By Al S. Mendoza

 

TIME to sing praise for Dante M. Velasco, a great son of Dagupan City whose corporate feats have become so global that Nobel Prize-like plaudits for him have long been overdue.

Always a step ahead of his peers, Dante is a many dimensional dude worthy of emulation.

For one, he doesn’t go into a genre he will not be a master of in no time.

For another, he will leave an imprint from any task at hand that will spark impregnable imagination to those whose lives he had touched, would touch.

Dante, the younger brother of the late, lamented Jun Velasco, the equally eminent wordsmith, has just published the first of a trilogy of books that will inspire generations dedicated to serving humanity.

Aptly titled “Executive Read: Leadership, Public Speech, and Writing,” the book is a compilation of Dante’s 57 book reviews he wrote in successive years for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

I am so proud that he chose to publish his consummate obras at the Inquirer, my newspaper for 20 years where, modesty aside, I had held several positions from 1986 to 2006, like being the Associate Editor, Inquirer Golf Editor, Sports Editor and Motoring Editor, among others.

Further, I had written Inquirer columns on sports from 1986 to 2006, and motoring columns from 1991 up to my retirement at the Inquirer in 2006.

For the record, both my sports column and motoring column still appear during the week at Business Mirror and SunStar chain of publications nationwide.

I just couldn’t stop writing.

I feel that if I stop, I’ll be doing harm to my readers?  Like, they will miss me?

I have made a covenant with them that will last forever—hopefully.  I just hate hurting people—even my non-fans.

But back to Dante M. Velasco.

Writing his book reviews from 1999 to 2018, Dante deviated from the usual run-of-the-mill type of summarizing a book to injecting incisive thoughts to make his subject closer to home, if not heart.

One writer wrote: “Velasco describes the articles as ‘essays’ that dealt with such ground-breaking works as Lee Iacocca’s ‘Where Have All the Leaders Gone,’ Filemon T. Berba Jr.’s ‘Leadership for Extraordinary Results,’ Richard Dowis’ ‘The Lost Art of the Great Speech’ and Roy Peter Clark’s ‘The Glamour of Grammar.’”

Readers of the book will find that it targets mainly the Filipino executive.

That is right because Dante is a pillar in the local corporate world, whose resume include being a former top gun at multinationals like General Electric and Pepsi Cola Philippines, on top of being a former transportation undersecretary and a senior Foreign Affairs adviser.

A voracious reader, Dante, a PhD graduate and a one-time UP Distinguished Alumni awardee by the UP Alumni Association, has read a total of 129 books—more than enough arsenal to complete his much-awaited three-book journey.

Humble and very unassuming, Dante tells would-be buyers of his book:  “Reading my book could lead you to many ideas on the topics of your interest.  If you buy one now, the book’s purpose shall have been happily achieved.”

Major bookstores will soon carry Dante’s book but to those who can’t wait, you can order online at DMV Publishing at 0917-3044363.

With his breakthrough book, Dagupan’s Divine Dante has more than equaled the world-renowned Bonuan bangus in stature and matchless legacy.

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