In the mid-1970s, a group of parents gathered together to discuss plans for establishing schools that would provide a well-rounded education to children - one that prioritized academic excellence as well as character formation. It was the 1970s, after all, and multiple factors influenced the direction where society was going. The parents believed that their children need a stronger foundation for the challenges ahead. The sexual revolution which started in the West caused social norms to shift to a more liberal direction and posed challenges to families. It was also around this time that the confusion which followed the Second Vatican Council became apparent. “After the Second Vatican Council, there were so many misinterpretations on the teachings of the Church. There was confusion about what should be taught to the faithful regarding the position of the Catholic Church on different matters. And so the doctrinal formation of people then suffered,” recalls Dr. Placido Mapa, one of those involved in the early gatherings of parents who aspired for something better for their children’s education than what was available during those years. “Many other parents at that time had wanted their children to benefit from established Catholic teaching.” There were some 20 couples in that group, says Mapa, all looking to address the challenges the time presented to families. Prior to these gatherings, during the earlier part of the decade, the founder of Opus Dei, Msgr. Josemaria Escrivá, requested Dr. Placido Mapa, Dr. Bernardo Villegas, and Dr. Jesus Estanislao to help a group of Filipino parents in putting up schools which would address the need for character formation and sound Christian instruction. Dr. Mapa and his fellow parents would later research on the Fomento school system in Spain after which the Parents for Education Foundation Inc. or PAREF would be patterned. PAREF was the fruit of those meetings that included, among others, Dr. Maps and his wife, Chona, Vic and Nanette Puyat, Ernest and Rory Lagdameo, Mike and Maja Guerrero, Francis and Tessie Arcenas and Ronnie and Linda Tablante. Its vision, mission, and objectives were officially put a black and white in 1976. In June 1975, however, before PAREF was established, they received news of the death of the founder of Opus Dei. Considering that the priest had prompted the whole endeavor, and his teachings on family life, marriage, and Christian formation were the foundation of the philosophy that would guide the schools years later, wouldn’t his death have dampened the resolve of the people behind PAREF? “On the contrary, we would ask for his intercession to accomplish what we set out to do,” Dr. Maps recalls, explaining that they were all the more motivated to carry out all that Monsignor Escrivá – who has since then been declared a saint by the Church – had requested. PAREF is a non-stock, non-profit corporation whose main objective is to put up schools and to provide parents the means to promote and guarantee the integral education and proper upbringing of their children. Far from being financially well-endowed, its first years saw it depending on the generosity of people who understood and agreed with its objective.
