Status Report on the Golden Jubilee Activities

Buenas dias, mis amigos!

The GJC (Golden Jubilee Committee) had its scheduled meeting during the Kapihan last Wednesday. The GJC is glad to report to you that the programs are now on stream and are in the process of being firmed up.

As you know, our GJ activities will be held over two periods of time. The first period will be from April,2012 to February 15, 2013. This will be called the Pre-Homecoming Months period. The other period is from Feb. 22, 2013 to March, 2013. This will be called the Homecoming Week Period.

The Pre-Homecoming Months have activities lined up for it. After the Taal-Excursion activity last June, the next gig for Batch63 is the SportsDay activity scheduled for August 19, Sunday.

As of today, 10 people have signed up for the SportsDay excursion. The lead person for the SportsDay event is Joey Estagle. He will be advising soon about the details of the excursion. The venue is just in Metro Manila and has a shooting range, sports courts, bar and resto (with musical instruments we can use), function rooms, and a theater-type room where Batch63 can hold a plenary meet and practice the anthem songs for the Homecoming presentation. Do join and help the cause for a better Golden Jubilee experience.

Other activities being mulled for the Pre-Homecoming period are: a golf fund raising tournament (in October); and an excursion to Nasugbu (maybe in November after the rainy season. Mari Duarte is the lead person looking at the viability of these activities.

Suggestions for other activities during the periods are welcome. Anyone can volunteer to help organize activities where the GJC will only be too willing to facilitate and assist in the work. We are still sourcing a volunteer to take care of the Despedida affair to be held right after the Homecoming presentation on March 2, 2013. We need a venue (it can be a private house) to hold this post-homecoming event.

Hasta la proxima vez y ANIMO!
Oni Mayo


PSsst. Pardon the quality of the photos. I neglected to bring my camera during the Kapihan and had to settle for my cheap cell phone's photo feature. heh heh.


See slide show for more photos.

 

Whee! It's Batch63 Jubilee time!

Good morning Batch63 Amigos!

The GJC (Golden Jubilee Committee) is pleased to announce the plans for the Homecoming Week events in 2013. In a meeting at the Last Chukker resto (in Polo Club) last week, the following activities were adopted by the GJC:

A basic fee of P4,000  will be levied on participating  Jubilarian batchmates.  For the P4,000 fee,  each participant  shall be entitled to: 

• Bienvenida and Despedida dinner (inclusive of spouse if you are bringing her)

•  Stars of YesterYears Revival show presentation including dancetime afterwards (with DI's?) during the Bienvenida affair. 

• Giveaways (Jubilee shirt/s  which will be the attire for the Homecoming gathering at the DLS campus; an AVP CD featuring Batch63 Friendships; others)

We are currently in the process of raising funds to cover the other expenses of the Jubilee (including the collective effort to enjoin shy Batch63 guys to appear and join us for the Homecoming).  The extra contribution of anyone above and beyond the basic P4K is truly welcome. Prizes for raffle will also be good.   

The GJC members are tasked to collect from the Batch starting today.  Expect a call from your Batch63 friendly collector anytime soon.  Gary Salcedo is the treasurer of the project where you may also remit payments directly through him.  When you pay, please also give your shirt size that we may order this especially for you.

The pictures in the slide show below show the GJC members at work in the past weeks.  The first set of photos shows the visit to Pergola to 'survey' the facilities.  The caterer served lunch to display their stuff.  The second set of photos is the meeting at the Last Chukker.                

Til next time, ANIMO

Oni Mayo 

(GJ Coordinator)


See slide show for more photos.

Pacquiao Mania

Last Sunday morning, Oni Mayo headed for Makati to view the live feed of the Pacquiao - Bradley fight in Makati. From Ortigas Avenue, Oni's trip to Buendia in Makati took just 15 minutes. Yes, the streets were deserted since everyone in Manila was glued to their TV sets for the day. 

Earlier, Boy Carlos had issued out an invitation to Batch63 to watch the fight.  Century Properties, the real estate firm where Boy is accredited, has transformed their lobby headquarters and showroom at Pacific Star building into a venue for a PPV telecast of the Pacquiao fight. It was the firm's token of appreciation for those who had patronized their products.

Oni and Vince Misa showed up for the viewing. Oni arrived first where Boy was already at the lobby waiting for them. Vince came late since he just had to finish the Miami -Lakers NBA game he was watching.  At  the crowded lobby, a giant display of the firm's latest project was very obvious. The ongoing success of the firm in selling their condominiums is a reflection of the improving Philippine economy. According to Robby Liper - Boy's supervisor in the selling effort - most of the condominium buyers are OFWs who were not even planning to immediately use their condos. He surmised that Pinoys are channeling their resources more and more to Philippine-based investments due to the shaky investment climate of the countries they are in. 

Even as Vince was deciding how many condominiums he will buy, the main draw in the cards was announced and everyone was fixed in their viewing positions. Soon, the trio (Boy, Vince and Oni) joined the many others who were rooting for the Pacman. The venue rocked with the shouts of the crowd for each punch that Pacman threw. Grudging admiration was given by some to the durability of Bradley who mixed it up with the Pacman. 

At the end of the bout, it was confusion for the watching public. We know the results. Despite the Pacman's loss, many Pinoys typically rationalized the situation and stood by their man. Looking for a scapegoat for the loss, the crowd attacked the lunch buffet served by the host with a vengeance.  At around 2PM Manila time, the show was over for Vince, Boy and Oni who went their different ways.

Maybe Pacman lost because he had no more 'hunger' for success.  Or maybe his new found religion has 'softened' up his desire to hurt people.  Boy thought it was because Bradley refused to be put to 'sleep' by the power of Pacman.  How can someone be put to sleep when he cannot focus!  Huh?  Well, Boy's joke below explains it better: 

Crowd: Manny! Manny! Patulugin mo na! Patulugin mo na!

 Pacman: Paano kong patutulugin eh ang ingay-ingay ninyo!

See slide show for more photos.

Balikbayan Despedida

On Wednesday evening, a hasty get together for old buddies and US boys Mike Sun and Manolo Relova was organized by some Batch63 guys. The two balikbayans have been in town for sometime now and are scheduled to fly home in a few days. The dinner was held at Korean Garden in Makati – a favorite resto of Gabby Valdez who hosted the affair. Apart from Gabby, the local guys who came to the dinner were Gary Salcedo, Jack Arellano, Lito Quiogue and Oni Mayo. Wives Lucy Sun, Pam Valdez, Marilou Arellano, Nene Quiogue and Bili Mayo were also there. 

The evening was a culmination of a series of Batch63 affairs that Mike and Manolo whole-heartedly patronize given the short period that they were in town. Thought they had many things to attend to during their visit, the two joined almost all of the Kapihan breakfasts every Wednesday, and more significantly, they participated in the Golden Jubilee committee’s first project (the Taal-Tagaytay excursion) heading into the homecoming event in 2013. 

 The dinner talk was typical Batch63 – uninhibited. The funny miscues during the Taal – Tagaytay excursion were explicitly reiterated by the outspoken Manolo to the amusement of the wives. The evening was so entertaining that I forgot how hot some of the Korean stuff can be (and consequently suffered from it). The group was the last to leave the resto but not after posing for the usual group picture. To Mike, Lucy and Manolo, we then say ‘Bon Voyage’ and hope to see you more often. 

See slide show for more photos.

The Taal - Tagaytay Excursion

Golden Jubilee Initial Project

Taal   

On the last Saturday of May, Batch63 headed for Taal for the first leg of their batch excursion. Joey Estagle; Boy Carlos; Tony Estonina; Chito de Vera; Bambi Goco; Vince Misa; Francis Horn; Oni and Bili Mayo rode the rented van. Jackie and Marilou Arellano was joined in their vehicle by Mike and Lucy Sun; and Manolo Relova. 

The group got to visit several ancestral houses in Taal (the Agoncillo, Villavicencio and Ilagan houses). Most of the houses are vintage 1850s that still displayed most of the best interior appointments of those days. (fine wood carvings and panels, Machuca cement floor tiles, graceful grills of ventanillas, tin ceilings with embossed design, hand-painted leather wall covering, old photos, etc.).

The Ilagan house has also been turned into a camera and photo museum to the delight of camera buff Joey Estagle. The claim is that all the cameras – ancient or otherwise - are in working order. An interesting photo displayed on the walls of the gallery is an actual scene of the execution of Jose Rizal. (From an original photo found by a Filipino historian in a French curio shop decades ago).

The Taal Basilica (now mostly restored) and its predecessor, the 16th century Caysasay Church, were evidence of the great history of the town. The respite during the tour was the buffet lunch at the Don Juan resto that feature genuine Batangas cuisine. Probably due to a missed breakfast on account of the early trip, the hungry batch cleaned up the buffet in good time.

Leave it to Manolo Relova to provide the impromptu entertainment.  During the visit to the Taal Basilica, there was an ongoing wedding to be.  The bride was standing alone in the aisle when Manolo cheekily approached her to praise her beauty.  In the process he whispered if he could have her cellphone number.  This must have made the bride cry for she was seen wiping her eyes!  During lunch, Manolo also tried to get Boy Carlos to marry the young waitress serving the group. Of course everyone had their raunchy quip about the prospect. The scene was so raucous that it led one of the wives to say that every time Batch63 gets together, they become like little boys!

Tagaytay 

After the Taal tour, the batch headed for nearby Tagaytay to visit Gabby’s hideaway in that notable breezy City. Some of the guys who did not participate in the Taal tour had actually gone straight to Gabby’s house. These guys were Ramon Arnaiz, Mari Duarte, Lito Domantay, Gary Salcedo and Jimmy Estrella. The main batch of excursionists arrived in Tagaytay from Taal at around 4PM. 

As one drives into this large Valdez compound, the first building visible on one side is the huge garage that houses Gabby’s more than a dozen car collection. The garage is really also a motor shop (for tinkering with the vintage cars).  The car lift inside is proof of this.  Stepping into the entrance hall, the literally open walls of the house reveal a landscaped panorama of the main yard which is most of the land area of the 5,000 sqm. compound. Gabby is a botany enthusiast of late and which work he took to task when he created the verdant yard. For a new yard, the large trees there were quite impressive to see. 

 In tandem with the spacious garden, the main house is an entertainment space par excellence. Was it Boy who said that it could give the Folk Arts Center a run for the money? Whatever, the shameless Batch63 guys made it their own.  Jimmy and Lito D brought out their groovy professional guitars and led the music fest for anyone who thinks they could sing. The others enjoyed the pica-pica and flowing drinks while relaxing in the many seating places in the place. Gabby and Pam Valdez were such gracious hosts that the unabashed Batch63 guys were already “imposing” on Gabby what batch party they could hold there next time.

Suma total 

The places visited that Saturday provided a really great experience for the Batch.  The trip was made even more memorable by the company that was there. The heritage of Taal was quite informative for many. It also provided a window on how other towns can develop their tourism (and economy) if they put their minds to it. Interesting outlooks (and wit) were obtained from the new guys who we don’t see enough off in past events (Chito, Manolo, Mike, Tony). The generosity of Gabby and Pam for sharing their home with the group speaks well of the brotherhood that is Batch63. In behalf of the batch, thanks again Gabby for inviting us to your vacation house.  

 This outing turned out so enjoyable despite the tiring pace of the trip and summer heat. I dare to say that it rivals the other fun excursion of the Batch in Baguio some years ago. If only because of this, the GJ committee is planning on more activities in the coming months where more Batch63 guys are expected to participate. 

Below is the slide show of the photos during the excursion.  About half of the pictures shown there are from the camera of Joey Estagle.  Animo! 

See slide show for more photos.

May Day

Happy birthday to the May celebrants!! These are Joey Angeles, Jackie Arellano, George Cunanan, Mike Sun, Quito Moras, Ray Suplido and Polding Arnaiz. If you must know, Batch63 came in record turnout to celebrate your birthdays! Only five of the above celebrants were present at the Grand Kapihan. Joey Angeles came despite being a member of the ‘organic’ club. (This club is about internal organs and problems with them. Known members include Dendi, Ed O, others). Due to family obligations, George and Quito don’t regularly come to the Kapihan nowadays but for this Grand Kapihan, they unhesitatingly did their part!

And Jackie – how can he forget the Kapihan when he is the Master Texter who reminds everyone about the Kapihan? (He probably includes his name in his text barrage so he won't forget. It’s a good thing he understood his own mysterious Spanish.) Brother Ray and Polding are unfortunately abroad and could not be physically present. Both guys however still managed to participate by sending in their contribution to the blow-out. Thank you for you buffet breakfast blowout, May celebrants! 

The Batch63 guys at Polo today were: Joey Ingles; Gary Salcedo; Joey Estagle; Bambi Goco; Ernie Cuyegkeng; Mari Duarte; Lito Quiogue; Chito de Vera; Tony Estonina; Ed Oleta; Joe Assad; Ed Lim; Oni Mayo; Raffy Villareal; Manolo Relova; Boy Palanca; Gabby Valdez; Boy Carlos; Bert Saenz; Doug Marcaida; Francis Horn and of course, Vince Misa.

Several balikbayans are in town – Mike Sun and Manolo Relova. I don’t know whether to consider Gary Salcedo as one since he’s always here. Anyway, this is a rare visit from Mike Sun. He boasted once that he knows the Batch63 Manila guys by face more than they know him. He said it’s because he sees their photos often in the Menagerie. When put to the test, he confidently identified Raffy Villareal as “Raffy Munoz” and Bert Saenz as “Robert Sanz”. Que pas?

 It was a noisy affair as the guys presented their different advocacies to the group during the party. Visiting in from Sorsogon, Chito de Vera made a move for persuading La Salle school to recognize Batch63 as “La Sallite” rather than the new term – “La Sallian”. He said that he was known as a La Sallite then and he will die a La Sallite now. Meanwhile, Joey Estagle wanted a monumental photoplay so he can utilize his SRL to the max. He moved for everyone to go to the Manila Polo poolside for a group picture - and he was so right. The urged pose was unique and so different from our usual. Check out the pics.

Meanwhile Oni, Gabby and Bambi continue to push for the GJ projects they are promoting. The GJ projects in the forefront today are: the Taal – Tagaytay tour; the Finance committee fund raising campaign; and the Golden Friendship Video. The Taal-Tagaytay tour is scheduled for Saturday where the guys at the Kapihan joining the tour dug into their wallets and paid up. Part of the cost of the tour will be defrayed from early collections of the Finance Committee. The photos coming out of the tour activities will definitely be material being compiled for the Video project. These projects are the initial initiative of the GJ committee and which we hope to build up on all the way to March 2013 – the homecoming month.

We are thus taking this opportunity to enjoin everyone to support the GJ projects since it really makes for good bonding opportunity for Batch 63. Animo!


See slide show for more photos.

April Boys

April turned out to be one of the months with the most number of Batch63 birthday celebrants. At the Grand Kapihan today, seven birthday boys treated the Batch for breakfast at Manila Polo Club. The birthday celebrants were: Boy Palanca; Ernest Cuyegkeng; Bert Saenz; Mari Duarte; Vic Romero; Gary Salcedo; and Ramy Salcedo (Ramy is really a March celebrant. He is based in Calgary and in town at this time).

 The Batch63 guys who feasted on the buffet were: Joe Assad; Joey Estagle; Raffy Villarreal; Gabby Valdes; Boy Carlos; Oni Mayo; Joey Ingles; Jackie Arellano; Lito Domantay; George Cunanan; Ed Lim; Ed Oleta; Tony Estonina; Doug Marcaida; Francis Horn; Joey Angeles; Bambi Goco; Vince Misa and Linggoy Araneta.

The continuing success of the Grand Kapihan program for several years now has surprised everyone. The event has consistently attracted more than twenty busy souls on average each time. For people residing in the South (BF-Alabang area) and the North (Novaliches-Diliman area), it is neither easy traffic or cheap (round trip SLEX toll fee alone is P600) to make it on a week day to the Batch’s Makati Kapihan. Also, many in the Batch have other obligations in one form or the other which they will have to skirt for at least most of the morning of that day.

 It is interesting to see the old boys mingling enthusiastically despite their different current avocations and situations. Some are retired; some are still active in business. Some are a picture of health while some have had some medical procedure done on them already. Some continue to reap success, while others lose out or fade away. Some remain with their families, others have more excitement than they can handle. Overall, what is clear is that Batch63 is weathering it all graciously. It has evolved into a group that has a soft heart and tolerance for each other despite their disparities in character and status. Simply, they are more than classmates – they have turned out to be comrades if not brothers. 

 During the Kapihan, a topic of interest was the ongoing effort of the group to prepare the agenda for the March 2013 Homecoming. Everyone watch out for the Jubilee Bulletins that should spell out the proposed Jubilee projects in the coming days. 

See slide show for more photos.

March Birthdays and the Homecoming

It was another successful Grand Kapihan! Contributing to this success is the participation of balikbayans who attended the DLS Homecoming last March 3 and who are still in town. The participant count is a whopping 28. Excluding the celebrants, the guys who came were: Joey Ingles; Bert Saenz; Ed Oleta; Tony Estonina; Joey Angeles; Joey Estagle; Gabby Valdes; Oni Mayo; Vic Romero; Polding Arnaiz; Boy Lumba; Eboy Cosme; Steve Hontiveros; Jacki Arellano; Raffy Villarreal; Tonichi Grey; Lito Quiogue; Quito Moras; Boy Carlos; Boy Palanca; Francis Horn; and Vince Misa.

The birthday boys were Boy Nazareno, Alex Ledesma, Joe Assad, Ed Lim, Jaime Ortigas, Joey Zamora and Arthur Antonino. The heartwarming thing about the Grand Kapihan is that everybody considers it a privilege (rather than an obligation) to join it. For instance, Jaime and Arthur are really February celebrants but they have no qualms in joining the March party. (The Feb party was scrapped due to few participants). Meanwhile, Arthur sent his participation to the fund since he couldn’t make it that day. Balikbayan Joey’s birthday is still in August, but he wanted to contribute in advance since he won’t be around in August.

It was good to see the celebrants all in good health and mood. Alex L (with his real estate development business) and Joe A and Arthur A (in the stock market industry) appear as prosperous as ever. Despite his quad bypass, Boy N remains a respected consultant for national concerns. Ed Lim retired from the premier BPI bank years ago but he has not being allowed to retire by Isla Bank, another bank which hired him to be its President. The same is true for Jaime O who retired from his family stock brokerage firm. But how do you retire from family affairs? Today Jaime remains as director and consultant of the firm even as he tries to inculcate Christian values from time to time (as a lay minister) to his wild Batch63 friends. Joey is likewise retired from his travel business in the West Coast and today mainly hones up on his golf. Physically, the energy remains high so Joey and his wife are known to be involved in network marketing business still.

The Kapihan became a especially jovial scene when Joey Estagle stood up to remind the Batch that it will be celebrating its 50th Jubilee in 2013 next year. Hence, it should already start preparing for the next DLS Homecoming event. Oni Mayo agreed and said that it better be a good one since it will be our last Hurrah. The next Jubilee milestone is 75 years and everyone will surely be incapacitated if not gone by then. For this statement, Oni got hoots and catcalls of "speak for yourself!" from Batch63 who seem to believe in immortality. After that, it was getting close to lunchtime and people started to go. Celebrant Joe Assad however must have anticipated what was in Tonichi's mind and whipped out a Johnny Black from his bag. This made a hardy dozen of the guys stay behind enjoying the company and talking about even more nonsense.


Call for Volunteers to Join the 2013

Batch 63 Homecoming Committee

In 2013, DLSHS63 fellows will become Golden Boys and will be expected to have a grand presentation during the March Homecoming event. The Kapihan thus became an opportunity to call on Batch63 guys willing to join a 2013 Homecoming Committee to be formed. The members of the committee will primarily be the core group that will lead the preparation for the stage presentation in 2013. The secondary task of this committee will be the initiation of group activities for the Batch through the months leading to March 2013.

Oni Mayo is seeing to the task of forming the organizational committee. Immediately, those who have signified their support to be part of the committee / core group are: Bambi Goco; Vince Misa; Joey Estagle; Lito Quiogue; Francis Horn and Bert Saenz. The idea is tomeet monthly to practice the theme music of choice, brainstorm project plans, organize events and have fun in the process. The first meeting will be called soon where others who would like to join the committee are welcome. Batch63 US boys are included in this call. It must be understood that the 70s migration to the US are really symbolic of the Philippine diaspora. Thus, there is a suggestion to give the immigrants special mention during the 2013 homecoming. Because of this, the US boys are enjoined to be active in this project and make suggestions on how their contingent can contribute to the show. Abangan.


See slide show for more photos.

DLS Homecoming 2012

The DLSU Homecoming event is traditionally held in the DLS Taft campus. For the 2012 Homecoming however, the event was held in the gymnasium of of DLS Greenhills. The reason for the shift in location is because the DLS Taft campus is undergoing redevelopment. A new campus master plan had been prepared for the Taft campus and today, the master plan that features a major new building (the Centennial Building) for the campus is under implementation and construction.

The Homecoming organizers outdid themselves in making the 2012 event successful. The raffle prizes were big time prizes (cameras, laptops, etc. and many cash prizes ranging from P500k to a million pesos!). The band of choice was the Blumfields, a young band specializing in Beatle tunes. The Blumfields also did their version of Chuck Berry tunes (a little strange to the old band players in the audience but OK na rin). Ultimately, this young band had the audience rocking and a-twistin’ on the dance floor after a while.

The various batches celebrating their milestone years came in force. The batches gave spirited formal presentations on stage to the amusement of the audience. Batch HS62 who is celebrating their golden moment came up with an extravaganza where the batch rendered old La Salle fighting songs backed-lit by a video that highlighted the best among their graduates. As we know, Batch62 is probably the DLS batch with some of the most successful professionals / businessmen who have made their mark both in the public and private sector.

Batch63 had always supported the DLS homecoming events and this year was no different even if the batch had no special role in the event shows. The Batch63 guys who came were: Bro. Ray Suplido, Baby Angeles, Joey Zamora, Lito Quiogue, Boy Carlos, Quito Moras, Tonichi Grey, Raffy Villarreal, Joey Estagle, Bambi Goco, Vince Misa and Oni Mayo. Boy Lumba, Vic Romero and Jack Arellano are technically Batch63 guys who were at the Homecoming but for complicated reasons, were seen in the company of the celebrating Batch62 instead of Batch63 (mga balimbing!). Their numbers were however not missed as the Batch63 HS gang annexed Batch67 college diehards in the next table (Ramon Mojica, Ben Umali, Sonny Jacinto, etc.). As we know, Batch67 college guys are effectively Batch63 guys as well.

If 2012 is Batch62’s year, then this means that next year, 2013, is Batch63’s milestone year! Watching the entertaining proceedings, many Batch63 were fired up. They are now bent on coming together soon to have an early start and see how next year they can top the various presentations they witnessed that night. Animo La Salle!

See silde show for more photos.

DLSU College Batch67

Last week, Ramon Mojica of Batch67 had batchmates and friends for dinner in his house. Actually it was the birthday of Ramon’s son and so he took the opportunity to have friends over as well. About half a dozen La Sallites attended the party. Ramon just wanted to get together and do a little jammin’! The delicious dinner fare in the party is vintage Ramon menu complete with lechon and endless liquor flow. After the meal, the La Salle guys gravitated towards the pool table where the sound system was. With his electric guitar (and Ventures and Shadows M1s), Ben Umali provided memorable 60’s instrumental rock fare to the crowd.

Ramon said he had extended his invitation to many Batch63 guys (who were also Batch68) but only Eboy Cosme and Oni Mayo came. Batch67 is a happy group and would have liked to present something in the homecoming on March 3. According to Ben, they had wanted to support Joey Estagle’s Elvis act but they were not able to come together to practice. Maybe it’s not too late.