Vistal
Sometime in 1998, Prex Seminar was brought to Davao City by the Team of PREX Elders from Lagao, General Santos City, led by Kuya Bebot Haw. Kuya Bebot Haw and Mr. Henry Lim, the owner of NCCC Department Store were close friends. Lim visited Kuya Bebot’s Store, he was surprised that the employees were calling each other Kuya and Ate including Kuya Bebot. He was touched by the kind of relati
onship Kuya Bebot has with his employees. Accordingly, he was asked by Mr. Lim to give recollection to their employees to enhance their relationship. Kuya Bebot suggested that instead of giving recollection, why not give them the PREX Seminar so that the NCCC employees will be renewed. So, the Lagao Elders conducted the PREX Seminar first to the employees of NCCC Department Store. After the seminar they noticed very inspiring changes in the lives of the participants. The following year, the PREX Lagao Team ask the permission from Msgr. Fernando R. Capalla, D.D., the Archbishop of Davao, that they will conduct the PREX Seminar at Sta. Ana Parish, under Rev. Leonardo Vicente, the parish priest at that time. The Archbishop gave the permission, so they started the seminar at Sta. Ana Parish on October 8-10, 1999. Year after, Prex Seminar started to spread to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Calinan, Davao City, under Rev. Voltaire Dimol. Through the invitation of his cousin in Lagao, Fr. Voltaire, together with his PCC president and six members, went to Lagao, General Santos City to attend PREX Seminar on September 22-24, 2000. Then barely a month after, Fr. Voltaire requested PREX Lagao to conduct PREX Seminar in Calinan, Davao City. So, on November 3-5, 2000 PREX Calinan started its existence. Then, the momentum of PREX growth continued in 2001 with two parishes accepted and started their own seminar still under the PREX Lagao Outreach. On April 28-30, 2001, the parish of Our Mother of Perpetual Help under the Redemptorist Fathers, in Bajada, Davao City, started their seminar while the parish of San Antonio de Padua, in Agdao, Davao City started PREX Seminar on July 13-15, 2001. A resident priest of San Antonio de Padua Parish, Rev. Sixto Vistal, attended the PREX Seminar Batch #3 and later on the Parish Priest, Rev. Emmanuel Gonzaga appointed him to assist PREX Agdao. On June 1, 2003, Rev. Sixto Vistal was appointed parish priest of Immaculate Conception Parish, Peñaplata, Island Garden City of Samal. With the encouragement of PREX Elders from Lagao and Agdao, Fr. Sixto invited PREX Agdao Outreach together with PREX Lagao Elder to conduct PREX seminar in his parish. On February 6-8, 2004, PREX Peñaplata started its first batch. Meanwhile, the new parish priest of Mother of Perpetual Help parish in Bajada, Davao City, Rev. Ramon Fruto, CSsR, was asking from the PREX Bajada Elders for a written permit from the Archbishop of Davao about PREX Seminar. Since the Core Group of 5 PREX Outreaches of Davao were not able to hold a copy of the written permit from the Archbishop, they immediately called a meeting and made an application to Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla, D.D. Then the Archbishop wrote a Circular March 2004, restricting PREX Davao to make new outreach but allowed the existing one to continue, while pastoral director examined the manual. For almost three years of lobbying, pleading, presenting witnesses and testimonies of prex graduates and priests who were involved in the conduct of PREX Seminars, the Archbishop, Fernando R. Capalla, D.C., through his Circular Letter No. 2, series of 2007, dated February 16, 2007, gave his approval allowing PREX Seminars to be offered to those parishes who may wish to adopt its formation program. After the approval, Rev. Sixto Vistal, the newly installed parish priest of San Miguel Parish, Panacan, Davao City, requested PREX Bajada to conduct Prex Seminar in his parish. So on April 13-15, 2007 PREX Panacan was born. Two months after, the parish of San Isidro Labrador, Lomondao, Marilog District, Davao City, under Rev. Proceso Gimeno Jr., invited PREX Calinan to conduct PREX Seminar in his parish. On June 15-17, 2007 they started PREX Lomondao. Before the year ends, Fr. Pedro Lamata, the parish priest of St. Mary of the Perpetual Rosary Parish, Buhangin, Davao City, met Kuya Lando and Ate Joy Blanco, former PREX Elders of Lagao. They plan to conduct PREX Seminar at the chapel of Panorama Subdivision. They started PREX St. Mary Parish on September 14-16, 2007. On February 22-24, 2008, Rev. Voltaire Dimol, the parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Central Park, Subdivision, Bangkal, Davao City, requested PREX Calinan to conduct its first PREX Seminar in his parish for his parish leaders. On January 11, 2010, Rev.Fr. Dexter Veloso, the Parish Priest of Virgen Dolorosa Parish, Babak, Island Garden City of Samal, requested Fr. Sixto Vistal of PREX Panacan to conduct PREX Seminar in his parish.So on February 12-14, 2010, Prex Panacan started the seminar with the help of PREX Bajada. Then followed by PREX Sto. Rosario Parish Toril, PREX St Francis of Assisi Parish Maa and PREX St. Francix Xavier Parish Tibungco. For its twenty two years of existence, PREX Davao has conducted almost 1000 batches of PREX Seminars and has produced approximately of 20,000 graduates who are now actively involved as parish and GKK leaders. At present there are already 20 priests of the Archdiocese of Davao who had attended PREX Seminar including Msgr. George B. Rimando, D.D., the Auxiliary Bishop of Davao. At present, we have our own sets of Speakers of the different Talks of Prex Seminars. We have also produced several LEAD Couples from different Outreaches in Davao and we are helping one another during our seminars. The Davao Archdiocesan Association of Parish PREX Secretariat (DAAPPS) is organized and serving PREX Davao as its overseers and coordinating body in order to harmonize the different activities of PREX from the different Outreaches within the Archdiocese of Davao.
