Dendi

Dendi Abdon is presently confined at the Makati Med hospital. He is undergoing a series of radiation treatment to fight the big C (rectal cancer). The present treatment will be over soon and he may be able to go home in a week's time. Batch63 wishes Dendi improved health in the coming weeks.

At the hospital, Dendi is being fully supported by his family. On Friday afternoon, Oni Mayo went to visit Dendi in Room 762. When Oni arrived, Dendi was still in the radiation room undergoing his session and so he took the opportunity to chat first with Tina (Dendi's eldest daughter) and Tito (younger brother of Dendi). Apparently, this is Dendi's second hospital confinement in a month's time. Dendi suffered an infection some days ago that required his being confined again.

Dendi was finally wheeled from the treatment room even as his wife Helen arrived from her work. Dendi is visibly in high spirits and spiritedly conversed with Oni. The topic of conversation? Batch63 shenanigans off course. Dendi loves Batch63 and he remembers all his good times with the Batch. His open diatribe with Oni was spirited and which became an amusement for Dendi's family there. Dendi promises to get well in the next few weeks so that he can join the next Batch63 Grand Kapihan in December.

For Dendi, this arduous episode in his life has been going on for 5 years. When he was first diagnosed with the disease, Dendi first tried out alternative medicine for a few years. Today, he has accepted that he needs chemotherapy treatment and mainstream medicine. We all now that this is a very expensive process and is a hardship for most any family. Dendi is touched with the advise of some Batch63 friends (Joey Estagle was first to know), who greatly raised his spirits due to their offer of support. (Bert Saenz and Mari Duarte are today rallying La Salle friends to the cause of Dendi).

Dendi is frail today - a far cry from his high school days when he played varsity track and field (discuss throw and shot put) for good old DLS. True to his Batangueno heritage, it is not easy to put down this strong man. Even with his diminished frame, you can see the fire in his eyes when he talks about his passions. We know that Dendi is also a musician being the drummer for the erstwhile Royal Lancers combo. While Dendi has constrained movements specially when his system acts up, his spirit continues to rock and roll. Way to go, Dendi. See you at the Grand Kapihan next month.

For those who wish to communicate with Dendi, his address is 126 Caliraya Drive, Marian Lake View Park, Paranaque. His mobile is 0917 536 2375.

Batch63 Green Hat

In recent months, Batch63 came to hear about the plight of two embattled classmates One was in need of an emergency eye operation and another had lost everything during the onslaught of Typhoon Pedring last September. In support of its own, Batch63 came through for the two cases.

Case No. 1
Joey Alonso did not have many friends in Grade School. He was the quintessential school bully. He was actually kicked out in the fourth grade for fighting. True to form he lived the wild life all his life and is lucky he survived unscathed through all his escapades. He emerged a few years ago and reconnected with the Batch. He is now a Senior citizen who is affiliated with a Christian group. He calls everyone Brother and it was amazing how he could remember Batch63 guys - full names and all - even after 50 years.

Some months ago, he came requesting for help for his impending eye operation. He had managed to find sponsors in Makati Medical Center but it was not a totally free offer. He finally settled for another hospital (East Avenue Hospital) that was more affordable. One Kapihan day, the group passed the hat and came out with part of his financial requirement. Mari Duarte - ironically Joey's grade school foe - was tasked by the group to ensure the proper disposition of the funds. Mari attended to the matter with dispatch and coordinated with the social worker on the case. Mari finally handed the fund (P12K) last week to the social worker who guaranteed that the fund will be exclusively used for Joey's medical requirement.


Case No. 2
In the 50s, Boy Tungpalan's family owned the famous Roadside Cafe restaurant near the corner of Vito Cruz and Taft Avenue. With it's arresting neon signage, the Cafe was a landmark then. It had both famous and notorious people as its regular patrons. In those times, many of Boy's classmates would go to his house after school and where they partook of delicious hamburger sandwich from the Cafe. That was the equivalent of the McDonald treat at that time.

Today, Boy has fallen onto hard times. He lives in a small house in Navotas that was totally demolished by Typhoon Pedring. While Boy ekes out a living doing minor construction jobs (he took up architecture) and managing a little eatery with his wife, he lost everything in the storm. Led by Lito Quiogue, friends of Boy rallied to his cause and the hat was passed around during the Grand Kapihan today. The large attendance at the Kapihan was timely and who contributed an amount of more than P24K for Boy. Special mention is warranted for the long distance donation of Manolo Relova (who is an American resident). Boy was a picture of gratefulness as he received the token and said that the gift would go a long way. He was teary eyed as he thanked each and everyone in the Batch.

November Grand Kapihan

Roll Call

I believe that the Grand Kapihan feting the birthday boys of November is one of the largest assembled this year. Organizer Vince Misa was not there this time but the joint birthday event’s administrative chore (at Cameron Forbes room in Polo Club) was aptly handled by instant substitute Lito Quiogue. The November birthday celebrants are: Gabby Valdez, Steve Hontiveros, Douglas Marcaida, Jimmy Estrella and Bambi Goco. As usual, Batch63 sincerely wish the celebrants Un felix compleanos and muchas gracias for the hearty breakfast fare!

The rare birds observed at the event were: Eboy Cosme, Vic Corpuz, Ramon Arnaiz, Richard Tilman, Boy Tungpalan, Benny Ang and Lito Domantay. In addition (and apart from the celebrants), the others who came were: Babes Angeles, Jack Arellano, Ed Lim, Mari Duarte, Raffy Villareal, Gary Salcedo, Joey Ingles, George Cunanan, Polding Arnaiz, Joey Estagle, Boy Palanca, Bert Saenz, Boy Carlos, Oni Mayo, Francis Horn, Ed Oleta, Tony Estonina and of course, the facilitator today – Lito Quiogue. Thirty strong, the group was so big that the usual L-shaped table arrangement allocated for Grand Kapihans at Cameron Hall was not enough to accommodate everyone.

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The Celebrants

Steve Hontiveros is kept busy nowadays by his involvement in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). Steve is the Secretary General of the institution and he has to attend to its many functions all over the World. By this week, Steve - together with the 700-strong Philippine delegation - is slated to be in Indonesia for the Southeast Asian Games. If you guys can time your visit to POC affairs (and meet up with Steve at the venue), Steve promises to provide official passes for any visiting Batch63 guy.

Being connected with the Government in a way, Steve believes that the Government is on the right track with its institutional reform programs. He is however impatient with the improvement of the peace and order situation. Steve must be alluding to the many recent sensational crime incidents in the papers today.

Jimmy Estrella as we know conducts business in his bailiwick in Rosales, Pangasinan. Today, he is involved in commercial organic farming. This project is now operational and Jim is expecting initial harvests. Apart from cash-crop vegetables, another interesting product being developed by Jimmy is rice seeds. Jim informed that rice production tend to decline when the same type seed is planted every time. High quality seeds that Jimmy will supply can improve the harvest of rice growers.

Jimmy is a scion of the powerful Estrella political clan of Pangasinan. Bred in this environment, Jimmy has some interesting views on the plight of the country’s socio-economic situation today. While he acknowledges the sincere effort of the present administration to instill reform, he feels that to be effective, it should be more pro-active in approach. He feels that having been vested with a popular mandate to lead, the President should not be conservative for the sake of image. Too much caution (on government development spending) is not good when it stifles initiatives and the opportunity is lost. Not grabbing the bull by the horns when one can, was a mistake of the President’s mother - Cory Aquino.

Durable Doug Marcaida remains physically hale who continues to be effective in his job within the tough cargo handling industry. Doug’s experience with law-enforcement in America is really serving him in good stead today. Apart from his regular cargo handling interest, Doug is developing his property in Baras, Rizal as a resort place in the area. When he gets the zipline installed, I wonder how many Batch63 guys can still be nimble enough take the ride if only to prove they are still young.


Doug is optimistic about the future. He believes that the President is trying his best and the people’s hopes are at an all-time high. Admittedly, there’s still a lot to be done if the country is to progress but Doug remains practical and knows that it will take some time to do all that’s needed to be done. Looking around, Doug sees many first time improvements in the government system that he feels is a good sign.

Bambi Goco has always been identified with his brokerage business. Over the years, Bambi had done other works, but his bread-and-butter remains brokerage. Together with wife Kang, the couple attends to the facilitation of the release of imported cargo for dealers and distributors. With globalization, the Brokerage industry can only grow. We know that manufacturing of basic and luxury consumer goods (and raw material) are done in many foreign places which in turn ship out these produce to the Philippines. Clearly, Bambi and Kang seem far off from thinking about enjoying full retirement benefits.

Bambi is focused on the nuances of his trade that require timely personal service effort. Per Bambi, the industry situation and practices today remain the same. This is probably the reason why he believes that there really is not much difference between the Government we have now and before. The reforms are much too slow in coming where some feel that the changes may not be in place before the President’s term is over. If true, innovative people like Bambi will continue to be needed by his industry if only to meet the requirement of traders and investors who seek to validly contribute to the progress of Philippine commerce.

Today, Gabby Valdez is on second career mode. Having been involved early on with the family management accounting and auditing business (previously one of the largest in the country) Gabby is now retired from that. However, the businessman in Gabby remains. Today, he attends to family investments that may need upgrading and retooling to address new global conditions. Outside of business, Gabby indulges in mundane avocations such as: vintage auto collection; golf; vacation houses; travel (he just came from Singapore with wife Pam); and gourmet cuisine stuff.

Like Jimmy Estrella, Gabby agrees with the reform direction taken by the new Noynoy Government in general. He however senses that the people are eager for faster more meaningful development in the country. As a Filipino, Gabby would like to do his share in this regard. He hopes to soon establish with Batch63 friends some novel socio-economic project that will have a positive impact on the country. If any of you have some ideas on this, do call up Gabby.


See slide show for more photos.

Fall Boys of Batch 63 / By Lito Quiogue

The Birthday Boys
September and October are Fall months in America. Hence Batch63 guys whose birthday fall on those months are hereby dubbed as the Fall boys for purposes of this issue of the Menagerie. The Fall boys who treated Batch63 at the Polo Club Kapihan are Vic Corpus, Boy Carlos, Francis Horn, Lito Domantay and Joey Estagle. September and October are also the birthday months of Mari Vargas and Dendi Abdon but unfortunately these two co-celebrants failed to make it to the party. Regardless, happy birthday guys – and thanks for the breakfast!

The Blow by Blow
To begin, most attendees received a rousing welcome as they entered Cameron Forbes Room - the new venue of the Kapihan. Apart from the Fall boy hosts, the guys who came today were: Joey Ingles, Jackie Arellano, Bambi Goco, Benny Ang, Tony Estonina, Ed Oleta, Lito Quiogue, Ed Lim, Polding Arnaiz, Gabby Valdes, Eboy Cosme, George Cunanan, Doug Marcaida and BertSaenz. Naturally, grand kapihan organizer Vince Misa was also there otherwise no one would be responsible for collection (from celebrants) and payment (to MPC).

The typical confusion and kantyawans abounded at Cameron Forbes. Lito Q – a victim of tough guy Joey Alonso during student days (Joey claims he does not remember) – was greeted by the news that Joey was once again looking for him. Before Lito could figure a way out of his situation, the Batch humanely advised him that they were just teasing and that the once fearsome Alonso was really not in the crowd. This kind of love-hate relationship amongst Batch63 guys is normal. It was highlighted by Jackie Arellano when he confronted Polding for violating the Polo Club’s dress code (no shorts in the club’s formal restaurant). Jackie threatened to summon the guards to kick Polding out. In true Conyo boy form, Polding spewed loud, crisp colloquial cussing at the wincing Jackie for daring to harass him. For sure, what transpired must have been loud since it startled the other non Batch63 guests in the restaurant.

There were other self-assuring topics that morning. Ed Lim - whom we understand is in the DLSU Athletic Board (?) - offered the esoteric reasons why ADMU’s recent UAAP victory was a fluke. From basketball, the conversation ultimately switched to Health-talks. Eboy shared his recent close brush with the grim reaper when a lump inside his heart was discovered during a routine check-up. He related how he went about seeking state-of-the-art medical service for his condition. He found one abroad and sure enough, he is now well. Per Eboy, he was able to walk out of the hospital after three days with hardly visible scars.

At the far side of the L-shaped table, Bert meanwhile related his biking experience to those around him. It appears that he and Doug participated in the arduous and grueling Motorcycle Iron man Challenge held early this year. A few months from now in January 2012, Bert and Douglas vowed to be back with a vengeance, determined to cross the finish line this time.

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Note: The actual blow by blow account and the photos for this Grand Kapihan event were provided by Lito Quiogue. Oni Mayo (on leave out of Manila) provided minor editing on the web for purposes of format.

See slide show for more photos.

Special issue: An American Episode

A Day in LA
Today, the Menagerie is going international. On Tuesday September 20, Batch63 guys visiting LA met up with LA-based La Sallians (three of which are Batch63 guys). The day started with a buffet lunch followed by an all-afternoon shindig at the house of gracious hosts Nestie Teoxon and wife Jefin. Nestie is the Green Coordinator Supremo in LA and his house is dubbed as the 'Clubhouse' of La Sallians. The Batch63 visitors to LA were Gary Salcedo (from NY and Manila), Joey Zamora (from Sacramento) and Oni Mayo (from Manila). The Batch63 guys based in LA are Art Sicat, Manolo Carrillo and Celso Lontoc.

The seafood lunch buffet at the Osaka Resto in Hacienda Heights was both delicious and filling. Apart from the Nestie, Jefin and the Batch63 fellows, the other DLS stalwarts at the buffet lunch were: Dan and Lorelei Balais; Bobby and Imelda Razon (from West Covina); Bert and Cely Sebastian; Bernie Berkenkotter (HS64); and Babes Reynado. Completing the cast were Boy (HS64) and Juliet Avecilla who are Pinoys and just visiting like Oni.

The party at Nestie’s house was a let-your-hair-down gig (for those who still had hair). The highlight of the party was a sort of musical intoxication (meaning JWB flowed freely while the guests took to singing rowdy 60s songs). In the absence of the usual Karaoke music, they made do by accompanying themselves on acoustic guitars provided by Manolo Carrillo. (The guy owns 2 Twelve String guitars and 1 accoustic.) Joey and Oni took on the guitar accompaniment while Manolo, Gary and Celso sang with feeling if not gusto. Warmed up after a while, Art grabbed a guitar and started to sing but he had to be prompted as he forgot the lyrics.

At past 10PM, the fun group finally broke up. The party goers apparently needed to get their rest since many were scheduled to hit the golf links early the next day. And mind you, this is a Tuesday weekday (what a life for our LA guys!) The guys here take their golf seriously. I was told that Gary had left his golf set in Manila but he bought a new Lynx set just for the occasion. I wonder if his game got any better. For Oni and Bili it was goodbye to the La Sallians since they had a plane to catch at the airport.

The Pre-LA Activity
This Batch63 American episode would not be complete without mentioning Batch63's pre-LA activity. Actually, the Batch63 guys met up prior to the LA party. The meeting place was in Fallbrook (about an hour’s drive away from San Diego) where Oni was attending his UP college reunion event. Art Sicat (with wife Nanette), Joey Zamora, Mike Yang, Manolo Carrillo (with wife May) joined Oni Mayo (with wife Bili) at Pala Mesa Resort (PMR) in Fallbrook. PMR is known for its golf course and scenery where many social events are held.

Art and Joey actually booked in PMR where Oni and Bili were staying. They gamely participated in the golf and buffet- musical show set up by Oni's UP group. (Apparently Art and Joey are honing up their golf game for the DLS Vegas tournament later in the year). For this they got to fall in the company of the organizers who appreciated their participation and made them honorary UP members. Manolo and Mike came later to Fallbrook to join up. From Pala Mesa resort, this Batch 63 group - some with their wives - tried out their luck at the nearby Pechanga Casino resort. I understand that the gambling gods smiled on Art Sicat that day while Joey and Oni just had to grin and bear it.

The get together at Nestie's house closes the chapter for this memorable California event. Meeting the LA guys, I can’t help but fondly recall another Batch63 stalwart who had always been in DLS thick of things until he couldn’t anymore. This is the late Nilo Villanueva who always found time to meet up with visiting Batch63 (including me in my other visit to the LA area just a few years ago).

Until the next time, buenas suerte a todo y hasta la vista amigos.


See slide show for more photos.

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.

Eating Out

In recent Kapihan get togethers at the Polo, some Batch63 stalwarts thought of starting a food club. Simplistically, the objective was to sample interesting food fare of selected restaurants. On July 22, 2011, the first activity of the ‘club’ was launched at Cirkulo. Cirkulo is a resto along Pasay Road Makati serving Spanish-type food. The Batch63 guys who joined in this first food club activity were Gabby Valdez, Lito Quiogue, Jackie Arellano and Oni Mayo. In what turned out to be a worthwhile 3-hour lunch break, the four relished the new food fare and bonding time.

Cirkulo’s spacious interior is a dim quiet haven. It is in stark contrast from the din outside. (It’s always a joy when one chances on a public place where patrons can converse without strain.) The meal started out with a cocktail and tapas. The main course consisted of delectably tender lamb chops, refreshing roasted veggies and sumptuous paella. Coffee and chocolate cake capped the meal. Please see photos of the fare selected by the group.

The four would-be gourmets of Batch63 spiced up their meal with spicy exchanges about . . who else? . . . those who didn’t join this activity! Earlier Jackie had texted the Batch to invite them to this affair but he only got a couple of responses. I understand that Paqui Campos and Lito Domantay expressed interest but the last minute invite was not conducive to ther skeds.

Those guys who didn’t come to Cirkulo missed out since Gabby Valdez picked up the tab. Gabby reasoned that it is the inaugural activity of the club and he wants to kick start it in a memorable way. In typical Batch63 (sardonic) style, Jackie frowned on the development. Jackie said that it is important to pretend that the Batch63 gourmet club is an elite group whose members need not be hosted to come (Ano sila, mahirap?). Despite Jackie's typical showmanship, the group appreciates Gabby's special effort to encourage activities of the Batch.

God willing, the outings will happen at least once a month. The other places being mulled for the next time are special eating places in the Metro and even as far away as Pampanga, Bataan and Baguio. Jackie, Gabby and Lito are car buffs who like to drive around Luzon to experience quaint places. Abangan! By the way, we are in the process of coining the name of the club. Any suggestions?

See slide show for more photos.

The Boys of Summer

Grand Kapihan Attendees

Cameron Hall of Polo Club was enlivened once more with the presence of Batch63’s raucous group. Yes, it’s the joint birthday bash of George Cunanan, Joey Angeles, Quito Moras and Jack Arellano. Two celebrants who contributed to the blowout but didn’t make it were Polding Arnaiz and Bro. Ray Suplido. Bro. Ray is somewhere in LA and no one knows where the moody Polding is. Whatever, Feliz compleanos, hombres!

The 22-strong attendees to the Kapihan included rare birds Paqui Campos, Raffy Villareal, Vic Corpus and Dendi Abdon. Paqui is his usual funny self who claims that he will not marry again (it’s 3rd time around for this amorous guy). When others doubted his claim to not marry again, Paqui said it’s because of the pre-nup he signed that stops him from claiming what used to belong to him (does anyone understand this statement?). In the case of Raffy, he is undergoing a forced vacation from business that he hopes will not last. Raffy owns Auto Carpets Inc, a company that supplies rugs to Japanese carmakers who we all know have completely stopped producing cars for a while.

Vic Corpus is looking good and who is onto something again - in Tuguegarao. Vic said he is involved with something like turbine emplacements that’s good for the environment. (Call Vic for details - the madcap setting at the Kapihan did not allow me to get further info about this.) Finally, one guy everyone was glad to see in good form and spirit is Dendi – the original Batch63 submariner! Dendi is faring well considering the recent special surgery he had for a blocked rectum. Keep it up, Dendi! The other guys who were at the Kapihan were: Joey Estagle, Joey Ingles, Oni Mayo, Tony Estonina, Ed Oleta, Steve Hontiveros, Ed Lim, Joe Assad, Gabby Valdes, Doug Marcaida, Lito Quiogue, Boy Carlos, Bert Saenz, and Vince Misa of course.

Celebrants Profile

Joey Angeles
Joey A is semi retired depending on how you look at it. While he has time to be involved in social work with his barangay (Joey is Senior Citizen adviser for Barangay San Antonio where he resides) and to service family requirement (tigas), he continues to conduct management seminars (team building and strategic planning among others) from time to time. Joey honed his professional skills while working for both the private sector and Government (Department of Budget). He and his wife Nessie have worked all their lives and now he wants to do some real traveling. He will have to wait though until Nessie retires this year from DOT where she is a career official.


George Cunanan
George’s life is an example of a successful one. From a fulfilling banking career (VP, Citibank - now Citigroup) in the 80s, George went into early retirement during which time he adroitly managed his assets while indulging in his hobbies (golf, tennis & photography). Between his wife Maricel and him, they are happy today to support the professional careers of his successful children in whatever way they could. George is doting grandpa to three grandchildren when he is not sending out inspirational emails. I asked George if there is anything else he would like to do today given the limited window of opportunities that we Seniors face. George thought long and hard and said that he might just learn to play guitar. Attaboy Georgie!


Quito Moras
Just last April, Quito suffered a TIA (mild stroke) that gave him temporary amnesia. It was surprising news since Quito is fit and an up-and-about kind of guy every time we see him. Although hospitalized for a while, Quito is his usual again at today’s Kapihan. We expect more attendance from Quito to the Kapihan in the coming months since he and his wife Karen are moving to Makati (from Alabang). While Quito is retired from his long time role as project executive for mega condo projects (the Comunidades business), the developer in him remains. Today, he wants to be involved again in the industry but with low rise apartments instead of high rise condos. Quito is fully recovered from his amnesia. The downside to that is that he will get to remember again the shameful antics of Batch63 buddies.


Jack Arellano
One of the pillars of the Kapihan, Jackie was an advertising proprietor who retired long ago. After retirement, he engaged in vintage car collection, playing golf and other adult pursuits (?). Today however, he is once again a proprietor. Yes folks, Jackie with his daughter Sandy are the owners of Sandy’s Pizza (try out their salted fish-laced Pizza!). His latest branch is located in Makati near the Rockwell area. Among the important roles of Jackie today is to send out text messages about Kapihan events to Batch63 at all hours of the day or night. His messages are usually in odd Spanish sentences that our Conyo boys find hard to understand. Jackie claims that his words are so high-hat that they can only be fully appreciated by Spanish aristocrats or men of noble lineage. According to Jack, there are few who are at par with his nobility. To rub elbows with him, Jackie set as criteria the following: 1) You should understand the Spanish language the way he says it; 2) you should have a vintage car preferably a Jaguar or some European car; 3) you should play good golf; and 4) you should be a man of the (under?) world. Today, he is still evaluating if he will accept Gabby Valdes and Linggoy Araneta in his exclusive noble circle.


Bro. Ray Suplido
In school, Ray Suplido was a nice quiet nerd (?) from Section A. Hence it is not surprising that he would eventually hold masters and PhD degrees today. Ray is Batch63’s contribution to the alma mater’s Christian Brotherhood movement where he was Brother Provincial at one time and where he served for many years as a member of the Brothers council in Rome. Today, Bro. Ray is the president of La Salle’s USLS school in Bacolod (since 2007). He is happy to be working in a place where he can also enjoy the company of his 5 siblings.

For those who are not familiar with the USLS school system, it is a huge institution with two progressive campuses (and a prospective third campus) thanks to the vision of the Brothers community there. USLS’s current 9,000 strong student population is about the same size as the Manila DLS campus system and growing fast. Moreover, the USLS has all kinds of courses (preschool, integrated school, collegiate, post graduate, arts and crafts, etc.) that would rival the best Manila schools in facility, type, quantity and quality.


Polding Arnaiz
Polding Arnaiz is Batch63’s typical Conyo boy. While he has not been consistent in coming to the Kapihan, Polding is ever present when the Batch63 event concerns more adult fare. Before I get into trouble, adult fare means essentially premium alcoholic drinks and pulutan! Polding is a well-traveled guy (probably why he didn’t join us today) since he is in the travel agency business. To date, he has resisted the request of some Batch63 friends for him to organize a sex tour of China.


Jubilee Event

Vince Misa and Joey Estagle are doing their jobs as reps to the DLSAA and are enjoining the Batch to come to the Jubilee celebration next month. They are trying to muster a group of 10 so that they can reserve one table. Those who have already signified are Joey E, Quito M, Tony E, Eddie O, Gabby V, Raffy V, Joe A and Ed Lim. For further info, please contact Vince.


See slide show for more photos.