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.