COMMUNITY service for many is but another diversion or something to pass time with. For some, however, being of service to the community and providing assistance to those in distress comes naturally.
This is true for Virgilio Cuizon, a dependable community leader in Germany.
Cuizon’s personal quest of providing assistance to his kababayans (fellow countrymen) started in 1983, when he and other young Filipinos established the Barangay sa Aleman ya (BSA), a Filipino-German association based in Germany.
As BSA’s founding president, he began to organize social, athletic and cultural activities that are aimed at promoting Philippine culture in Germany and in other European countries.
One of his major projects was the first three-day Pistang Pilipino, a major gathering of Filipinos and Germans from all over Germany in celebration of the richness and grandeur of Filipino culture and tradition. He also conducted a series of workshops on leadership, Filipino culture and tradition, and stage play presentation for Filipino youths, with the view of utilizing their talents and skills in promoting Filipino music, art and fashion, and instilling in them a sense of appreciation of their heritage.
During his term as founding president of Barangay sa Europa and Association Lending Assistance in Exigencies at Home (ALA EH), Cuizon played a vital role in implementing successful projects that foster camaraderie and friendship, maintain physical and mental fitness, and reinforce positive Filipino values and traditions.
He helped organize concerts of Philippine-based choirs, such as Coro Classico, UP Filipiniana, DLSU Choir, DLSU-CSB Choir, UPLB Choir, Palawan Choral Group and UE Choir, in European cities. In 1992, eight years after the successful Pistang Pilipino, Cuizon spearheaded the Philippine Week Fair, where the best of the country’s music, art, fashion and cuisine was showcased in the city of Langenfeld, Germany.
Promoting the arts and organizing charity projects seem to be two distinct tasks, but Cuizon linked the two in 1991 when the Philippines was struck by a series of natural calamities. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo and the onslaught of Super Typhoon Rufing left parts of the country devastated. In cooperation with the Philippine Consulate in Düsseldorf, Cuizon organized a fundraising campaign for the displaced indigenous people in Porac, Pampanga and the typhoon victims through the Philippine National Red Cross. In 1993, he initiated the project “Help Build the Philippines,” which led to the construction of classrooms, health centers, sanitary amenities, multipurpose halls and deep wells in underdeveloped areas in the country. About 20 municipalities benefited from the two-year program. In directing the rock musical play “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Cuizon was able to help in raising financial proceeds that resulted in the construction of an operating room in Mati Hospital, Northern Davao. He also directed two more musicals, “Grease” and “Ito Ang Filipino,” in connection with the fundraising project of ALA EH. Both plays were successfully presented at the ALA EH Charity Gala and the 2003 Independence Day Celebration.
While Cuizon has recently retired and returned home for good in his hometown in Batangas, he continues to pursue his advocacies by collaborating with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas in some of its programs.