An August Body

Attendees
The F&B management of Polo Club is a new group and was amazed at what they saw today. It was their first time to witness a Batch63 Grand Kapihan birthday affair. From the usual 6 to 7 guys who go to the Kapihan every Wednesday, a group of 24 uninhibited people came this time. Yes, August month is the joint birthday event for Benny Ang, Lito Quiogue, Paqui Campos, Raffy Villareal and Vince Misa! Patrick Go would be there too, but he is based in Cebu so he just sent in his contribution to the party. From Batch63, here’s wishing the August celebrants a very happy birthday! Gracias para el desayuno, viejos!

Apart from the 5 celebrants above, the guys who were there at the breakfast were: Joey Estagle, Gary Salcedo, Jackie Arellano, Mari Duarte, Gabby Valdes, Steve Hontiveros, George Cunanan, Quito Moras, Ed Lim, Ed Oleta, Tony Estonina, Dendy Abdon, Oni Mayo, Joey Angeles, Boy Carlos, Bert Saenz, Francis Horn, Doug Marcaida, and Joey Ingles. For this assembly of old friends, Batch63 is grateful to Vince Misa who is the incessant organizer of the Grand Kapihan and who make it happen the way it has in the past couple of years.

The Celebrants

Benny Ang is a quiet private man. When I tried to interview him, he said he would email me his details. So far, no email. He would aptly be Batch63’s “Mr. Quiet”. Anyway, Benny is retired from his hardware store business. He looks relax and healthy and you can always count on him to support Batch63 affairs.







Lito Quiogue is looking dapper as usual. Among the Kapihan crowd, he is known as “Mr. Guapo” (Sometimes Lito switches it with “Mr. Big”). It’s a self-appointed moniker with sexual overtones that Lito coined for himself to the chagrin of an envious Jackie Arellano. Jackie is sore that he didn’t think of the titles for himself earlier. Nowadays, Lito continues to be involved in a Lending Investment firm. It’s good that this role does not prevent Lito from joining Batch63’s motor club (members: Gabby Valdes, Jackie Arellano, Bert Saenz, Doug Marcaida) who goes on out-of-town sorties from time to time.


If Lito is “Mr. Guapo”, Paqui Campos is “Mr. Charm” of Batch63. With his record of three beautiful socialite wives (official wives, mind you), the title suits him fine. In the vernacular, Bert Saenz however says that Paqui’s title best translates to “Senor Bolero”. Like Lito Quiogue, Paqui has a convenient job that takes up only 50% of his time. While he is in his retirement years, Paqui continues to manage the varied Manila real estate holdings of his family.





Today, Raffy Villareal is a successful entrepreneur in the mold of many DLS graduates. He owns Autocarpets Inc - a company that provides the carpets for most Japanese cars imported into the country. Raffy was affected for a while when Japan carmakers stalled production after the tsunami thing. But Raffy is smiling again today since it didn’t take long for Japan to bounce back. Speaking of bounce back, one sport that is bouncing back is Football (due to Azkal’s success). One exercise idea is for the Batch to have a small football game going from time to time (instead of merely jogging or walking around the field). Raffy is Batch63’s “Mr. Football” (DLS Football Hall of Fame) and is willing to lead the batch in this activity


Vince Misa is off course Batch63’s “Mr. Karaoke”. He has a collection of Karaoke CDs (60s and 70s songs) that puts Karaoke commercial places to shame! During the heydays of Seventh Note, Vince was a fixture there during Happy Hour time. When Vince is not wasting time at the Kapihan, he is currently dealing in VMobile electronic product business with his brother. Most days, Vince walks around the Rockwell Mall with his wife. With their Senior Citizen cards, they can watch all the free movies they like in Makati.




It’s too bad Patrick Go wasn’t able to attend his birthday celebration. Patrick is mainly based in Cebu where he tends to his family. We know that Pat’s wife is ailing and his Mom is now very old. We wish them well, Pat. Now and then he goes to NY where his children are based. Patrick is big supporter of Batch63 affairs.

Call for Assistance
Last week, an old classmate suddenly popped up at the Kapihan. The guys present then (Linggoy Araneta, Gabby Valdez, Jackie Arellano, Joey Ingles and Oni Mayo) were surprised to see erstwhile GS59 tough guy Joselito “Joey” Alonso. He had a plastic patch over his right eye that needs a cataract operation. He actually had supporting documents from his Doctor at Makati Med to back up his situation. He had come to ask Batch63 for financial support – if he could.

In his young years, Joey was the terror of his batch. For sure a lot more than one spirited tot then acquired either a bloody nose, a black eye, or torn uniform courtesy of Alonso. Today, “Bad Boy” Joey is Bro. Joey – a reformed Christian. Ironically, Mari Duarte - who had his clashes with Joey in Grade School then – apprised Batch63 about Joey’s situation today.

The hat was passed around and a sum of about P12,000 was raised on the spot. It won’t cover Joey’s entire financial requirement for his operation but it should help some. Message to Joey: If you are reading, you can thank those kind hearted guys present at the Kapihan today (listed above) for this.


See slideshow for more photos.