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DISTINCTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. LINDY C. MORRELL, Ph.D.

DISTINCTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. LINDY C. MORRELL, Ph.D. Service Track Record

I. STUDENT MILITANT LEADER IN THE DECADE OF THE 50’S When the Cebu College, University of the Philippines was closed by a powerful politician who held an important position in the Philippine Senate in retaliation for the Cebu College, U.P.’s College Publication protesting acts of political goons of Cebu City’s congressional lawmakers in terrorizing Cebuano voters to discourage them from voting for the political opposition during the national elections in the 1950s, student leader Lindy C. Morrell was tagged as one of the leaders of the U.P. students who made the public protest. He was mauled by goons in a public park. It was a reign of political terror. A dean of the U.S.C. College of Law was mauled inside the U.S.C. university lobby for criticizing the acts of political terrorism. The editor of a Cebu City daily newspaper had to hurriedly fly out to manila after the Pioneer Press editorial office was strafed by the goons. Undaunted by the acts of violence by the goons of a Cebuano Senate President, Lindy Morrell led student demonstrations at the grounds of the Philippine Congress Building in downtown Manila. Four bus loads of Cebuano U.P. students who moved over to U.P. Dilliman in Quezon City after U.P. Cebu College was closed. The powerful Cebuano Senate President scuttled the budget of Cebu College, U.P., a branch of state university in Metro Manila. II.

SERVED AS VOLUNTEER R.O.T.C. CADET WHO ACTED AS POLL SENTINELS IN THE 1953 ELECTIONS TO THWART POLITICAL TERRORISM Former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay won as Philippine President in that strife-ridden

election. R.O.T.C. Cadet Lindy Morrell and his squad were assigned in the Province of Bohol. They were able to apprehend terrorists in Sevilla, Bohol, enabling a war hero of World War II, a pilot of the Philippine Air Force, Bartolome Cabangbang to win as a Congressman despite the attempt to scare the voter in his district with the use of goons of a power Boholano Congressman. Despite in his successful thwarting of political goons, Lindy Morrell and his team received no medals nor recognition for their performance as poll guards in Central Visayas. III.

SCORED A NATIONAL JOURNALISTIC SCOOP When President Ramon Magsaysay perished in a plane crash in a mountain top of Cebu City,

freelance journalist Lindy C. Morrell successfully interviewed lone plane crash survivor Nestor Mata, a Manila journalist who refused to be interviewed by other newsmen for fear of being outscooped. Young news reporter Lindy Morrell persuaded Mr. Mata to reveal what happened to the presidential plane on

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DISTINCTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. LINDY C. MORRELL, Ph.D.

condition of not getting a byline for the news interview which was reported over the radio and not in print. It was a scoop that cost him a byline. But the Philippine nation became informed of what happened to the presidential plane on March 17, 1957. IV.

MOBILIZED STUDENTS TO BUILD A COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTER FOR CEBU CITY’S CATHOLIC YOUTH While pursuing a Masteral Degree in English at the University of San Carlos, Lindy Morrell

perceived the plight of young students who wanted to play bowling and billiards in a recreation center but couldn’t

because there was none in existence. Lindy Morrell got hold of Rev. Fr. Bernard

Wrocklege, an S.V.D. priest from Techny, Illinois, to help him mobilize the students of the Archdiocese of Cebu to build a Catholic Recreation Center. The first problem was to locate a site where the center would be built. The late Archbishop Julio Rosales offered a lot belonging to the Archdiocese which was occupied by illegal squatters when their homes were burned due to the scorched earth policy of the USAFFE during World War II to deny the invading Japanese troops access to Cebu City. Lindy Morrell and his students scouted for a relocation site for the squatters. He spotted the Cebu City Hippodrome which was idle. He was almost hacked by a squatter who refused to vacate the site. Morrell persuaded the irate squatter to make an ocular inspection of the relocation site and was given the option to pick a location of his choice. The leader of the squatter agreed. When he saw the hippodrome he readily agreed to move out of the squatted land and settle at his choice lot. The rest of the squatters followed. With the help of Rev. Fr. Ernest Hoederman, S.V.D. of U.S.C. who had his engineers construct steel molds for hollow blocks, Lindy Morrell had his students make their own hollow blocks for the center. Young architects Pepe Mercado and Teddy Trinidad drew the plans for the buildings of the center for free. After each student put his hollow block into shape he prayed a “Hail Mary” over each hollow block. The Patria de Cebu as the students’ recreation center would be called, was made up of “Ave Maria” hollow blocks. In raising funds for the center, Lindy Morrell organized his students to wear brassards with the logo of S.C.A. (Student Catholic Action) and went on visiting offices on alms soliciting sorties. Also, during yuletide season the students went caroling for funds. They sponsored piano concerts and wrote solicitation letters to cardinals and bishops in America and Canada. Finally the Patria de Cebu was built. Lindy Morrell went on to join Procter and Gamble as a Field Advertising Executive and married his childhood sweetheart who played a key role in building the Patria Project by cooking meals for free for the student hollow block makers. V.

SERVICE AS CIVIL SERVANT While working in Procter and Gamble, Lindy Morrell met a former college chum who was the

Ppresidential Assistant on Community Development for President Carlos Garcia, Atty. Ramon P. Binamira. Binamira persuaded Lindy Morrell to join him as Public Information Officer. In that capacity he was tasked to persuade the wealthy husband of Armi Kuusela, the first Miss Universe contest

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winner from Finland, realtor, Virgilio Hilariom to run for the position of a village top executive, a barrio lieutenant of the richest village in the Philippines, Barrio Forbes Park. Previously no well-educated person would run as barrio lieutenant, a village elder post created during the Spanish Colonial Occupation of the Philippines. A Barrio Lieutenant’s post was without salary, without much authority but burdened with a heave responsibility of keeping the peace and order of the village. Previously during the Spanish Colonial years and carried over during the American occupation of the country the position of the Barrio Lieutenant was an appointed one. During President Carlos Garcia’s Administration PACD Chief Ramon Binamira was able to convince Congress to make the position an elected post. The crux of the matter was nobody who had good education and who was financially well-off would run for the position. After much effort, Lindy Morrell was able to sell to Virgilio Hilario to run as Barrio Lieutenant. He ran and won. This added prestige, glamour, and dignity to what was once a socially discredited position. With Virgilio Hilario as the first elected village elder of Barrio Forbes Park, he ran for the position of President of the Barrio Lieutenants Association of the Philippines. This made him chief executive officer of 20,000 barrios all over the country. With such clout the barrio lieutenants convinced Congress to enact a Barrio Charter which empowered village leaders with authority to run the Barrio Affairs with compensation. What was once a socially despised position was now a juicy political post. Lindy Morrell also helped in crafting the Barrio Charter which Congress enacted into law. When Diosdado Macapagal, Father of present President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines was elected President he immediately replaced PACD Chief Ramon Binamira with his political protégée. Lindy Morrell resigned from PACD in disgust and joined an American Pharmaceutical Company, Wyeth-Suaco as a Medical Representative. In less than two years time he rose to the rank of District Manager. Disagreement with the American boss of the firm who wanted to sell antibiotic products which were close to expiration made Morrell resign over the unwise marketing policy which endangered the lives of Filipino citizens who could have bought the near-to-expire medicines. Lindy Morrell then joined ESSO Standard Eastern Philippines, Inc., an American Oil Company, as a marketing executive. A few years later he was promoted as Marketing Training Director of ESSO’s Training Center in Cebu City which trained ESSO Sales Representatives, ESSO Dealers for service stations, Service Station Managers, and Service Station Personnel for the entire Visayas and Mindanao Regions. Morrell also served as the firm’s P.R. Executive and Special Products (T.B.A.-Tires, Batteries and Accessories) for the Visayas-Mindanao Markets involving more than 200 super service stations of the company. During the celebration of the 4th Centennial Anniversary of Christianization of the Philippines in 1965, Morrell devised a tourism promotion program called ESSO Tiger Tools which toured visiting tourists to scenic and historical spots in Cebu City. The project won an award in the ESSO Home Office in Houston, Texas as an Outstanding Public Relations Project. When the Philippine Government bought ESSO Standard Philippines, Lindy Morrell retired and was hired as an Assistant Regional Executive Director for the National Economic and Development Authority – the nation’s top planning body. He became a full pledge Regional Executive Director for NEDA and served in the terrorstricken region of Mindanao during the term of President Marcos who imposed martial law all over the

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DISTINCTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. LINDY C. MORRELL, Ph.D.

country. Morrell served in Mindanao during the height of the Muslim rebellion. He assisted Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon, who was the commanding officer of the Southern Philippines Command in the entire Mindanao. He was a graduate of Kingston Merchant Marine Academy in the U.S. Morrell served as the Economic Planning czar of Espaldon in the war-torn Mindanao. Director Lindy Morrell was part of the National Government’s effort to conduct peace talks with the armed Muslim rebels. The team successfully persuaded many rebels to surrender and return to the folds of the law. During his stint as NEDA Regional Executive Director for Western Mindanao and as Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon’s Economic Adviser for the socially disturbed Muslim Mindanao, Morrell and three other Regional Directors of other National Government line agencies serving in Mindanao were victims of food poisoning perpetrated by rebels during peace talk meetings in Mindanao which rendered them seriously ill. Morrell survived the ordeal but two other unfortunate directors died as a result of the food poisoning. Later in Jolo, Sulu, he narrowly escaped being ambushed by Muslim rebels who targeted him for assassination for being instrumental in persuading many rebels of the Muslim National Liberation Front Armed Forces to surrender to the authorities. When President Cory Aquino assumed office, Morrell was removed from his NEDA post for being a Marcos appointee. Morrell retired from NEDA and later became a station manager for the pioneering Cebu Cable TV Station in Cebu City. He served as Station Manager until he was stricken with throat cancer in 1996. HE was given only six months to live by the cancer specialists of St. Luke’s Hospital in Manila. Morrell prayed for healing. God answered his prayers. His throat cancer went on remission but lost his nice sounding broadcast-quality voice which the cancer cells destroyed his vocal chords. Today he speaks with a raspy voice. At age 73 he decided to pursue doctoral studies in Environmental Management in the School of Engineering and Environmental Management in Stratford International University in Wyoming, U.S.A. on a distant study, off-campus arrangement. At age 75 Morrell graduated with a Ph.D. in Environmental Management. The first Asian to graduate a doctoral degree as a Senior Citizen who is supposed to be decrepit due to his advanced years. Today he serves as consultant to Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael L. Rama and Cebu City Councilor Nestor D. Archival and serves as Presiding Officer of the Cebu City Council’s Technical Infrastructure Committee. Dr. Lindy Morrell also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the GEOPLAN Foundation and as Environmental Consultant for Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu. Morrell also contributes articles to the Cebu Archdiocesan papers and in some Cebu City dailies.

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