Message
from the President
 Dear
Friends,
At last, the much awaited update of our group's website
is completed! After more than a year of, shall I say, hibernation
our homepage is now again in business, serving its purpose
as it was concocted the first time it was launched a few years
back - to foster an international linkage among us, our senpais,
and our friends across the seas, and to reflect what has transpired
in every events which the organization spearheaded.
Indubitably, the emergence of information technology and the
Internet beginning the early 1990s was one of the great feats
of the decade. While their usage continues to expand, the
world shrinks. Space has never been a hurdle to information
searching since then. By just a click in the mouse, we are
exposed to innumerable information around the globe.
As an organization, the Association of Filipino Scholars
in Tsukuba (FAST) cannot just sit and observe in awe at this
development. We must participate in the exchange of information
in an international web of networks linked via the Internet.
This was precisely our vision when we planned to update and
re-launch our homepage. Let me have this opportunity to thank
the indefatigable members of the Website Committee or WEBCOM
who had shared their talents and time for this worthy endeavor:
Kathy Develos-Bagarinao, Anthony Halog, Butch Talorete, Joey
Santos, Ellen Talleon, and the incumbent PIO, Efren Antimano.
Our gratitude also goes to Mr. Benny Tutor for providing us
an article on the history of FAST.
Although I had planned for the creation of this exclusive
committee a few months back I did not initiate to form it
until I was certain that Kathy and Ton, whom we requested
to administer the update, would become part of this team.
Under the current set up, the re-organized Committee on Website
shall be more or less a regular structure where the incumbent
President is an ex-officio member. The regular members shall
continue to assist the Association's Public Information Officer
(PIO), who acts at the same time as the Webmaster under our
by-laws, until they request the President to replace them.
The role of Public Information Officer as Webmaster is however
co-terminus with his position. The purpose of having this
more or less permanent structure is that we wanted to have
a continuous update of the website unaffected by any alteration
of Officers. As mentioned, although our constitution indicates
that the PIO should act as the Webmaster of the Association's
Website {Article IV section 7 (3)}, it is not remote that
a member of FAST who has no background in homepage design
may be elected as PIO in the future. Thus, this Committee
was formed primarily to assist the PIO on a regular basis
in maintaining our website. Overall, the Website Committee
(WEBCOM) is hereby constituted by virtue of Article IV section
1 (3) which states that the President of FAST can create,
whenever necessary a committee for specific tasks and projects.
It was also suggested in our deliberation that the Association
must have its own domain as much as possible. Having our own
domain will give us enough space to maneuver and expand the
site further. However, pecuniary constraints prevented us
from acquiring one. For the meantime, as unanimously held,
we will utilize the tripod but our long-term plan should include
the acquisition of our own domain later.
Have a good day and happy reading to all!
Dennis D. Trinidad
President, Association of Filipino Scholars in Tsukuba (FAST)
2002-2003
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