Gaspar Vibal
Encyclopedia
Gaspar A. Vibal is the executive director of Vibal Foundation. As book collector (and jazz
lover), he pioneered the creation of Filipiniana.net (a “fully featured digital library and research portal”) and WikiPilipinas.org, two of the foundation's flagship projects. As a balikbayan from New York City
, Gaspar is a scion
of a family long-established in the Philippine book publishing and commercial printing industry. His parents are Hilarion Palomer Vibal (1908–1988) and Esther Asuncion. Hilarion was a writer, editor, and publisher. He is known as the co-founder of Vibal Publishing House, Inc., the Philippines' biggest publishing house. He was among the first generations of Filipino writers in English. On April 30, 1950, Hilarion met and married Esther at the time he was recruited by Ramon Roces's associate D.H. Soriano to become the business editor of Evening News. Gaspar's mother Esther, on the other hand, is a writer, publisher, businesswoman, socio-civic worker, lifetime member of the prestigious Girl Scouts of the Philippines
and philanthropist
. As incumbent president of Vibal Publishing House Inc. (VPHI), she is known internationally as the first Asian and Filipino world president (1983) of Inner Wheel Club
, a socio-civic organization formed by wives of Rotary International
. She was the founder of Philippine Women's Studies project and Member of the Board of Trustees of UP Center for Women's Studies Foundation, Inc. (UP CWSFI), a commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, and was the president of the National Council of Women of the Philippines (1990).
Vibal earned a Bachelor of Science
degree in business economics
from the University of the Philippines
. He worked for 2 decades in the Philippine and American publishing
industries. In 1983 Vibal migrated to New York to study at the New York University
Book and Magazine Publishing Institute.
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Gaspar brought Wiki to the Philippines by the creation of his WikiPilipinas
which introduced the ‘copyleft
’ IPR
model of Wikipedia. The WikiPilipinas team, headed by webmaster Richard Grimaldo (internet and telecommunications administrator of the Vibal Group of Companies) and Alfred Ursua as its managing editor http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Alfred_Ursua, were responsible for Gaspar's initial Project Wikipiniana. Gaspar projected for the long tail
phenomenon
or effect (Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson) of this Philippine Wiki encyclopedia
to give more prominence to Filipino culture on the Internet. Vibal complained that "almost all the articles in Wikipedia are written from a Western point of view". But aiming not just for balance, Vibal opted more for "a national campaign to foster nationalism
". And like many local editions of Wikipedia, Wikipilipinas
already suffers from the "frog in the well" syndrome
: a regional ghetto
of interest only to angry nationalists protesting that the Philippines is doomed and that it's all someone else's fault. On March 15, 2008, Vibal's WikiPilipinas
created WikiFilipino, for Filipino culture and information. It is managed by Alfred Ursua, with web support by Richard Grimaldo, and guidance by Roberto T. Añonuevo.
Gaspar's Filipiniana.net is a digital
library and online research portal "that houses the most comprehensive collection of Filipino- related documents that are in the public domain, from letters from Spanish Governor-General Pedro de Acuña to King Philip III to an obscure 1933 Philippine romance novel entitled "Ang Magmamani", and makes it all available to the public at no cost at all". Launched on November 23, 2006, it was Richard Grimaldo's web development and applications expertise that was crucial in the development of Filipiniana.net to spearhead Vibal's vision "of democratizing Filipino access to information about the Philippines through the internet." It digitized rare and out of print books, documents, and images and publishing them online without any cost to the readers.
VIBAL Publishing’s 1980 Educational Service Program (ESP) was a brainchild of Gaspar Vibal, and has "evolved to become a full-scale teacher-training program with year-round seminars and workshops to help teachers and school administrators nationwide meet the increasing demands and challenges posed by their profession".
Vibal stated that: “Today, it (Filipiniana.net) has one of the widest and most comprehensive collection of hard-to-find Filipiniana books and documents categorized under history, geography, culture, government, and society. It also features photographs, maps, paintings and illustrations, the Virtual Philippine Revolutionary Records, 100 Nobelang Tagalog, Virtual Blair and Robertson, and the Master Union Bibliography of the Philippines, 100 Pinoy Komik Serials, Premio Zobel.org, and Archivo General de Filipinas." Vibal also announced the forthcoming birth of his brainchild
e-turo.org.
On June 12, 2008, the 110th Philippine Declaration of Independence
day, e.turo.org was created by the Vibal Foundation, (owned by Gaspar Vibal and his family) a nonprofit organization which previously launched Filipiniana.net, and WikiPilipinas.org (a reference guide on the Philippines). Tin Mandigma, editor-in-chief of E-turo.org explained that it is an e-learning portal which "seeks to provide free and quality learning materials online to teachers and students; it gives teachers access to lesson plans and modules based on textbook materials published by Vibal Publishing House, Inc. amid plans to offer Department of Education-approved content from various learning institutions as supplementary teaching materials. One of the most common complaints of teachers is that while the Internet has so much information, most of it cannot be adapted to the local classroom. With this project, we hope to help teachers sort through the clutter and give them quality information that would be useful for their students."
. Vibal and LG and M formed a consortium
regarding the publication and delivery of 17.5 million elementary textbooks and teaching manuals for public elementary and high schools funded by P 800-million loan ($40 million) World Bank
loan. Contracts were awarded in September, 2006 to Vibal and Watana Phanit, inter alia, despite a pending Supreme Court petition filed by losing bidders. Further, Gaspar clarified that Wikipilipinas
"should be treated as a separate entity from his family's publishing business, Vibal Publishing".
's novels, Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo
, for his Filipiniana.net. Vibal discovered these at the Old Book Fair in Madrid
, Spain on October, 2006. These were part of the late Adelina Gurrea Monasterio collection. Vibal stated that: “They are very expensive" - opting to be careful not to reveal the price, for it might put the prized items in danger. Vibal spent 25 years of his life to bring back the original "Noli" and "Fili" to Philippine shores.
Vibal has a 5 inches (127 mm) treasure
collection of articles either written by, for, or about Dr. Jose Rizal, antiquated by dust and partly destroyed by termites. His wide collection of Filipiniana
(printed works on Philippine history and culture) include:
He digitized such historical resources / articles and upload them for free on filipinana.net. and wikipilipinas.org. Vibal and associate, Jaime Marco, initiated the portal with the help of Spanish historian Carlos Madrid.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
lover), he pioneered the creation of Filipiniana.net (a “fully featured digital library and research portal”) and WikiPilipinas.org, two of the foundation's flagship projects. As a balikbayan from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Gaspar is a scion
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
of a family long-established in the Philippine book publishing and commercial printing industry. His parents are Hilarion Palomer Vibal (1908–1988) and Esther Asuncion. Hilarion was a writer, editor, and publisher. He is known as the co-founder of Vibal Publishing House, Inc., the Philippines' biggest publishing house. He was among the first generations of Filipino writers in English. On April 30, 1950, Hilarion met and married Esther at the time he was recruited by Ramon Roces's associate D.H. Soriano to become the business editor of Evening News. Gaspar's mother Esther, on the other hand, is a writer, publisher, businesswoman, socio-civic worker, lifetime member of the prestigious Girl Scouts of the Philippines
Girl Scouts of the Philippines
The Girl Scouts of the Philippines is the national Guiding association for girls and young women of the Philippines. Its mission is "to help girls and young women realize the ideals of womanhood and prepare themselves for their responsibilities in the home, and to the nation, and the world...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. As incumbent president of Vibal Publishing House Inc. (VPHI), she is known internationally as the first Asian and Filipino world president (1983) of Inner Wheel Club
Inner Wheel Club
Inner Wheel is an international organisation that is closely linked to Rotary.Inner Wheel is an international organisation that is closely linked to Rotary.Inner Wheel is an international organisation that is closely linked to Rotary.(Before year 1989, Rotary generally prohibited women as members....
, a socio-civic organization formed by wives of Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
. She was the founder of Philippine Women's Studies project and Member of the Board of Trustees of UP Center for Women's Studies Foundation, Inc. (UP CWSFI), a commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, and was the president of the National Council of Women of the Philippines (1990).
Vibal earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in business economics
Business economics
Business economics as a field in applied economics uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms with labour, capital and product markets...
from the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
. He worked for 2 decades in the Philippine and American publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
industries. In 1983 Vibal migrated to New York to study at the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Book and Magazine Publishing Institute.
WikiPilipinas, Filnet, ESP and e-turo.org
WikiPilipinas
WikiPilipinas is an online, free content website which bills itself as a combination "non-academic encyclopedia", web portal, directory and almanac for Philippine-based knowledge. Like Wikipedia, it contains various articles on Philippine-related topics...
which introduced the ‘copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
’ IPR
IPR
IPR is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, including:In media:*Indiana Public Radio*Independent Public Radio, a radio network in Minnesota*Interlochen Public Radio...
model of Wikipedia. The WikiPilipinas team, headed by webmaster Richard Grimaldo (internet and telecommunications administrator of the Vibal Group of Companies) and Alfred Ursua as its managing editor http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Alfred_Ursua, were responsible for Gaspar's initial Project Wikipiniana. Gaspar projected for the long tail
Long tail
Long tail may refer to:*The Long Tail, a consumer demographic in business*Power law's long tail, a statistics term describing certain kinds of distribution*Long-tail boat, a type of watercraft native to Southeast Asia...
phenomenon
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
or effect (Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson) of this Philippine Wiki encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
to give more prominence to Filipino culture on the Internet. Vibal complained that "almost all the articles in Wikipedia are written from a Western point of view". But aiming not just for balance, Vibal opted more for "a national campaign to foster nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
". And like many local editions of Wikipedia, Wikipilipinas
WikiPilipinas
WikiPilipinas is an online, free content website which bills itself as a combination "non-academic encyclopedia", web portal, directory and almanac for Philippine-based knowledge. Like Wikipedia, it contains various articles on Philippine-related topics...
already suffers from the "frog in the well" syndrome
Syndrome
In medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms , phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the physician to the possible presence of the others...
: a regional ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
of interest only to angry nationalists protesting that the Philippines is doomed and that it's all someone else's fault. On March 15, 2008, Vibal's WikiPilipinas
WikiPilipinas
WikiPilipinas is an online, free content website which bills itself as a combination "non-academic encyclopedia", web portal, directory and almanac for Philippine-based knowledge. Like Wikipedia, it contains various articles on Philippine-related topics...
created WikiFilipino, for Filipino culture and information. It is managed by Alfred Ursua, with web support by Richard Grimaldo, and guidance by Roberto T. Añonuevo.
Gaspar's Filipiniana.net is a digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
library and online research portal "that houses the most comprehensive collection of Filipino- related documents that are in the public domain, from letters from Spanish Governor-General Pedro de Acuña to King Philip III to an obscure 1933 Philippine romance novel entitled "Ang Magmamani", and makes it all available to the public at no cost at all". Launched on November 23, 2006, it was Richard Grimaldo's web development and applications expertise that was crucial in the development of Filipiniana.net to spearhead Vibal's vision "of democratizing Filipino access to information about the Philippines through the internet." It digitized rare and out of print books, documents, and images and publishing them online without any cost to the readers.
VIBAL Publishing’s 1980 Educational Service Program (ESP) was a brainchild of Gaspar Vibal, and has "evolved to become a full-scale teacher-training program with year-round seminars and workshops to help teachers and school administrators nationwide meet the increasing demands and challenges posed by their profession".
Vibal stated that: “Today, it (Filipiniana.net) has one of the widest and most comprehensive collection of hard-to-find Filipiniana books and documents categorized under history, geography, culture, government, and society. It also features photographs, maps, paintings and illustrations, the Virtual Philippine Revolutionary Records, 100 Nobelang Tagalog, Virtual Blair and Robertson, and the Master Union Bibliography of the Philippines, 100 Pinoy Komik Serials, Premio Zobel.org, and Archivo General de Filipinas." Vibal also announced the forthcoming birth of his brainchild
Brainchild
Brainchild may refer to:* Brainchild , a local supergroup from Youngstown, Ohio, 1969–1972* Brainchild , 1996* Brainchild , 1994* Fictional comic characters in the Marvel Universe:...
e-turo.org.
On June 12, 2008, the 110th Philippine Declaration of Independence
Philippine Declaration of Independence
The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in Cavite II el Viejo , Cavite, Philippines. With the public reading of the Act of the Declaration of Independence, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the...
day, e.turo.org was created by the Vibal Foundation, (owned by Gaspar Vibal and his family) a nonprofit organization which previously launched Filipiniana.net, and WikiPilipinas.org (a reference guide on the Philippines). Tin Mandigma, editor-in-chief of E-turo.org explained that it is an e-learning portal which "seeks to provide free and quality learning materials online to teachers and students; it gives teachers access to lesson plans and modules based on textbook materials published by Vibal Publishing House, Inc. amid plans to offer Department of Education-approved content from various learning institutions as supplementary teaching materials. One of the most common complaints of teachers is that while the Internet has so much information, most of it cannot be adapted to the local classroom. With this project, we hope to help teachers sort through the clutter and give them quality information that would be useful for their students."
Controversy
Amid the Department of Education’s controversy on recent textbook project, Vibal Publishing House Inc. admitted that it had “interlocking ownership” with an “affiliate,” the LG and M Corp, but denied accusations of being the leader of a cartelCartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
. Vibal and LG and M formed a consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
regarding the publication and delivery of 17.5 million elementary textbooks and teaching manuals for public elementary and high schools funded by P 800-million loan ($40 million) World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
loan. Contracts were awarded in September, 2006 to Vibal and Watana Phanit, inter alia, despite a pending Supreme Court petition filed by losing bidders. Further, Gaspar clarified that Wikipilipinas
WikiPilipinas
WikiPilipinas is an online, free content website which bills itself as a combination "non-academic encyclopedia", web portal, directory and almanac for Philippine-based knowledge. Like Wikipedia, it contains various articles on Philippine-related topics...
"should be treated as a separate entity from his family's publishing business, Vibal Publishing".
Rizaliana collection
Vibal acquired the rare first edition copies of Dr. Jose RizalJosé Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
's novels, Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
and El Filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
, for his Filipiniana.net. Vibal discovered these at the Old Book Fair in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain on October, 2006. These were part of the late Adelina Gurrea Monasterio collection. Vibal stated that: “They are very expensive" - opting to be careful not to reveal the price, for it might put the prized items in danger. Vibal spent 25 years of his life to bring back the original "Noli" and "Fili" to Philippine shores.
Vibal has a 5 inches (127 mm) treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
collection of articles either written by, for, or about Dr. Jose Rizal, antiquated by dust and partly destroyed by termites. His wide collection of Filipiniana
Filipiniana
Filipiniana, based on the definition by Isagani Medina from “Collection Building: Filipiniana,” in his In Developing Special Library Collections, Filipiniana: Proceedings , refers to Philippine-related books and non-book materials...
(printed works on Philippine history and culture) include:
- One volume of Ricardo Galang's first Philippine EncyclopediaEncyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
, published in 1939 (there were only 1,000 copies of the 20 volumes). - One of the early copies of the 1935 Commonwealth of the PhilippinesCommonwealth of the PhilippinesThe Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...
Constitution of the PhilippinesConstitution of the PhilippinesThe Constitution of the Philippines is the supreme law of the Philippines.The Constitution currently in effect was enacted in 1987, during the administration of President Corazon Aquino, and is popularly known as the "1987 Constitution"...
. - HistorianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Esteban Ocampo's 40-year-old Rizaliana collection which he salvaged from the Heritage Art Center in Cubao, Quezon City. - Copies of first editions of RizalRizalRizal is a province located in the CALABARZON , just 16 kilometers east of Manila. The province was named after the country's national hero, José Rizal. Rizal Governor Casimiro A. Ynares III on June 17, 2008 announced the transfer of the Capitol from Pasig. Its P 270-million capitol building,...
's Noli Me TangereNoli Me Tangere (novel)Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
and El FilibusterismoEl filibusterismoEl filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
.
He digitized such historical resources / articles and upload them for free on filipinana.net. and wikipilipinas.org. Vibal and associate, Jaime Marco, initiated the portal with the help of Spanish historian Carlos Madrid.