were subjected to thorough
research on the prospective awardee and his contributions to society. In the
case of Brod Eddie, the investigators must have looked at how he started his
businesses, the challenges he faced and whether he persevered and triumphed
against the expected challenges. They would be looking for emotional maturity
and self-control during challenging times, as expressed by the Japanese
principle of “gaman”.
And when he had expanded his business organization, how
did he arrange his team? Did he follow a hierarchical or a flat organization?
Did he enable the employees to take leads and gave them every chance to prove
their leadership skills? I looked at Brod Eddie’s business structure. Indeed he
followed a flat structure, meaning that he had many departments with a leader
reporting directly to him — giving him every chance to observe their work
closely and allowed them to achieve their full potentials. These are embodied in
the Japanese principles of Shu- Ha-Ri that define the three steps toward mastery
and leadership.
In closing, as we honor tonight Brod Eddie’s great
achievements and sterling qualities as a citizen of the world, it is my hope
that the values embodied by his rare and exalted award be translated into our
own fraternity’s roadmap for the future of our brotherhood. Our goal? Above all,
character. Nurtured for excellence and service. Thank you.
"Thank you Brothers for hosting the testimonal dinner.
I am truly honored and my heartful gratitude to all the kind words for me.
I will always cherish moments like this. Cheers to all my Betan Brothers."
-- Eddie