Tag Archives: Louie Perlas

The MSC Story, Part II – Transfer to A. Flores St.

Knowing that we cannot just bluff our way to avoid the government regulations, we decided to incorporate. Louie Perlas, prepared all the papers needed and provided the leg work for our application . In February 2, 1990, the Securities and Exchange commission issued the registration of VYP-Management Systems Consultants, Corp.

Meanwhile, I have to make good of our promise to the DECS inspectors. I sought out the administrator of the building and I got a good price for a two-year contract. We were very excited with this development because this new site is about six times as big as first office.

I immediately contracted my fellow Kiwanian Engr. Larry Barte to supervise the repair work. Due to my engineering education, I cannot avoid supervising the supervisor. It was then that I discovered my talent for “upcycling”. I found two large wooden framed glass doors at the storage area at the back of the building which I thought would be a good material for the wall of the computer laboratory if placed sideways. I was proven right. Not only did we save a lot, it made the laboratory viewable to clients of our lawyer-neighbor. And this enabled us to “advertise” for free.

Our new school will have two classrooms, a computer room, a small office and a smoking/waiting area.  All rooms were air conditioned. The classrooms accommodated a total of 50 students (20 and 30).

The repair work was finished  two days before the scheduled blessing; the whiteboards and air conditioners were installed. But as I looked at the freshly painted walls, I realized something was missing. We forgot the armchairs for the classrooms! We needed 50 chairs immediately.

We cannot postpone the blessing at that point. Preparations were almost complete – the priest, the merienda, the decors, the guests. There was even a motorcade organized by my friends.

I went around San Pablo City looking for a supplier. I was happy that I found one who has more than 50 chairs in stock but I was surprise the price was P500 per chair, in cash! That meant that we had to pay P25,000 on the spot, and we didn’t have that amount. I told the supplier that since it is past banking hours and next day is a Saturday I would just pay by personal check upon delivery. But the supplier insisted on a cash payment. I asked him to deliver the chairs anyway. We need that chairs so we need to produce the cash.

The chairs were delivered and paid for on Saturday. Next day we had a motorcade with more than 20 cars. We had a nice native merienda of pansit palabok, okoy, pandesal and kesong puti. All the incorporators and their wives and our friends came. But no one from the DECS came.

And none of our visitors knew what we went through to produce the cash for the chairs.

25 Years Ago – How MSC Started

By Ike Prudente

On Dec 4, 1989, we started the MSC Computer training center.

Over the years, we branched into all sorts of ventures, from computer hardware to  computer supplies to internet services to business applications and unrelated courses. We gave thousands of scholarships to financially challenged but deserving students. As we look back, we realized our greatest contribution to society are the fine citizens in the community who we helped educate and train these 25 years.

We are now in our new garden site in San Gabriel, refocusing our efforts in our core strengths in education. We now proudly re-introduce ourselves: we are MSC Institute of Technology – THE Math, Science and Computing School.

Start of MSC
MSC is best known as an educational institution. However, MSC started out as a computer software company, not a school.

In June 1989, Jorge Tanalega and I, together with our Cobol Instructor/ STI Center administrator Danny Lopez thought of forming a software development company because we were informed that a local utility wanted to computerize its billing system. With some friends, we brainstormed for a name which can be easily remembered. We thought that SMC (San Miguel Corporation) was very popular so we thought that jumbling the initials would be a good idea.

We thought of MSC and the name Management Systems Consultants. But when we tried to register it with the Department of Trade and Industry as a single proprietorship business entity, it was rejected because all the words in the proposed company name are common, generic words. So we added my initials VYP (for Virgilio Y. Prudente). Thus, VYP-Management Systems Consultants was registered.

When I was given the specifications for the billing systems requirement, I thought that I could easily finish it in a few days so I submitted a quotation of P8,000. They did not bother to contact us back. I found out later that a large company quoted P80,000 for the system.

A couple of unforeseen events led us to seriously consider the direction of a new company. In a planning session, Danny Lopez asked us “who do you think are the best programmers in San Pablo?” Of course, I pointed to Jorge Tanalega, Danny and Myself. And so Danny suggested that we establish a computer school. With two other friends from the Kiwanis Club of Lake City, Louie Perlas and Tony Celestino who believed in us, we decided to put up the MSC Computer Training Center.

Several days later, on Dec 4, 1989, on the mezzanine (above what is now LBC) of the Magcase Building on Barleta St., with a classroom with 9 chairs and a laboratory of 5 computers bought with borrowed money, or donated by family and friends, we conducted our first class with our first four students: Arnel Eneria, Christopher Catapia, Jonathan Romo and Noel Baldores – the WE WEH boys!

Our first course , Fundamentals of Computer Operations (FCO) was of course, handled by the teacher among us, Danny Lopez. But since Danny’s expertise is in teaching programming logic and COBOL, he needed help in preparing for his lessons in using the basic software – DOS, Wordstar, Lotus, dBase III.

Our software department headed by Gigi Tanalega doubled as the research department. Research then was very different from research now. Without Internet or books on the popular software, the team of Gigi spent hours, discovering tricks and short cuts using our AT 286, double diskette drive computers (without hard disk) which Danny could teach to our FCO students. This training proved beneficial to Gigi’s boys. Jonald Aguila is now a software developer based in Maryland USA and Edgar Cauyan is now president of CARD MRI Information Technology, Inc.

Anticipating the need for more instructors, we recruited Aniles Aquino (now Mrs. Duma, a professor at the Laguna State Polytechnic University and currently pursuing her doctorate in Education) and Gemma Pangilinan (now Mrs. Dimaano, the registrar of MSC).

In January 1990, a team from the Department of Education Culture and Sports came and told us that we were operating without a permit. Apparently, some not so friendly elements reported us to the DECS. After showing them our facilities which is certainly not below the minimum requirements for a school, I told them that we are awaiting our transfer to our new site before we submit our application for a school. I invited them to view a vacant space in the second floor of a nearby building, which I told them would be the future site of our new school. We also invited them to the “blessing” of our new site on April 1, 1990.