vmhs class '63 digest issue #7
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ÂTRANSCRIPT
November 2012
Issue No. 7 Class '63 Digest
INSIDE
• Batchmates in
Heaven • What My Grown
Up Self Would Tell My High School Self
• At the Senior Center
• Thanskgiving in
America
Special Interest
Articles: • Florentino
“Baggy” Bagallon
• Felilia Atienza-
Quilao
November Birthday
Celebrants:
• Evelyn Teodoro-
Cowled • Leticia Laxa-
Pusung
Guest Editors
• Caloy Guanlao • Elaine Pusung-
Silva
V. MAPA HIGH SCHOOL
From the Editorial Team:
The Editorial Team
Cesar G. Banaag Juliet de Guzman-Blackwell
Josie Astorga-Campbell Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled Linda Tablan-Fernandez
Regie Lauzon Juliet Mascarinas
Racquel Magat-Sanchez
In commemoration of All
Saints Day, we asked
friends to write about
batchmates who have
passed on as our way of
remembering them.
Among the writers, Eddie
Eusebio hands in a touch-
ing piece on high school
buddy and kumpare,
Romy Tolentino.
Also, Fil-Am batchmates
share with us their nostal-
gic, sometimes funny,
first Thanksgiving expe-
riences in the USA.
In “What My Grown Up
Self Would Tell My High
School Self”, Racquel
Magat-Sanchez, talks
about the growing-up
pains on the road to ma-
turity – and contentment.
Josie Astorga-Campbell,
on the other hand, writes
an amusing anecdote on
senior citizens At the Sen-
ior Center.
The search for batch-
mates goes on and two of
our recent finds are our
featured personalities for
this issue: Florentino
“Baggy” Bagallon in
Manila, our third in our
Men-in-the-Force series,
and Felilia Atienza-
Quilao in the US.
As the story goes, Juliet de
Guzman-Blackwell asked
Caloy Guanlao to get in
touch with Baggy Bagallon
and to inform him that
she’s nominating him for
the Falcon Award and we’d
like him to be featured in
our Digest. Caloy had to
sift through musty docu-
ments, salvaged from fire
and flood, to get evidence
of Baggy’s multi-awarded
career as a police officer.
Caloy found a treasure
trove that inspired him to
write the article on Baggy,
himself. Way to go Caloy!
We need your spirit of vol-
unteerism.
Felilia Atienza-Quilao from South California,
couldn’t believe that after
almost 50 years, she would
still be reconnected with
old friends and batchmates,
“thanks to Juliet Black
well’s relentless dedication
to find and locate missing
schoolmates.”
Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled and Leticia Laxa-Pusung
are two of our November
birthday celebrants. Eve-
lyn shares with us the
thrills and frills, plus the
challenges of being the
wife of a roving Australian
career diplomat, while
Letty’s daughter, Elaine
Pusung-Silva, talks about
her mom, and remembers
how she single-handedly
took care of the children
while their father, a US
Navy officer, was on de-
ployment, “taking on dif-
ferent roles as driver, cook,
plumber, etc. with unwa-
vering strength.”
The write-ups for Novem-
ber celebrants Regie
Lauzon and Teo Antonio
couldn’t reach us in time,
so we opted for “mere”
photo caption for Teo, and
a photo page for Regie’s
birthday bash. This issue is
a bit late because we wait-
ed for the event. We’d stop
the press for you Regie!
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 2 of 16 Page 2 of 1
“And I know you're shining down on me from heaven Like so many friends we lost along the way And I know eventually we'll be together One sweet day.” (From the song: “One Sweet
Day”).
From Juliet Blackwell:
We may not understand
the mystery of death, but
we all experience the
pain of grief. We grieve
at losing loved ones and
friends.
Asuncion Datu was the
Muse of her Vocational
class in our senior
year. I think she was
in our first year class
in Rizal Annex. She
died of heart attack at
a very young age.
After Mapa, I met her
again in the 70s at her
boutique in Makati. A
friend of mine tagged
me along to see her
former classmate in
college at UE, and
surprisingly it was
Asuncion.
Our recent loss were
Romy “Tito” To-
lentino and Vilma
Mabugat Quiam-
bao.
It was in 2010 when my
friendship with Vilma
clicked. She was a very
generous and thoughtful
friend. She often invited
me, Ross, Regie, Estela and
Mita for lunch. Makati was
our meeting place. Maybe,
she wanted to be with her friends as often as possible
as her way of saying good-
bye. Sometimes I wasn’t
able to go because of other
commitments. If I only
knew…".
In 2011, no one knew she
was very sick. She had the
Big C and kept quiet about
it. No signs or symptoms at
all for us to suspect. I later
learned from her
daughter that she nev-
er told anyone except
the family.
When I talked to her
on the phone, she
would tell me she had been to Church and
had breakfast with a
friend. That could be when she was having
her chemotherapy,
where she met another cancer patient who
became her friend. I
opened her Facebook after she passed away
and saw a message
from her newfound
friend, Edita M.:
"would you know my
name if I saw you in heav-
en?"
The last time I saw her was
at Estela's birthday party
held at the residence of
Estela’s brother, Roder-
ick, a few days before we
left Manila. She even gave
me a "pabaon", my favorite
kakanin. She had a plan to
visit Brisbane with Mita
and Estela after our Golden Anniversary.
Emma Faraon Anievas and
Cynthia de Hitta Drilon
were her best friends. It
was a shocking and sad
news to hear from Cynthia
that Vilma passed away, in
June 2011, just 2 months
after our last meeting.
While we feel sad for the
loss of our batchmates, we
are consoled by the fact that
we met them again after
more than four decades.
Today we do not see them
anymore but we know deep
in our hearts where they
are, and that’s where we are
going to meet them again.
From Evelyn T.-Cowled:
Rimberto Gonzales, IV-2,
was every inch an “Officer
and a Gentleman” when he
and his friend Andres Ar-
anda came for a surprised
visit.
Helen Bertulfo, a beauti-
ful, sweet girl in high
Batchmates in Heaven
How do you remember our dearly departed batchmates? In commemoration of All Saints Day, we’ve asked a few
friends to share with us their fond memories of batchmates who have passed on.
"Do not stand at my grave
and weep. I am not there, I
do not sleep. I am a thou-
sand winds that blow. I am
the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sun on ripened
grain. I am the gentle au-
tumn rain. When you awak-
en in the morning's hush, I
am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled
flight. I am the soft stars
that shine at night. Do not
stand at my grave and
weep. I am not there; I did
not die."
Mary Elizabeth Frye
Batchmates in Heaven
Cristobal Abad
Helen Bertulfo
Asuncion Datu
Ester David
Abraham Decena
Renato Dominguez
Domingo Escalada
Rimberto Gonzales
Eduardo Lopez
Vilma Mabugat
Clarita Reguerra
Fernando Samedra
Lolita Sumampong
Romulo Tolentino
Edgardo Usison
Page 3 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
school. I can recall how
elegant she was during the
Baguio Conference.
Renato Dominguez , VT -
63 graduate, was a very
quiet person. He would
defend any of the kids in
our street if they are being
bullied. We grew up and
played patintero in our
street in Bacood. We start-
ed primary 1 together at T.
Earnshaw Elem School. I
never saw him again for a
long time and learned that
he had passed away.
From Andres Aranda:
Rimberto Gonzales was
good in math kaya sa trigo
under Miss Gustilo siya ang
reliable friend ko. Sa kanya
ako nangongopya. As a ca-
det officer, meek as a lamb
siya, seldom na nanakit siya
sa underclassmen namin,
kaya mahal siya ng kadete.
Tawag sa kanya kuntil, be-
cause of extra skin or kuntil
hanging in front of his ear. I
was privileged to be invited
in his house after gradua-
tion and had the chance to
meet his parents. Then I
met him again at the Phil-
ippine Military Academy in
Baguio City when my fra-
ternity played against PMA.
I played in the junior and
senior team. After breakfast
with the cadets, he and an-
other classmate at Burgos
Elementary School came to
see me though briefly be-
cause plebo pa lang siya.
Wished we talked longer.
He sent me his picture
while a cadet, but I lost the
picture when my suitcase
was stolen in Vallejo. Trag-
ically he died while under-
going training at the Air
Force flying an Air Force
plane. Wherever he is now I
want to tell him that he was
a friend worth fighting and
dying for. I will forever
treasure his memories as he
was a real good friend. I
wish I could visit his family
when I visit the Philippines
next year.
From Erlinda Tablan-
Fernandez:
In the early 70’s I used to
see Fernando Samedra at a
bus stop in front of Interna-
tional Harvester where I
worked. We sometimes
talked but mostly waved or
nod at each other. I remem-
ber him being quiet in high
school, and always with a
shy smile.
From Cesar Banaag:
The Romy Tolentino I met
for the first time after high
school, at the General
Alumni Reunion at the
Amoranto Stadium in Que-
zon City, was far from the
skinny teener that he was.
He was hefty and he
hugged each one of us
tightly. It was a hug that
seemed to speak for the
long lost years we didn’t
see each other. The bond
was still there and the hug
said it all.
Remembering Romy
By Eddie Eusebio
Romy Tolentino in Lake Meads, Nevada taken in 2007.
There are times, in-between sleep and wakefulness, when
suddenly you are here again in the land of the living.
Nagpaparamdam ka ba kaibigan? Somehow you should
know that we have never forgotten: all the good times in
high school, the friendship we shared, and the discoveries
we made during a time of wide-eyed innocence. Did we
not share everything? Isa kang napakabuting kaibigan,
laging handang tumulong, laging nakaalalay. I know that
we all miss you, your ready smile and your signature
bear-hug. It was always sincere, strong, and utterly per-
sonal.
There was a time when I thought I had lost you. We lost
touch after I left the Philippines but you surprised me
when you called, out of the blue, from Alexandria, Vir-
ginia. You were getting married and wanted me to help
you with the "pamanhikan". I felt Magdalena was the per-
fect soul mate for you, a religious, soft-spoken, smart
woman. Add to that her wizardry in the kitchen and I
knew it was a match made in heaven!
Hindi ko na matandaan kung paano tayo nagkawalaang
muli, pagkatapos na ako ay maging ninong ng iyong pan-
ganay na anak, si Christine. Hindi ko na nga alam na
nagkaroon ka pa ng isa pang anak na pinangalanang Jona-
than. When we eventually found one another through the
untiring efforts of Juliet de Guzman-Blackwell, we were
not so young anymore. I have lost my hair completely
and you, well, your trimmed waistline seemed to have
responded beautifully to Nena's to-die-for braso de mer-
cedes. But what we did not lose is the strong bond of
friendship, in fact it was even stronger than before. Narir-
inig ko pa hanggang ngayon ang malutong na halakhak
mo sa mga walang kabuluhang (continued on page 10 )
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 4 of 16 Page 2 of 1
Oscar Wilde once wrote:
“Youth is wasted on the
young” which happens to
be the story of my life for
the most part… yet I dare
not change the original
landscape that brought me
to where I am now!
Knowing what I know now
and given a single chance
of going back to tell my old
self what I lost and missed
other than a few marbles
here and there, I would ra-
tionalize with full under-
standing, the strangely un-
acceptable behavior dis-
played during those days. I
write this with a bit of re-
morse, hoping that those
who still harbor resentment
towards me would find
comfort in the realization
that I have somehow grown
up and learned basic things
about life - the hard way.
The old me was brash, ar-
rogant and proud (transla-
tion: stupid) because she
grew up in some kind of a
‘privileged’ culture. It also
did not help that her father,
her role model, had a way
of resolving issues in a not
so pleasant fashion.
I would recount how this
high school daughter
adored her father who was
an aggressive criminal law-
yer, got most everything he
wanted, and then some.
Surrounded with influential
People whom he usually
bribed, her father could not
have asked for more but
often did. She witnessed
how the elevator men, his
clerks and secretaries trem-
bled whenever he was upset
or angry. It puzzled her
that the Magats never wait-
ed in line to watch a play or
movie. He just hollered at
the security guard and
handed out money for tick-
ets and tips. She would
later find out that he suc-
cessfully won most of his
cases by intimidation which
eventually led to the demise
of his career in the latter
years. But you see, her fa-
ther was her hero until she
“grew up”.
If I could talk to my old self
in high school, I would cite
some of the horrible and
painful consequences
brought about by an unbri-
dled sense of entitlement
and unwise decisions, I
would gently mention the
unplanned, early marriage;
twisted perspective of love
relationships; and abrasive
attitude altogether that
caused deep disappoint-
ments among my loved
ones.
I would tell her of an anec-
dote about how coming to
America meant a huge ad-
justment on my part. My
lack of familiarity on the
value of the American dol-
lar became apparent when I
was accused of throwing it
away like a drunken sailor
while believing that greas-
ing palms was a way of life.
Until one summer of 1983,
Darcy, my soon-to-be-
spouse decided that we dine
at a seafood restaurant next
to my workplace. I knew
most of the people working
behind the counter so I
walked, passed by about
100 people from all walks
of life, and ordered food,
leaving an attractive tip.
After getting what I want-
ed, we walked out as I
gazed at Darcy looking
pretty shocked and bitterly
embarrassed by my display
of arrogance, and uttered:
“Why the heck did you do
that for? Some of those
people in line are doctors
and lawyers, even the
mayor of Los Angeles was
there and you cut in the
long line?”
That was my first lesson on
respect and attention to
people’s feelings regardless
of who and what they are.
However messy my herit-
age was, I would remind
the high school me about
THE one saving grace who
stood firmly to keep the
family together - my moth-
er who never gave up pray-
ing day and night, doing
everything in her power to
impress indelibly upon our
minds, the grace and mercy
of God. I would tell her
about the joy of overcom-
ing the toughest challenges
that came along using the
things learned from my
foolish youth that ultimate-
ly led to numerous success
stories.
Finally, I would tell her that
I am enjoying life to the
fullest and am progressive-
ly learning to be content
under ALL circumstances!
What My Grown Up Self Would Tell My High School Self
By Racquel Magat-Sanchez
Racquel, as debutante on her 18th birthday, with loving parents.
Page 5 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
We pulled into the parking
lot of the Senior Center.
Saw the long line waiting
for the door to open. Doors
opened and the line turned
into a mob. Seniors? Mob?
It doesn’t sound like they
go together.
At the senior center, you
have to be conscious of
your surroundings. You can
be walking behind a senior
and easily bump into the
person. They stop without a
moment’s notice. To look
inside their bag, to tie their
shoes or just to look
around. They seem to be at
a loss as to where to go
from where they are.
So you go around the senior
who took a sudden stop
only to find yourself right
in front of another senior.
One who is pushing a
stroller. No, not the baby
stroller. There are no babies
in this senior center. Unless
you count the ones in dia-
pers. Sometimes they are
obvious. Sometimes, it’s
“now you see it, now you
don’t.”
I proceeded to my first
stop: the restroom. The
sound of towel papers being
pulled out of the holder
greeted me. I asked myself,
“how many paper towels
does this senior need to
wipe her hand?” I got my
answer when I saw her fold
towel papers and stuck
them in her bag. Then I saw
the sign posted above the
holder: “Towel papers only
for use inside the rest
room.” Wrong sign. It did
not say whose restroom.
Inside the dining hall where
our Sr. Aerobic Exercise is
held twice a week, there
was chaos. Seniors were
trying to cut in the line for
sign-up sheets, pulling
chairs off the stack and
dragging them to where
they wanted to stand, or just
plain chatting with each
other. If you haven’t seen a
bunch of hard of hearing
people trying to hold a con-
versation, this is the place
to go. Letting a person fin-
ish a sentence is not the
norm.
Teacher tried to say some-
thing without a micro-
phone, her voice drowned
by those still talking to each
other. She tried one more
time. Somebody clapped
her hands to gain attention.
A lot of seniors moved to
the front closer to the
teacher who was still trying
to say something. This
time, her voice was
drowned by the people try-
ing to “hush” the ones
“conversing” with each
other and those clapping
their hands to gain atten-
tion. After the announce-
ment, seniors turned to each
other. One of them asked,
“what did she say?” Most
of the response is, “I don’t
know.” The tape was on
and we started stretching.
The latecomers zigzagged
around those stretching
their hands. They were
headed towards the back of
the room. I looked at the
open back door and won-
dered why those people
didn’t just go through it.
One old guy with a cane
found his way to the back,
beside an old lady who
could hardly see and hear.
He started talking to her in
a loud voice, possibly to
drown out the teacher’s
voice and her taped music. I
looked behind me. He was
just standing beside her,
talking. I thought, “oh, he is
exercising his tongue.” Af-
ter about five minutes, I
heard his cane and saw him
exercising to the tune of the
tape. Then he announced,
“I’m going to the bathroom.
Save my space.” The Chi-
nese lady who could hardly
speak English nodded her
head and off he went. I
knew he would return after
20 minutes. By then, we
would be doing our chair
exercises.
Oh, there’s my favorite
couple. They are always
there. Most of the time, the
guy would stop exercising,
and leave the room. He
would come back with two
cups of coffee and two
doughnuts. Well, at least
they eat it while they exer-
cise. One time I noticed the
guy stopped exercising,
looked at his wife, went to
her and tapped her on the
shoulder. She was asleep!
Still standing on her spot,
sound asleep.
Then there was this His-
panic lady who just
couldn’t or wouldn’t follow
the “forward, forward, out,
out, in, in, back, back” part
of the exercise. Did you
ever have a toy car that you
have to press on the floor
several times before you let
go and let it run? That’s her
way. Charge!
At the Senior Center By: Josie Astorga-Campbell
From CartoonStock Directory
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 6 of 16 Page 2 of 1
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving
Day, is a holiday celebrated in the
United States on the fourth
Thursday in November. It has
officially been an annual tradition
since 1863, when, during the Civil
War, President Abraham Lincoln
proclaimed a national day of
"Thanksgiving and Praise to our
beneficent Father who dwelleth in
the Heavens," to be celebrated on
Thursday, November 26. As a
federal and popular holiday in the
U.S., Thanksgiving is one of the
major holidays of the year. To-
gether with Christmas and the
New Year, Thanksgiving is a part
of the broader holiday season.
The "First Thanksgiving" was
celebrated by the Pilgrims to give
thanks to God for guiding them
safely to the New World. The first
Thanksgiving feast lasted three
days, providing enough food for
53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Ameri-
cans. The feast consisted of fish
and shellfish, wild fowls (ducks,
geese, swans, and turkey), veni-
son, berries and fruit, vegetables ,
harvest grains, and the Three
Sisters: beans, dried Indian maize
or corn, and squash.
The New England colonists were
accustomed to regularly celebrat-
ing "thanksgivings"— days of
prayer, thanking God for bless-
ings such as military victory or the
end of a drought.-
From Wikipedia
Truth be told, I was not
so familiar with the his-
tory of Thanksgiving in
America until I’ve fully
settled in 1983 and with
my husband, Darcy’s
traditions, I began to
assimilate the culture,
after all, this country
was the first to desig-
nate a day devoted to
Thanksgiving.
So I went along with
the annual rituals – joined
his family- his elder sister
hosting the event, asked
that each one bring some-
thing like drinks or dessert
to complete the celebration.
This gathering was talking
about daily life, recollecting
childhood experiences that
mostly involved special
trips during holidays and
the fond memories with
their parents. Eventually,
this led to each one reciting
one or two things to be
thankful for.
Dinner was the main attrac-
tion: Turkey with home-
made stuffing, mashed po-
tato and gravy, cranberries
and salads, pumpkin pie
and yams with roasted
marshmallow trimmings.
At that time, I was not too
thrilled about the turkey as
I was with the candied yam.
I always thought that chick-
en was more flavorful than
the stuffed turkey so we
had our own little party at
my mom’s house right af-
ter. It’s like having a pre-
Noche Buena feast without
decorative Christmas lan-
terns. And what’s a Filipino
gathering without Karaoke?
Most Filipino households
own this electronic marvel
and as you may already
know that in the world of
karaoke, the unwritten rule
applies: if you want to sing,
you probably will. And
don’t we love it!
Filipinos here celebrate
Thanksgiving in many dif-
ferent ways: They take a 4-
day off work to spend time
with family or go to Las
Vegas/Laughlin or to their
favorite leisure place; a
great many go to church
and donate their precious
time handing out food to
the homeless; a few go to
the movies; some stay
home and rest. BUT, there
are many who are not really
concerned about this spe-
cial day, who have their
minds set on the annual
event after Thanksgiving,
also known as Black Fri-
day. These people sacrifice
their rational minds for the
lure of highly discounted
Christmas items.
Last year, I re-
member when
Wal-Mart offered
computers, laptops
and X-Box video
game consoles at
ridiculously low
prices for the first
25 shoppers, a
woman pepper-
sprayed people
around her to beat
them in line!
How’s that for exer-
cising “survival of
the fittest” or Dar-
win’s “natural selec-
tion”?
Interestingly, I have
come to realize that
those English pil-
grims who came to
America were very
much like most Fili-
pinos who saw great
potentials in this
land with renewed
hope for second
chances. I was given
several second
chances and so I
know that we are all
one in celebrating
Thanksgiving Day.
For us, Thanksgiving
is the Lord’s special
day to observe how
His people express
gratitude and
thanksgiving for just
about everything!
Happy Thanksgiv-
ing!
Thanksgiving in America By Racquel Magat - Sanchez
Page 7 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
Dateline:
Southern California
By Josie Astorga-Campbell
It is no surprise that we all
looked forward to Thanks-
giving. Not for the Turkey
celebration but for the
chance to have a four-day
vacation. Like most immi-
grants to the U.S., my fami-
ly took every opportunity to
visit the tourist places in
our first few years here. We
visited far away relatives,
camped at the Grand Can-
yon, as well as in Lake Isa-
bella known for fishing
good Tilapia, experienced
snow falling on our car for
the first time, stopped at
snow filled areas for some
snowball fighting. My
family always left the house
excited and came back ex-
hausted, typical of most
Americans who travel to
their hometown to be with
their family on Thanksgiv-
ing Day.
When most of the places
that are of interest to us
were explored, we started
thinking of turkey. I can't
recall when it happened but
it did. I cooked my first
turkey and was sure I did a
good job when I saw no
remnant of the poor foul
after dinner. It was only
recently, when my kids fi-
nally mustered the courage
to tell me what they
thought of my baked tur-
key: burnt!!
Dinner was not so im-
portant at that time. Their
thoughts were focused on
the next item in the agenda.
Day after Thanksgiving
was spent looking and buy-
ing the biggest, fullest,
freshest Christmas tree we
can fit in the house. Deco-
rations were accumulated
through the years. For
awhile, we had the prettiest
Christmas tree set up by
Sunday after Thanksgiving
Day.
Then the two older kids
became full grown teen-
agers. It was no longer
about the Christmas tree. It
was now hanging out with
peers. Pretty soon, there
were only two pre-teens
decorating a fake Christmas
tree. Until one day, I found
myself decorating the
smallest Christmas tree
perched on my dining table.
Thanksgiving nowadays is
still a family affair. Jim and
I start the day giving thanks
at mass for every blessing
we have received. The kids
take turns hosting the ven-
ue. Cooking means heating
up the cooked food ordered
from a grocery chain. We
split the bill or do it potluck
with the turkey cooked by
the only one who can do it
well: my eldest. For some
reason, Jim and I got stuck
with bringing
in the ham
every year.
My bucket list
includes one
for thanksgiv-
ing: my whole
family serving
Thanksgiving
meal to the
needy. I think
it is the best
way to give
thanks for our
own bless-
ings.
HAPPY
THANKS-
GIVING
TO ALL!!!
************** Dateline:
Northern California
By Linda Tablan-Fernandez
My first Thanksgiving in
America was three weeks
after I set foot in this new
world (a real pilgrim in the
20th century). My hosts
were my cousin’s Filipino
friends. From what I re-
member, they prepared a
very traditional American
Thanksgiving dinner: tur-
key, stuffing, mashed pota-
to, gravy, yams and pump-
kin pie. And being Filipi-
nos, they also served
lumpiang shanghai for ap-
petizers and bibingkang
malagkit for dessert.
Years later, having my own
home and family, I did my
share of hosting Thanks-
giving dinner. I have fol-
lowed the tradition, with
minor deviations. I use
fried rice for stuffing and
always make sure that there
is roast chicken for those
who do not like turkey.
On Thanksgiving Day the
television is on from the
start of the Macy’s Thanks-
giving parade until the last
football game is over. As
the saying goes “What’s
turkey day without the pig-
skin?”
When our boys were
younger, day after Thanks-
giving was usually a day of
fun in San Francisco for our
family. We started with
breakfast at Pier 39, then
walked along the marina to
watch barking sea lions.
From there we walked to
Fisherman’s Wharf, some-
times stopping to see side
shows and street perform-
ers. One time we took the
ferry to Alcatraz and toured
the old prison. Our visit at
THANKSGIVING,
FAMILY WEEKEND
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 8 of 16 Page 2 of 1
the wharf usually ended
with a clam chowder lunch.
Our favorite was Fisher-
man’s Grotto’s where each
ordered piping hot clam
chowder in a bread bowl.
An empty outdoor table
was hard to find so we usu-
ally just took the first avail-
able spot along the side-
walk. Sometimes we didn’t
get to sit together but it was
always nice to eat and talk
with total strangers, usually
tourists from other states.
Done with lunch, we
walked it off back to the car
and drove to the Moscone
Center in Mission Street for
the annual auto show. We
spent the early afternoon
viewing new car models -
the boys specially got a
kick out of opening and
slamming car doors and
taking over the driver’s
seat, pretending to be in the
Monaco Grand Prix . For us
adults, we looked at, appre-
ciated, or critiqued the lat-
est models, then picked our
dream car, that is, until the
next car show the following
year.
By the time the boys had
their fill of the car exhibits,
dusk was upon us and it
was time to walk to Union
Square for the lighting of
the Christmas tree. We al-
ways tried to get there in
time for the countdown - it
was always a beautiful sight
and a wonderful transition
from Thanksgiving to
Christmas spirit. The shops
were already lit and decked
in their holiday best. We
ended our day in the city
with a walk around Union
Square, checking out win-
dow displays including
Macy’s, Saks, and of
course, Gump’s.
Soon, we were on our way
home, the kids were already
sound asleep in the car.
Midway through the Bay
Bridge, I would always
look behind and see the San
Francisco skyline at its
best!
The 4th Thursday of No-
vember is celebrated as
Thanksgiving Day in the
States.
My first experience with
this holiday was in Sayre,
Pennsylvania where I was a
Med-Tech Intern. The tiny
town in the northeast sec-
tion of the state had a major
hospital with a med-tech
program, a school of nurs-
ing and a few other training
programs. I lived with all
the male students in the
first floor of the dormitory
separated from all the fe-
male students. Not sure
how many of us lived there
but there were a few older
male students. I was fortu-
nate to have a male UST
classmate as the other only
student in our batch. I don't
remember being lonely or
bored because we were al-
ways busy with studies and
the locals always made sure
we were entertained at
night or weekends.
I celebrated my 21st birth-
day with some of my co-
workers; one even baked
my mother’s mocha chiffon
cake so I knew I was very
happy. Wednesday before
Thanksgiving Day a Filipi-
no doctor with an American
wife invited us for dinner.
There were lots of food,
with some Filipino dishes, a
large roasted turkey and the
whole works.
The next day I was invited
by one of the male nurses to
his home town to experi-
ence a traditional American
Thanksgiving Day dinner.
Friday, we had dinner at his
grandparents’ house then
Saturday at some other rela-
tives. Guess what, the meal
was the same everywhere
we ate, roasted turkey and
all the trimmings. I was
silently wondering if they
ate anything else. And all I
saw on TV was football
that long weekend.
Over the years I've had sev-
eral turkey dinners on
Thanksgiving Day, but
never really enjoyed the
main course. I accept the
invitations just to share in
the meal and for the social
gathering.
One time I was invited by a
Filipino family and was
asked to slice the turkey at
dinner time. They forgot to
remove the paper bag that
contained the innards. I
casually hid it from all.
I heard of Thanksgiving
from my family before I
actually experience it my-
self. Nobody explained to
me the meaning of Thanks-
giving Day in America alt-
hough, Barbara, my son
Michael’s therapist, said
that in her family, every-
body would bring food to
complement the turkey.
It was 1979 in Millbrae,
California when I ventured
to cook my first turkey.
I(continued on page 15)
Why I dislike tur-
key and football on
Thanksgiving Day
By: Regie Lauzon
My First Thanks-
giving Experience
in America By Evelyn T. Cowled
Page 9 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
I never knew Retired Ma-
jor Florentino ‘Baggy’
Bagallon personally, but as
a batchmate of Class 1963,
we have a common de-
nominator. I first met him
in person when Juliet de
Guzman – Blackwell asked
me to help her in the nomi-
nation of Baggy for the
Blue Falcon Awards.
Our conversation during
our first meeting centered
on what we did during our
high school days at V.
Mapa High. House shindig
was popular during those
days. We would bring bat-
tery-operated record player
and some 4 rpm records to
a designated house of our
classmates during Fridays
and danced our hearts
away.
We were connected thru-
common friends or ac-
quaintances like Edna
Espinosa, Julieta Sampana,
Vilma Mabugat, Oscar
Dizon, Gerardo Limbo, and
Danilo Caceres. Of course,
as I already knew and met
some batchmates earlier.
My task in meeting Baggy
was to gather documents to
support his nomination for
the Blue Falcon Awards in
Police and Military Service
category. He said whatever
certificates, plaques, com-
mendations and medals re-
covered from his house
which was gutted by fire in
1995 were further reduced
by typhoon Ondoy when
their house in Earnshaw St.
in Sampaloc got flooded.
As I sifted through the-
musty documents and
scanned each one of them
to preserve them digitally, I
went through the story of
his life and I couldn’t help
feeling proud for this batch
mate who is a much deco-
rated police officer.
Baggy Bagallon was born
on May 17, 1946, went to
Juan Luna Elementary
School, and of course at V.
Mapa High School. He told
me with pride how our
COCC unit beat the other
units from private schools
in military drills.
He took up Basic Military
Training at Fort Magsaysay
between 1963 – 1964, then
went to UE and graduated
with a degree in Bachelor
of Arts in Political Science.
He took graduate studies at
the U.E. Graduate School
of Education then took
three years of study at the
UE College of Law. He is
married to Leticia P. Men-
doza.
Since his entrance to the
police force in 1973, Baggy
rose through the ranks due
to his excellence in leader-
ship, sleuthing skills, and
gallantry under fire. He has
received numerous com-
mendations, appreciations,
awards, and medals for his
feats. Among his awards
and recognitions are:
Medal of Gallantry,
Western Police District,
INP, 1987
Presidential Leadership
Excellence Medal,
MAJOR FLORENTINO ‘BAGGY’ BAGALLON: “SHERLOCK HOLMES OF WPD” By: Carlos J. Guanlao
Men in the Force – III
Two presidents and a Multi-Awarded Police Officer: Ret. Major
Florentino ‘Baggy’ Bagallon received awards in gallantry and leader-ship excellence from two previous Philippine presidents: Fidel Ramos (left) and Cory Aquino (above). Baggy is at extreme right, second row
with other awardees.
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 10 of 16 Page 2 of 1 President Corazon C.
Aquino, 1987
Ten Outstanding Po-
licemen of the Philip-
pines [TOPP],
Presidential Merit
Medal, Phil. Jaycees,
1986 and 1987
WPD Policeman of the
Year, Manila Jaycees,
1986
WPD Investigator of
the Year, Manila Jay-
cees, 1981
Plaque of Recognition
from the Embassy of
Japan for successfully
busting the YAKUZA
Syndicate of Murder
for Insurance
Letter of Appreciation,
Anti-Fraud Unit,
United States Embassy,
Manila for busting the
fake visa Ring in the
Philippines
Plus many, many more,
which are too numerous to
enumerate.
Due to his sleuthing skills,
Baggy gained the reputa-
tion as the “Sherlock
Holmes of WPD” from the
Press Corps doing the beat
at the Western Police Dis-
trict. Baggy and his team
were able to solve crimes as
attested by his numerous
commendations from his
superior officers. Account
of Baggy Bagallon’s inves-
tigations and sleuthing-
savvy abound in newspaper
articles. His training at the
Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation Academy in Quan-
tico, Virginia, USA in
Crime Scene Investigation
and Forensic Investigation
Techniques gave Baggy the
edge and skills in solving
crimes despite the outdated
crime laboratory that the
WPD had.
Baggy Bagallon’s major
accomplishment in gov-
ernment service includes:
testifying before the Feria-
Abad Santos Commission
created by then Pres. Cora-
zon C. Aquino as Chief
Investigator of the cele-
brated ‘Mendiola Massacre’
that led to the condemna-
tion and filing of charges
against key police and mili-
tary officials. Also Baggy
testified as Government
Resource Witness before
the Senate Committee On
Public Order chaired by
Sen. Robert Barbers during
the Senate inquiry on the
alleged involvement in the
illegal drug activities of
some high ranking police
and government officials.
He was the First Police Of-
ficer in the Philippines to
bust the YAKUZA syndic-
cate “Murder-For-Insur-
ance” operation in the Phil-
ippines leading to the
prosecution and conviction
of yakuza leaders by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Court
for violation of transna-
tional crimes.
Baggy has helped solve
major cases of murder,
homicide, robberies and
hijacking and special com-
plex crimes committed in
Metro Manila leading to the
arrest, prosecution and con-
viction of various criminal
offenders.
A feature story of his police
exploits was bio-filmed by
Cine Suerte, Inc. in 1990
entitled “MAY ARAW KA
RIN, BAGALLON” which
may be watched on You
Tube.
This is our very own batch
mate:
Florentino ‘Baggy’ Bagal-
lon, [Major - Ret.] – ‘Sher-
lock Holmes of the WPD’.
Two old newspapers, salvaged from fire and flood, told tales of Baggy Bagallon’s bravery and gallantry and for his crime-
solving skills, he was known as “Sherlock Holmes of WPD”.
Remembering Romy (continued from page 3)
usapan sa madalas nating
pagtatawagan. I was
really looking forward to
our plans to go home to
the Philippines together
for a vacation and to
drive from northern Cali-
fornia to Montreal, Can-
ada together.
On that fateful day, eve-
rything changed when I
received that shocking
phone call from Chris-
tine. You have had a
massive stroke and were
in the hospital fighting
for your life. Finally,
your family had to take
you off life support, your
wife said to me "Akala
ko, sabi niya ako ang
mauuna. Dinaya niya
ako, ako pala ang iiwan
niyang mag-isa". Some-
how I felt cheated as
well. Did I miss your
insidious cues and hints
that you were leaving for
good? No goodbye, no
dramatic fanfare, just a
quick realization that
finally you are gone and
I am here to complete
that journey to Montreal
alone. Pero hindi bale,
kaibigan, the Lord must
have a reason for taking
you so soon.
Tulad ni Nena, Christine,
at Jonathan, at ng iba mo
pang kaibigan, we will
always miss you...
Page 11 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
After graduating from
Mapa High School, Felilia,
(Fely to her friends) en-
rolled at the Philippine Col-
lege of Commerce. She
took up Associate in Com-
mercial Science (Secretari-
al), and then completed her
Bachelors of Science De-
gree in Commerce majoring
in Banking and Finance.
While Fely was in first year
college, she met Mario
Quilao, who was also a
freshman at the University
of the East. Mario and Fely
became friends and, as they
came to know each other
better, they learned that
there were a lot of things
common between them.
Then they discovered the
most amazing part of their
similarities - they have the
same birthdates – not only
same birthdays, but the
same birthdates! Same
year!
“One in a million,” friends
would comment every time
they would notice the same
dates of birth. To make the
long story short, they be-
came sweethearts and got
married five years, later.
Fely worked first with some
private companies, and then
after she got married she
joined the government sec-
tor. She worked consecu-
tively with the Land Trans-
portation Commission, the
Board of Investments and
the Securities and Ex-
change Commission. Mario
worked with Phil Banking
Corporation, then with
United Laboratories. They
migrated to the USA in
1982.
Fely has many blessings,
and considers her family as
the most appreciated of all.
Mario has been a very lov-
ing and supportive husband
for almost 45 years
(come January 14th). Fely
and Mario are blessed with
four loving, thoughtful and
affectionate children, two
boys and two girls. They
are all now married and on
their own. God further
blessed them with four in-
telligent healthy, loving
grandchildren, ages 8 to 18,
and two more additions are
expected come 2013.
Although Fely has reached
full retirement age, she be-
lieves her mind and body
are not ready to retire yet.
She still continues to enjoy
working as Credentialing
Specialist at St. Mary Med-
ical Center in Long Beach,
California. This is also be-
cause her Supervisor finds
her to be very dependable
and requests her to stay and
not to leave work yet.
Due to the busy life in the
U.S., and because she lost
communication with high
school mates, Fely admits
Mapa High was far from
her mind, until one day, she
received an email about
Mapa, then another one
with a group picture at-
tached to it, and she saw
that she was in the picture
and she realized it was for
real. Still, she could not
believe that after almost 50
years, she would still re-
connect with batchmates.
Thanks to Juliet Black-
well’s relentless dedication
to find and locate missing
schoolmates. Juliet found
Fely after much searching
and she then hooked her up
with Danny Galang of Pas-
adena, and through him,
finally met other batch-
mates from Southern Cali-
fornia. On three occasions,
Fely and Mario have joined
the Mapa High group of
Southern CA. They all
shared the fun, the laughter
and the excitement of these
batch members as they
compared notes on what
they remembered about
their good high school life
together.
Fely admits that she does
not personally know people
from the College Prep
batch. Nevertheless, she has
decided to join the group,
get involved and share the
fun!
FELILIA ATIENZA QUILAO: An Update
The family photo taken at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati, dur-ing the wedding of son Mark Erwin.
Fely, when she graduated from PCC with ACS degree. Mid-dle photo: Fely and Mario, happily married for 45 years.
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 12 of 16 Page 2 of 1
When I was young, I had a
dream. I was traveling the
world and I was crossing
the Golden Gate Bridge in
San Francisco, California
but when I reached the
middle, the bridge broke in
half and I woke up sweat-
ing and scared. I was very
nervous and could not sleep
anymore. That was my vir-
tual introduction to travel-
ing overseas.
Many years later, after
Mapa and then Mapua, and
with work in between, I met
Bruce and my life has
changed completely, from
trying to fulfill a dream of
having a career of my own
to becoming a “Profession-
al Household Director.”
Who would believe that I
would live the life of a wife
of a diplomat? That was not
part of my dream.
The engineering degree
from Mapua was only a
passport to get a job and
whatever available jobs in
Manila. Getting a job as
Chemical Engineer for a
woman was tough during
my time. Not even in my
dreams when I was young
and even after finishing my
degree that I would be liv-
ing overseas, although, I
did think of going to the US
to join my family.
It sounded very glamorous
to have a husband who is a
diplomat. My friends from
work would tell me about it
all the time. Bruce and I
lived in one of the exclu-
sive villages in Makati.
This was my introduction to
the diplomatic life in the
Philippines. It was a mixed
introduction with parties,
receptions, morning tea,
afternoon tea, high tea,
lunch and dinner almost
every week. It was good at
one point to meet other na-
tionalities and rub shoul-
ders with the haves and the
have-nots, with the power-
ful and the ordinary people.
I found one part of the dip-
lomatic life “great” while I
had mixed feelings with the
other part, trying to adjust
to the different cultures.
It brought tears to me when
topics were about the Fili
pinos and how it became so
discomforting when the
wives of diplomats only
talked and complained
about their Filipino domes-
tic helpers. It was not easy
but I learned and survived
how to reply and sometimes
ignore them. But it was dif-
ficult for the first few years.
One day, we packed our
belongings to go ‘home’ to
Canberra, Australia,
Bruce’s hometown which
happens to be Australia’s
capital and seat of the De-
partment of Foreign Affairs
and Trade where Bruce is a
career diplomat. I had this
fear of flying. The first time
I boarded the plane for Ce-
bu City for work-related
trip, my knees were shaking
and I had to hold tight to
my seat during take-off and
landing. The prospect of
taking a long travel to Aus-
tralia made me really nerv-
ous and I prayed to God to
make me strong and be able
to adjust to traveling and
living overseas.
In Canberra, life was not
exciting. The place was so
quiet and at 5pm, all the
shops were closed. Coming
from Metro Manila, a large,
noisy metropolis swirling
with activities, I found
Canberra a very lonely
posting. I did survive Can-
berra for a short time and
then came the news that we
were going to Iran. At that
time Iran was having some
turmoil and I was not sure
what was going to happen.
Then Bruce came with
news that we were going
instead to New Delhi, India.
It was not safe to go to Iran
and with that came the
news that The Shah of Iran
and his family left the
country.
Living in New Delhi, I
learned how to start enjoy-
ing myself. I learned to ac-
cept that from then on, I
would be a wife, a mother
and the housekeeper, in
other words a “Professional
Household Director.”
In Manila, I learned how to
prepare the house inventory
and their description just in
case a claim had to be made
with the insurance compa-
ny. I had to write every sin-
gle item we had in the
house. Extremely boring
and tedious to do but need-
ed to be done. I supervised
all the packers that they do
a good job so that when our
Life’s Challenges in the Diplomat’s Circle
By Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled
November Birthday Celebrants
Evelyn, in their diplomat’s house in Bali, Indonesia, where hus-band Bruce was Consul General and head of Post. The Cowleds fondly refer to Bali as their holiday posting.
Page 13 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
shipment reached the final
destination there would be
no breakage, no pilferage
and everything was in one
piece.
Packing and unpacking has
become the norm of my
life. Whether the package
will accompany us on the
plane or had to go by ship
or air cargo, I became an
expert. Not every item we
owned travelled with us.
The majority of our belong-
ings stayed in storage facili-
ties in Canberra like heavy
furniture and things we do
not need to carry and bring
with us. There were occa-
sions we did not see our
furniture for many years.
Cars are another story.
Living overseas is very
challenging. It could make
or break relationships be-
tween spouses. I have seen
this happened many times
to people I knew and it al-
most happened to me. It is
very difficult to have two
careers when on diplomatic
mission. Depending on the
country, there are health
and school issues. When
children were in the ele-
mentary school, it was not
so difficult. But when they
reached high school, then
education became an issue
and decision had to be
made whether boarding
school in Australia could be
an option so as not to dislo-
cate the education of the
children as we moved from
one place to the other.
I had my three children
ending up in boarding
schools. It was a very diffi-
cult decision for me to
make. It was a choice be-
tween staying with the kids
and my husband traveling
on his own. I lost the daily
conversations with my
children. I missed their
growing up stages. They
came home during school
holidays and I felt like I lost
the skills of understanding
and knowing them com-
pletely. I could not even
understand my kids when
they started talking with
very strong Australian ac-
cent. My kids grew up
speaking with British or
American accent.
When my kids were back
for school holidays, I could
bring them to places of in-
terests like the eldest trav-
elled with me to see Men-
doza, Argentina. We trav-
elled by car and crossed the
Los Andes. That was a
beautiful trip and saw a
miniature Grand Canyon.
Therese went to see the
biggest cave in the world,
the Mulu cave in Malaysia.
James and I went to travel
to Spain, France, Belgium
and England to watch his
favourite football team,
Aston Villa, play.
Living overseas gave me
the opportunity to learn
new languages and to get to
know various cultures. Al-
so, I have the good oppor-
tunity to socialize with dip-
lomats from other coun-
tries. (cont’d on page 15)
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
Meny Segura-Gonzales Nov. 1
Letty Laxa-Pusung Nov. 2
Lilia Maaliw-Bagos Nov. 9
Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled Nov. 14
Danilo Belonia Nov. 16
Regie Lauzon Nov. 23
Gil Abadines Nov. 28
Teo T. Antonio Nov. 29
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 14 of 16 Page 2 of 1
"Focus on your career,"
"Buy more stuff," "Pamper
yourself”. No, not my
Mom. She did everything
but cave
into so-
ciety's
demands
and dic-
tations.
Rather,
she
chose to
live a life
of sim-
plicity,
humble-
ness,
gentleness, and obedience
to a higher calling in Christ
Jesus; a life that her Heav-
enly Father is pleased
with and one that is admi-
rable to her entire family.
Her name is Leticia “Letty”
Laxa- Pusung.
Letty was born November
2, 1947 in Guagua, Pam-
panga, Philippines to Ben-
jamin Laxa and Soledad
Yap Laxa. She attended
Guagua Elementary School
in Pampanga and graduat-
ed from Mapa High School
in Manila. It was March
1967 when she obtained her
Bachelor of Science in Ed-
ucation. Upon attaining her
college degree, she estab-
lished herself as a young,
well-respected teacher. It
during her teaching career
that she met her (late) hus-
band, Ernesto Pusung who
served in the United States
Navy. The beautiful couple
married in1971 and would
go on to have three children
together: Edmon, Elaine
and Ei-
leen.
Letty
chose a
life of
self-
lessness
upon
becom-
ing a
mother
of three.
She chose to give up a life
as an independent working
woman in exchange for a
life of nurturing and dedica-
tion. I still recall my Mom
taking the time to cook eve-
ry meal, checking our
homework, praying with us,
and simply giving much of
her time to bond with us
just to see smiles on our
faces. The sacrifice she has
made to care for us is un-
like that of any mother’s I
have ever seen... truly ex-
traordinary! One of the sac-
rifices still vivid in my
mind is how she single
handedly cared for us, her
children, while Dad was on
deployment. She took on
many roles during that
time: driver, cook, plumber,
name it, she handled it
without complaint and with
unwavering strength.
It was in 1981 when Letty
answered her call to return
to work at the Monroe
County Property Apprais-
er's Office in Key West,
Florida, where she garnered
a most outstanding employ-
ee award for the year 1983.
Numerous military moves
made her decide to transfer
and work for the federal
government. She worked at
the Naval Supply Center in
Oakland, California from
1984 to 1986. It was in
1987 that she continued her
federal career with the Im-
migration and Naturaliza-
tion Service in San Diego,
California. Four years
thereafter, upward mobility
led her to a higher position
as an Investigative Officer
with the US Customs Ser-
vice, one that she held until
she retired in 2006.
After retirement, Letty fo-
cused her attention on being
grandma to 4 adorable
grandchildren. She is now
also having a grand time
attending culinary arts clas-
ses, and enjoying gardening
and fishing on her free
time. My Mom always says
that she may be retired
from the secular world but
not from God's work. Her
passion is sharing God's
word to people. Whenever
she goes home to the Phil-
ippines, she gets invited to
be a guest speaker in differ-
ent churches sharing the
goodness of God. Many are
blessed by her life & testi-
mony. I can also say she is
a missionary in her own
right. She teaches bible
study to non-denominated
neighbors and ministers to
the sick and poor, praying
for them and helping them
out in every way she can.
In essence, my Mom is not
just a mother but the sweet-
est godly mother who is
devoted to serving God,
family and many others.
She is so much like that
"virtuous woman" men-
tioned in Proverbs 31:10. It
says, "Who can find a vir-
tuous woman? Her price is
far above rubies." That is
my mother Letty.
A Life of Love & Devotion By Elaine Pusung-Silva
The Pusung Family enjoying a meal and bonding moments.
Page 15 of 16 Class ‘63 Digest
My First Thanksgiving... (continued from page 7 )
bought magazines that
showed how to prepare and
bake a whole turkey.
Armed with enthusiasm, I
bought every ingredient
that was mentioned in the
magazine and I bought the
smallest turkey available in
the supermarket. It was not
bad effort after staying in
the kitchen for two days.
I set the dinner table like
we would do on Christmas
day and enticed the family
to try and eat the first tur-
key I baked with all the
accompaniments. Guess
what, only a small portion
was eaten. The stuffing,
mashed potato with gravy,
salads and dessert scored
higher with my picky fami-
ly. At that time, I was still
eating meat and poultry and
gave it a try. Turkey did not
become a family favourite,
simple baked chicken did. I
promised to stick with my
rellenong bangus for my
special occasion.
I told my next door neigh-
bour that I threw away the
turkey for nobody would
eat it. The thought of the
turkey landing in the waste
bin must have upset her.
She told me that I could
have prepared soup using
all the leftovers, or I could
have given her the rest of
the turkey. Too late, I
would not salvage it from
the rubbish bin.
For the next thanksgiving, I
learned to buy just a small
portion of turkey and make
it simple celebration and be
grateful for all things we
have received from above.
Life’s Challenges… (continued from page13 )
It was only in the USA,
(San Francisco and Chicago
postings), that I did not
have to learn a new lan-
guage, but I had the oppor-
tunity to improve my Eng-
lish. In my other postings, I
attended the Berlitz Lan-
guage School and studied
Hindi of India, Spanish of
Chile and Mexico, Dutch of
The Netherlands, Bahasa
Mela-yu of Brunei, Bahasa
Indonesia of Indonesia and
Nauruans of Nauru. Staying
in Canberra for a few years
gave me the opportunity to
study more languages and
skills in life.
Outside of languages, I
studied to become a Plastic
Technologist, Travel Con-
sultant, and a Typist. Typ-
ing was the best and most
practical skill I learnt. I also
took graduate courses in
Southeast Asian Studies at
the Australian National
University to better equip
me in speaking and dealing
with the intelligent bunch
of diplomats.
Next, I will introduce you
to the countries I have lived
with my family as an expat
and wife of a diplomat with
diplomatic privileges and
immunities extended to me
as a member of Bruce’s
family.
November-born Teo Antonio, shown above in one of his travels,
is celebrating his birthday in California. Teo, a multi-awarded poet
in Filipino, is currently in the news, having recently received his
fourth National Book Development Board book award. His book
of poetry entitled “Distrungka” won the Virgilio S. Almario prize for
poetry in Filipino for 2012.
Additional information from Wikepedia: Teo Antonio (born 1946)
is a very important Filipino poet. He was born in Sampaloc, Ma-
nila. He was educated at the University of Santo Tomas where he
studied Fine Arts. Antonio is the son of Emilio Mar Antonio, hari
ng balagtasan (King of Balagtasan—a Filipino form of poetic
joust) during the 1950s.
Antonio garnered numerous Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Poetry in 1973. 1975, 1976. 1986 and 1998. He also received top
prizes during the Centennial Literary Contest for his epic poem-
Piping-Dilat in 1998 as well as Manila Critics' Circle National Book
Awards in 1982, 1991 and 1992. He also received a grant as Phil-
ippine Representative to theWorld Poetry Reading Summit in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1996.
Antonio received numerous other distinguished honors including
the SEA Write Award from the King of Thailand in Bangkok
(1995), Gawad Patnubay sa Kalinga para sa larangan ng paniti-
kan from the City of Manila (1996), Dangal ng Lipi para sa sining
at panulat from the Province of Bulacan (1997) andGawad Ala-
gad ni Balagtas (Lifetime Achievement Award) from the Unyon ng
mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL)/Writers Union of the Philip-
pines (2002).
Previously, Antonio was UMPIL director and President of
the Unyon ng mga Tagasalin sa Pilipinas (UNTAP). To-
gether with poets Virgilio Almario and Mike Bigornia, he co-
foundedGalian sa Arte at Tula (GAT), a writers' group. The
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 16 of 16 Page 2 of 1
November 23, 2012 marked
the day that this gent from
Syracuse turned 65 (yes,
he’s younger than most of
us). The catered birthday
bash was held at the Func-
tion Room of his condo in
Ortigas center. Regie
looked very distinguished
with each strand of hair in
place and his wine-red shirt
accentuating the silver in
his hair as he greeted each
guest at the door. The af-
fair was well-attended by
family members and batch
mates from class '63.
In attendance from Mapa
High were: Cesar Banaag,
Chary Nantes-Miranda,
Frank de Paz, Eddie Euse-
bio, Lilia Maaliw-Bagos,
Josie Ilagan, Adelina Sil-
pavan-Maestrocampo, Mely
Baylon, Mita Padua, Beth
(sorry, can't recall her last
name), Alice Manapat-
Almendras, Estela Paulate-
Regala, Danilo Caceres and
wife Baby Caceres, and
Danny Cunanan who made
a dramatic entrance by be-
ing the last to arrive.
Laidy, Regie's younger sis-
ter and also a Mapan, said
grace before meal (we can
now call her Laidy Grace
since in the Philippines
Regie is called "Sir
Regie"). The food was
served by white-uniformed
waiters and the lechon was
a little late, having taken a
tour of the city as the driver
got lost. Nevertheless, the
guests enjoyed the crack-
ling skin with the rest of the
menu topped with several
kinds of dessert and the
birthday cakes. The party
concluded at past 3pm as
Regie had to leave to catch
his flight to Shanghai.
What a way to celebrate a
milestone in his life, a trip
to fabulous Shanghai! We
wish you well Regie, don’t
shop till you drop so we can
have another birthday bash
when you turn 66 next year.
- Eddie Eusebio
Regie’s Birthday Bash
Left: Regie, blowing his cake (and eating it, too). Above, ready to chop the suckling lechon. Below left: with birthday wishers, from left: Mely, Adelina, Lilia, Eddie and Mita. Right: with nephew Elgin (standing), Baby and Danny Caceres, Frank de Paz. Bottom photo: Cesar, Mita, Estella, Chary, Beth, Mely, Adelina Josie
Ilagan (hidden) and Lilia.