[Daddy Max P. Young (at right) is shown here casually chatting with  SULTAN HASSANAL BOLKIAH, Brunei’s YANG DI-PERTUAN and incumbent Prime Minister (at left) during one of the proceedings in the CONVENTION OF WAR VETERANS OF ASEAN COUNTRIES hosted and held in BRUNEI from November 23-27, 2017.]

 

Dapat sana ako’y kasama ni Daddy¹,

Sa CONVENTION ng mga beterano ng mga ASEAN² country;

Naging excited din sana akong kapiling ang isang YANG,

YANG DI-PERTUAN³ ang siya nyang PANGALAN…

 

 

Dahil sa marami akong OBRA^3a, si POTENG⁴ ang syang UMUBRA—^4a

Kahit nga siya’y may INDUCTION⁵ na naka-TOKA,

Napilitan syang maging CHAPERONE at KASAMA,

Yaon ang ORDER ni Doc⁶, para nga ay NO PROBLEMA!

 

 

At naging STAR nga si Daddy sa convention ng VECONAC⁷,

Talagang masuwerte nga’t ito’y PURE LUCK;

Nagkataong lumabas sa pintong malapit

sa lugar ni Daddy⁸,

Si SULTAN BOLKIAH, ang Prime Minister ng oil-rich BRUNEI country…

 

  

At nagkaniig nga silang dalawa, ang SULTAN at si Dad…

Namangha pa nga si BOLKIAH, nang malaman kanyang EDAD,

Di makapaniwala ang SULTAN na 95⁹ na ang AGE…   

Pagkatapos ng enkwentro nila’y there was LAUGHTER in seeming RAMPAGE!

 

  

When the SULTAN asked our Daddy…

As to his SECRET in aging LONG and    DANDY!

Daddy asked the SULTAN: “Can I just whisper it into your ears?”…

SULTAN did agree as though Dad was among his PEERS!

 

 

And there was seeming RAMPAGE¹⁰, after Daddy Max WHISPERED..

Daddy Max violated PROTOCOL¹¹…Oh GOD, he could be INCARCERATED¹²!
For Daddy MAX felt so elated and even so EXCITED,

Dad MAX did a SHOULDER TAP¹³, the ROYAL guards seemed INFURIATED!

 

 

But when the SULTAN heard Daddy Max’s MURMUR,

The SULTAN LAUGHED so LOUD and did it with much FERVOR…

And all the royal guards laughed in sequential UNISON,

But they didn’t  know in fact, what the SULTAN heard in his TYMPANUM¹⁴!

 

MABUHAY DADDY MAX!

PANJANG UMUR SULTAN BOLKIAH!

===========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – Daddy refers to Daddy Max aka Maximo Purisima Young, who was sent by the Philippine government to represent the country in the convention of war veterans in Brunei from November 23-27, 2017.

 2 – The CONVENTION among war veterans in the ASEAN region was hosted by the VECONAC of Brunei aka VETERANS CONVENTION OF ASEAN COUNTRIES from November 23-27, 2017.

3 – YANG DI-PERTUAN literally means “HE WHO WAS MADE LORD”. It is the appellation accorded to the Sultan and incumbent Prime Minister of BRUNEI.

3a –OBRA mean work and in this particular usage, it means court hearings and paper work/court pleadings.

4 – POTENG is the nickname of my youngest brother, WARREN TOBIAS YOUNG.

4a- UMUBRA is a Tagalog term which means “to be able” or “to have the time for”.

5 – Though POTENG aka WARREN was scheduled to be INDUCTED as new President of the country’s ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity-Alpha Chapter (“APO-Alpha Chapter”); Warren obliged himself to chaperone Daddy Max as he was almost willing to be INDUCTED in-absentia and has designated a close brod of his to just read his acceptance speech. It was good that the APO hierarchy eventually decided to reset/reschedule the INDUCTION rites to December 16, 2017.

6 –  Doc is Daddy Max’s physician at the UERM, where my brother Wilson is Vice-Chairman; Doctor Stephen Medel.

7 – VECONAC is the acronym for VETERANS CONVENTION OF ASEAN COUNTRIES.

8 – The CONVENTION was conducted in a formal proceedings in a venue in Bandar Seri Begawan. It was not certain that Sultan BOLKIAH would arrive but that as the incumbent President of the VECONAC, a citizen of BRUNEI and who was in the past part of Sultan BOLKIAH’s Royal Army, is close to the Sultan, Sultan BOLKIAH arrived indeed. And the Sultan entered the hall nearest to where Daddy Max was seated. And the President of the VECONAC sort of bragged that there is a CONVENTION delegate from the Philippines who is 95 years old. Thus, Daddy Max and Sultan eventually rubbed elbows with each other.

9 – Daddy Max just celebrated his 95^th birthday on July 30, 2017. Daddy Max is thus now going into his 96^th year actually.

10 – The ROYAL GUARDS of the Sultan were all taken aback when Daddy Max requested the Sultan to whisper something into the Sultan’s ears. The ROYAL GUARDS were all ready to block Daddy Max; but with the hand-sign of the Sultan, Daddy Max was able to approach the Sultan and jokingly whispered something “dirty” into the Sultan’s ears.

11 – It is PROTOCOL that no one must lay a hand or touch the Sultan; but Daddy Max even did a SHOULDER TAP upon the Sultan. And when the Sultan burst out in LOUD laughter; all the ROYAL guards laughed in UNISON with much PRECISION (meaning when the Sultan stopped laughing; they all ceased laughing as well).

12 – As it was a time-honored principle that the Sultan cannot be touched by any other person; indeed, if an overly-enthusiastic ROYAL GUARD were around, Daddy Max could have been arrested and thereafter detained.

13 – The SHOULDER TAP is a common gesture between acquaintances and friends of tapping the shoulder of another or in an extreme manner of showing friendship via a side to side hug with the hands and the arms sliding over the shoulder of the other person.

14 – TYMPANUM means the EAR.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [Shown at left is BRP Rajah Humabon while docked at the Philippine Navy Headquarters along Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila. The TWO (2) photos at right show the ASPAC Parents with their respective kin as photographed with the ship as backdrop (top photo) and at the facade of the PHILIPPINE NAVY HEADQUARTERS (bottom photo).]

 

 

Excited ang lahat na makatungtong sa HUMABON¹,

Mabuti nga pala’t dito sa Roxas Boulevard HUMAPON²;

Salamat kay EUVIN³ pati na rin kay REY⁴,

Everyone was so excited as all was raring to shout HURRAY!

 

 

 

At ang “paglusob” sa Philippine NAVY,

Ay puspusang nai-plano ng MABUTI…

Ang THEME kasi ng parating na ASPAC XMAS Party…

Ay nabunsod ng ‘sang SONG; pamagat ay “IN THE NAVY”⁵!

 

 

 

Ang mga naunang sa NAVY STATION na dumating,

Si EDNA NATIVIDAD⁶, si ROBERT⁷ at RACHELLE TAN⁸ na lahat ay “ISPUTING”⁹!

Si RAUL BRIOSO¹⁰ na naka-SHORTS…

Para bagang ready to do some SPORTS¹¹!

 

 

 

Kaya pati HEADGEAR sa XMAS Party sa NINE¹²,

Ay tunay na pinili upang lumabas na GENUINE (i.e. pronounced  as “GEN-WAYN”)…

Mayroong simpleng DOUGHBOY Sailor’s CAP…

Mayroon din namang marangyang NAVY CAPTAIN’S PEAKED HAT!

 

 

 

 

Halos FIRST TIME ng lahat na mag-NAVY SHIP TOUR,

Mayroon VIDEO SHOWING at meron ding PROTOCOL¹³,

Si RAUL BRIOSO¹⁴ na INQUISITIVE; nag-FOCUSED sya sa CANNON¹⁵!

Si CYNTHIA ONG¹⁶ nama’y nagtanong about PIRATES at  mga HOODLUM¹⁷!

 

 

 

But it truly was EDUCATIONAL & so FANTASTIC,

USS ATHERTON¹⁸ pala ang original na sya niyang RUBRIC¹⁹;

 Na-acquire ng PINAS noong NINETEEN SEVENTY-EIGHT²⁰,

Thence, the ship was used as a mere PATROL FRIGATE!

 

 

 

Sa una’y di-mag-kamayaw ang mga ASPAC parents,

Dahil gusto ay PICTURE-TAKING in all of the EVENTS;

Sa FANTAIL²¹ pa nga lang at umpisa ng TOUR,

FRANTIC na ang lahat until they reached some kind of “FORTY-FOUR”²²!

 

 

 

At the WARDROOM where the air was COOL²³,

We somewhat felt that we entered a MESS HALL…

There was a table there and plenty of heavy CHAIR,

And the guided TOUR was actually  done in a PAIR²⁴!

 

 

 

Matapos ang GUIDED TOUR na syang IDINAOS,

Bumalik sa FANTAIL at nagpasalamat ng LUBOS;

Ginampanan ni PREXY KATTIE SY²⁵ ang pagpapasalamat,

Naisip ko na rin ang dala-dala kong AKLAT²⁶!

 

 

 

It thereafter gave me the chance to donate a BOOK²⁷ for the NAVY,

So, I gave the BIO-BOOK entitled FOREVER YOUNG to its LIBRARY²⁸,

Daddy Max was a former soldier too²⁹,

It gives me full pride to share the BOOK for the NAVY’s CREW³⁰!

 

 

=======================================================================

[Legend: 1 – HUMABON is the BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-11) and was formerly the US Navy destroyer escort USS Atherton. USS Atherton saw action during World War 2, dropping depth charges while hunting for the German submarine U-853, which she is credited of destroying. This makes the HUMABON ship among the only active warship in the world credited of sinking an enemy submarine. Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, was the Rajah of Cebu at the time of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in the Philippines in 1521.

 2 – HUMAPON means to roost or to settle. Mostly used for BIRDS and FOWL; but used in this BLOG to mean “to dock”. BRP Rajah Humabon usually is docked in Sangley Point in Cavite. It was good that in reply to the ASPAC’s request for a guided tour of the ship, it was brought from Sangley Point to dock at the Philippine Navy Headquarters along Pres. Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila.

3 – EUVIN is Ms. EUVIN P. DELA CRUZ who is an incumbent Board Member of the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL (“ASPAC”) and the better half of Philippine Navy Captain REY DELA CRUZ, who was formerly Liaison Officer of the Philippine government to the United States Pacific Command.

 4 – REY is EUVIN’s suave-looking husband, Philippine Navy Captain REY DELA CRUZ. In one of the meetings of the ASPAC, as the Christmas Party of the ASPAC which is set on December 9 adopted “IN THE NAVY” as theme, EUVIN casually broached the idea of having a guided tour unto the Philippines’ former flagship, the BRP Rajah Humabon.

5 – There appears to be a resurgence on the fondness of most of the ASPAC parents most particularly Ms. Cynthia Ong unto the songs of the VILLAGE PEOPLE, particularly the song “IN THE NAVY”. And the title of the song was adopted as THEME of the ASPAC Christmas Party on December 9, 2017 at the Rooftop of the ATENEO Leong Hall.

6 –  EDNA NATIVIDAD is incumbent Year Level Representative of the ASPAC.

7 – ROBERT TAN is the incumbent Vice-President of the ASPAC.

8 – RACHELLE TAN is ROBERT TAN’s better half and is incumbent Board Member of ASPAC.

9 – “ISPUTING” is Tagalog slang which connotes being well dressed, neatly-dressed or fashionably dressed.

10 – RAUL BRIOSO is incumbent ASPAC Year Level Representative.

11 – SPORTS – I am actually egging my friend and ASPAC colleague RAUL BRIOSO to join as participant in the coming SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT scheduled to be held on November 30, 2017 at the Badminton Hall located at No. 6 20^th Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City from 7 AM to 12 Noon.

12 – NINE, the scheduled Christmas Party of the ASPAC is on December 9, 2017.

13 – PROTOCOL  means some kind of procedure; as before the GUIDED TOUR, we were all apprised about the rules and regulations which are in effect and are being enforced within the Philippine Navy premises.

14 – RAUL BRIOSO is the same RAUL BRIOSO mentioned in No. 10, and is, as earlier said, an incumbent ASPAC Year Level Representative.

15 – The CANNON is a 3 inch/50 or 3”/50. The 3″/50 caliber gun (spoken “three-inch fifty-caliber”) in the United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fires a projectile with the following specifications: 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter, and the barrel is 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 inches  × 50 = 150 inches or 3.8 m). Different guns (identified by Mark numbers) of this caliber were used by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard from 1890.

16 – Ms. CYNTHIA ONG is incumbent ASPAC Board Member. CYNTHIA was more interested in the operations of the Philippine Navy most particularly with its sovereignty surveillance chores. And the query made by CYNTHIA eventually pertained to pirates who conduct their illegal trade in the high seas as well as other criminal activities in the high seas such as illegal entry through the high seas of drugs.

17 – HOODLUM refers to criminal elements doing their trade in the high seas.

18 – US ATHERTHON – USS Atherton (DE-169), is a Cannon-class destroyer escort, and it was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lt. John McDougal Atherton, who died when the USS Meredith sank near Guadalcanal during World War II. Atherton (DE-169) was laid down on 14 January 1943 at Newark, New Jersey, by the Federal Drydock & Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 27 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Cornelia A. Atherton, the mother of Lt.  Atherton; completed at the Norfolk Navy Yard; and commissioned there on 29 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Paul L. Mansell, Jr., USNR, in command. The ship was acquired by the Philippine government on December 23, 1978; thence it was commissioned on February 27, 1980. BRP Rajah Humabon, for a time served as the Philippine government’s flagship, but is now being used merely as a training ship by the Philippine Navy.

19 – RUBRIC refers to the name or the signage given the ship.

20 – The SHIP formerly known as USS ATHERTHON and now as BRP Rajah Humabon was acquired by the Philippine government on December 23, 1978.

21 – FANTAIL is that part of the ship which is a  rounded overhang of its STERN. The STERN, on the other hand, is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The STERN lies opposite of the BOW,  the foremost part of a ship.

22 – FORTY-FOUR is a slang term which connotes a condition of “COOLNESS” as differentiated from a condition of being so EXCITED.

23 – COOL – It would seem that the only places inside the ship BRP Rajah Humabon, where it is air-conditioned are the BRIDGE, the WARDROOM and I guess, the MESS HALL. We were not actually led to the MESS HALL as perhaps, we might then feel as though they are inviting us to take our lunch on board BRP Rajah Humabon (joke only Sirs!).

24 – PAIR – The group of ASPAC parents plus their kith and kin were divided into TWO; actually a PAIR. After the video presentation was had at the covered portion of the FANTAIL, the first group (with Prexy Kattie Sy and Veep Robert Tan as members) started out with a guided tour at the SHIP’s Wardroom while the second group (with me and ASPAC Treasurer Juliet Remorque as members) started at the SHIP’s BOW where the 3inch/50 cannon was mounted.

25 – The BOOK (entitled FOREVER YOUNG) is the biographical book which I wrote about my Daddy Max, who is himself a soldier, a war hero and once a sailor in a commercial ship in the 1930s.

26 – PREXY KATTIE SY is incumbent ASPAC President Katherine Ng Sy.

27 – AKLAT which is Tagalog term for BOOK which I opted to bring to donate to the PHILIPPINE NAVY MUSEUM and LIBRARY.

28 – BOOK The PHILIPPINE NAVY HEADQUARTERS stationed along Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila has a MUSEUM which doubles as its LIBRARY.

29 – Daddy Max as previously said was a soldier. He was conscripted into the military when the World War 2 broke out, as a member of the United States Army Forces in the Far East aka USAFFE. Daddy Max was awarded the Silver Star Medal by the US government in recognition of his daring war feat during the SECOND WORLD WAR. Daddy Max was also awarded a GOLD CROSS Medal by the Philippine Army in recognition of his heroic role in the Battle of Miudong during the 1950 KOREAN WAR.

30  – In the dedication I wrote on the blank FRONTISPIECE page of the BOOK, it is there written: FOR: THE PHILIPPINE NAVY HEADQUARTERS’ LIBRARY/MUSEUM/ TO THOSE WHO MAY HAVE THE CHANCE TO READ THIS BOOK/ THINK YOUNG! LIVE YOUNG! STAY FOREVER YOUNG! ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The melange of photos spread through this BLOG shows WARREN in his jovial mood. Photo at left above shows WARREN with former VP Jejomar Binay; and at right above, with incumbent DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III. Whilst the other two (2) photos shown below at the bottom portion of this BLOG show WARREN bonding with whom he so loves most to BOND, with FAMILY. *-BULANGKEG 2 is WARREN’s sort of NOM DE GUERRE, a PSEUDONYM accorded to him — as has been customary with the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity; when WARREN entered and became neophyte of the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity, at its ALPHA CHAPTER, the FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY.]

 

The venerable APO¹ Frat was FOUNDED in March in R.P.²,

‘Twas on March 2, in NINETEEN HUNDRED & FIFTY³;

R.P. is acronym for our Philippine COUNTRY,

‘Tis that year the ALPHA Chapter ^3a  elected a humble LUMINARY⁴!

 

WARREN⁵ was indeed BLISSFULLY ELECTED,

He’ll re-assume a leadership post, and we’re all ELATED…

 For he was Grand Chancellor in Year 1983^5a;

At the F.E.U.⁶, a prestigious UNIVERSITY…

 

His BRODS and SISSES gave him the VOTE,

They truly admired his stint as captain of the BOAT;

The memory of LEVY⁷ would stay instilled in their MIND;

SERVICE will always be part of their DAILY GRIND!

 

And the founding papers got documented at NICANOR REYES HALL⁸,

‘Twas the  first meet which ushered the APO PROTOCOL;

But for the cause of FAMILY, WARREN had to miss the CALL⁹…

He’d have to serve our 95 year old Dad for any mishap to FORESTALL¹⁰!

 

Membership in APO has spread like wild FIRE,

With the teeming chapters, ‘twas something that INSPIRED…

 And as loyal  member of this SERVICE FRAT,

WARREN has turned CHIVALROUS from being once a CHILD-BRAT¹¹!

 

In a call for SERVICE, TENG¹² is really  APPROACHABLE…

He seems to be truly always AVAILABLE,

A plea/request from BRODS/SISSES and KIN,

He responds too QUICKLY  as though ordered by a KING!

 

TENG is so profusely COOPERATIVE,

He’s EXUBERANT — that means CHEERFUL and HIGH-SPIRITED—

He inspires CONFIDENCE in all of his FRIENDHIP…

He’s endowed with INTELLIGENCE and a TENACIOUS SPIRIT!

============================================================

[WARREN is shown in these photos bonding with whom he loves most to BOND, with FAMILY!] 

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ASSUMPTION AS PRESIDENT OF THE APO-ACAI FOR 2017-2019!

 

================================================================

[Legend: 1 – APO is acronym for the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity.

2- R.P. is acronym for Republic of the Philippines.

3 – The Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity was founded on March 2, 1950.

3a- The ALPHA Chapter of the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity was organized at the FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY located in Morayta Avenue, City of Manila.

4 – LUMINARY is used in this BLOG to mean an unassuming servant leader.

5 – WARREN is my youngest brother, WARREN TOBIAS YOUNG, in a brood of EIGHT (8) children brought to this world by our parents, Maximo P. Young and the late Norma Tobias.

5a- WARREN during his collegiate stint at the F.E.U was elected as GRAND CHANCELLOR of the APO-Alpha Chapter, which is the APO Fraternity based at the F.E.U.

6 – F.E.U. is acronym for FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY.

7 – LEVY is SOL GEORGE LEVY, who is an Alpha Phi Omega-Gamma Alpha chapter member in the United States of America. In January 1950, being a professional Scouter, he went to the Philippines to generate interest among Scouts here in the Philippines. And through him the Philippine chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega got established.

8 – NICANOR REYES HALL is a building at the F.E.U. campus where the first meeting of the first APO Chapter in the Philippines was held.

9- WARREN has to skip attendance at his INDUCTION as the new President of the APO-Alpha Chapter Alumni Association as he was designated CHAPERONE to our 95-year old Daddy Max (i.e. Maximo P. Young) who has been handpicked by Secretary of the National Defense of the Philippines, DELFIN LORENZANA, to represent the Philippines in the REGIONAL CONVENTION OF WAR VETERANS in BRUNEI from November 23-27, 2017.

10 – As Daddy Max, by reason of his age, needed to get a medical clearance prior to embarking on the BRUNEI trip; he was given the GO signal and a clean bill of health by his physician, subject however to the condition that Daddy Max has to be accompanied by a CHAPERONE in the person of our youngest brother WARREN.

11- WARREN was never in fact a BRAT; and that the use of the word “BRAT” is to achieve some kind of rhyme. CHILDHOOD however connotes some kind of “BRAT-NESS” or of being like a BRAT (especially among the youngest of the brood like WARREN).

12- TENG is WARREN’s more endearing NICKNAME, actually a contraction of his other more popular nickname, POTENG.]

 

 

[Photos shown here from top to bottom (clock-wise) are as follows: group photo with the lagoon which serves as venue for the wakeboarding sports, as backdrop; another group photo (except that most are already wading in the sea water) inside the BALSA; photo of the breakfast had at the impressive mansion of my friend JOE and finally, the photo of our Law Office Secretary, ELLA, simulating the driving of the MOOMBA   OUTBACK SHIP/TOWBOAT.]

 

Mabuti nga at nagkaroon ng mahabang HOLIDAY¹,

Dagli ay naisipang magkaroon ng JOYFUL JOURNEY²…

Matagal na akong iniimbita ng  Kumpare kong si JOE³,

Mag-swimming at mag-TEAM-BONDING doon po sa may LAGO⁴!

 

Nakaligtaan ko na NCR⁵ nga lang PALA,

Ang covered ng HOLIDAY, Mindoro’y⁶ di KASAMA;

Kaya tuloy si Attorney JOVY⁷ na may hearing PALA…

Di naka-JOIN, pero “sumimple”⁸ yata sa PUERTO GALERA⁹!

 

We headed to CALATAGAN¹⁰ at 5:30 AM¹¹,

Arrived at Pareng JOE’s house¹² almost 9:30 AM;

Aba ay… SUMPTOUS BREAKFAST awaited all of US…

Mayroong FRIED EGG, KALDERETA, HOT DOG at DAING NA BANGUS!

 

We thereafter rented a BAMBOO-MADE BALSA¹³,

Watched those wakeboarding as though they’re dancing SALSA¹⁴;

Thence, we were brought towards the middle of the SEA¹⁵, 

That was after we got introduced to the suave Sir ANDREI¹⁶!

 

And every one of us DOVE¹⁷ into the water and CAVORTED,

Into the sea we GAMBOLED…..

PRANCED, LEAPED, BOBBED & SALTATED¹⁸…

Except for JUN¹⁹ who didn’t want his skin  further BURNED & BLISTERED!

 [Here is a photo showing JUN REVILLA being fetched by the boatmen from the LAGO beachfront unto the BALSA.]

 

At si SAMANTHA²⁰ ang syang nagsilbing STAR…

She became the cynosure of everyone pati nga ni GREGOIRE²¹,

SAM was this 3 year old TODDLER…

Who spoke as though she’s a BARRISTER²²!

 

And ELLA^22a seemed to want to be among the FAMOUS & the RICH…

As she opted to be snapped aboard a MOOMBA OUTBACK SHIP²³,

We’ll not much of a BIG SHIP but actually a TOW BOAT—

Perhaps ELLA is thinking to sashay via a water ski ROUTE!  

 

 

Si LITO^23a naman ay nag-silbing SEA URCHIN HUNTER…

Pero siya ang na-biktima ng nasabing SEA CRITTER²⁴…

Tinusok ng SALUNGO²⁵, at para syang na-KURYENTE…

Diga ni LITO animo’y tuklaw daw ng SERPIYENTE²⁶!

[Shown in this photo; from left to right are: Samantha aka SAM, GARY, and LITO aka ENREQUE LUTUC before he was pricked by the SEA URCHIN.]  

 

Kaya nag-higanti ang mga nag-sasayang KAKOSA²⁷,

Inutos kay GREGOIRE alias GREG na humuli ng ISA…

Aba’y isang tambak naman ang siyang SEA URCHIN na NAHULI,

Nilantakan ng kain (no more cooking ni FE^27a), ang ma-alat-alat na UNI²⁸!

  

[Here is a photo of our COOK and UTILITY WOMAN, Fe Tobias. She did not have to cook the UNI as it was eaten sort of “straight from the gonads”.]

 

Si JOE VERGARA na sya naman naging aming  HOST,

Walang ginawa kundi patawanin kami nang LUBOS,

Kaya umalat lalo ang SEA WATER sa BALIBAGO²⁹,

Malayo-layo kasi ang CR³⁰ at punong-puno ng TAO!

  

And the LUNCH aboard the BAMBOO-MADE BALSA…

Was so delicious and aplenty, na para bagang  “one to SAWA”³¹!

And the PUSIT na LUMOT was so very SWEET,

KILAWING KAMBING was fresh & perfect as though we’re still hearing its  BLEAT³²!

  

After we have said ADIEU to the VERGARAS³³,

We trekked to the MUSEUM³⁴ with those quaint TERRAZAS³⁵;

Nice to learn that the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL was HEROIC³⁶—

We’ve learned too that his life story, is a true EPIC³⁷!

  

And the MORAL of our trip to CALATAGAN at LAGO DE ORO—

You don’t need to be RICH to enjoy life… ES CLARO³⁸!

With ANDREI as the new owner of the Cable SKI park, that is LAGO…

He has made the RESORT affordable to the common TAO³⁹!

  

Anent our trip to the MUSEUM of EZ⁴⁰,

It gave us the learning of classifying the RICH in society…

There’s the PROFLIGATE RICH and those who are IDLE on WEALTH⁴¹…

But EZ as a WORKING RICH gave the poor so much HELP⁴²!

 

[Photos above were taken at the ENRIQUE ZOBEL Museum. The one at right is at the entrance to the Museum while the one at the left is at the LOBBY of the Museum. The Museum also features a coffee shop and souvenir shop at the right end extreme portion of the front yard patio of the Museum.]

…And it’s ASEAN’s⁴³ goal to close the gap between RICH and the POOR till the betterment of all in the ASEAN region is FELT⁴⁴!

==========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – In view of the ASEAN Summit from November  10-15, government declared November 13-15, 2017 as non-working holiday in the whole of the National Capital Region/Metro-Manila.

 2 – Due to the continuing heavy workload in our law office, we have not had any office excursion since 2015. Thus, the long streak of holidays (i.e. November 13-15, 2017) which got declared in Metro-Manila gave us the chance to have an office excursion to Lago De Oro in Calatagan, Batangas.

3 – JOE is Jose Vergara, my kumpare & friend who was my childhood chum during our younger days in Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City. JOE eventually become a PC Scout Ranger and thereafter a member of the elite Constabulary Highway Patrol Group (“CHPG”). Eventually, after a living a bachelor’s life like a true lothario (i.e. an un-intending seducer of woman), JOE finally tied the marital knot at age 45 after having been swept off his feet by a Calatagan beauty named AMY.

4 – LAGO is the LAGO DE ORO CABLE SKI PARK & RESORT located at Barrio Balibago, Calatagan, Batangas.

5 – NCR is National Capital Region or Metro-Manila.

6 –  MINDORO – It happened that Atty. JOVITO B. GAMBOL, one of our partners in the Law Office, has a previously scheduled court engagement in San Jose, Mindoro on November 13 and 14, 2017. For which reason, Atty. JOVY was unable to join us in the Lago De Oro excursion. Aside from Atty. JOVY, Ms. Veronica Santiago-Resurreccion, Administrative Assistant; was also unable to join as one of her children got sick.

7 – Atty. JOVY is the aforesaid Atty. JOVITO B. GAMBOL.

8 – SUMIMPLE is Tagalog slang which connotes and is used here to mean as some sort of sneaking an engagement or possible journey-destination to a resort on top of Atty. JOVY’s court engagement.

9 – PUERTO GALERA is another famous resort and topnotch tourist attraction located in Mindoro; which Atty. JOVY could have possibly reached so that he will have his own SOLO excursion…he,he,he.

10- CALATAGAN is the town in Batangas  where the LAGO DE ORO Cable Ski Park & Resort is located about 130 kilometers south of Manila.

11 – We left our Law Office in Cubao around 5:30 AM and thought that at around 8:30 AM we will be at the house of my friend and Kumpare JOE. But the heavy traffic after getting out of the Eaton Exit along SLEX delayed us for a couple of minutes.

12- The house of my friend JOE VERGARA is just adjacent to the LAGO DE ORO Cable Ski Park & Resort.

13- BALSA is a RAFT.

14- Those wakeboarding enthusiasts whom we saw seem like acrobats doing a lot of fantastic movements when coming out from the top of the SLIDER with lots of wakeboarding tricks such as a FLIP, a BACKSIDE BOARDSLIDE, a BACKSLIDE SPIN, etc. What I love best is that trick where the wakeboarder would flip and turn around in the air to get the grab-handle by the other hand; as though doing a SALSA dance.

15- SEA is the South China Sea to which the LAGO DE ORO Resort’s beachfront adjoins.

16- ANDREI is Sir ANDREI TAGHAN, the French-speaking, suave and debonair-looking Lebanese who owns the LAGO DE ORO Cable Ski Park & Resort. When Pareng JOE introduced us to ANDREI as LAWYERS, he immediately commented and joked that we are a breed of EXPENSIVE people as he said that his retained counsel to help him out in his businesses is the BAKER & MCKENZIE Law Office which, according to him, bills & assesses attorney’s fees just like a taxicab meter especially when he calls in by phone to ask for legal advice.

17- We did not literally DOVE into the water but just plunged into it.

18-   There was a lot of horseplay in the water as every bobbed, jumped, and cavorted…SALTATION is another term for jumping…

19- JUN is ANASTACIO E. REVILLA, Jr. who is my UP Law classmate and partner at our Law Office.

20- SAMANTHA is the cute 3-year old daughter of Gary Ramos, who works as Assistant at the Liquidator’s Office of RUBY INDUSTRIAL CORP. which is housed at the Ground Floor of our Law Office.

21- GREGOIRE is actually GREG who is Amy’s kin (i.e. Amy is the better half of my Pareng JOE); and GREG was our BALSA boatswain and helper combined.

22- BARRISTER is a LAWYER. Sam aka Samantha talked as though she was a mature fellow and chatting, even arguing even with our co-lawyers and the other joiners to our Office excursion.

22a- ELLA is Ms. Romelyn Solomon Hadap who is our Law Office Secretary.

23- The MOOMBA OUTBACK Ship is actually a towboat owned by Sir ANDREI and is used in the resort as towboat for a banana boat ride and other water rides.

23a- LITO is ENREQUE LUTUC (a native of Apayao who at one time after having had the chance to hobnob with former President FVR was suspected by FVR as an NPA), who is our Paralegal Assistant/Messenger and Driver, all rolled into one. 

24- CRITTER is another term for SEA CREATURE which is used here to refer specifically to the SEA URCHIN.

25- SALUNGO is Tagalog term used in Calatagan, Batangas to refer to a SEA URCHIN.

26- SERPIYENTE is another term for SNAKE.

27- KAKOSA is a Tagalog slang which means COMPANION or member of a group.

27a- FE is FE TOBIAS, our Law Office Cook and Utility Woman.

28- UNI is the edible part of the SEA URCHIN. UNI  (oo-nee) is actually the Japanese name for the edible part of the Sea Urchin. While colloquially referred to as the roe (eggs), UNI is actually the animal’s gonads (which produce the milt or roe). UNI ranges in color from rich gold to light yellow, and has a creamy consistency that some love and is off-putting to others.

29- BALIBAGO is the barangay in Calatagan in Batangas where LAGO DE ORO is located.

30-  CR is the popularly term used in the Philippines to refer to the TOILET. CR is acronym for COMFORT ROOM.

31- “ONE TO SAWA” is actually a Tagalog slang. But it is a phrase with a combination of English words and a Tagalog word: “SAWA” which means SATIATION. “SAWA” actually connotes UNLIMITED nature or of being APLENTY as the LUNCH at the BALSA was really APLENTY, namely: crabs, prawns, chevon vinaigrette aka kilawing kambing, porc vinaigrette aka dinakdakan, calamari grille aka inihaw na pusit-lumot, chevon cuit aka kalderetang kambing,  thon grille aka inihaw na yellow-fin tuna, etc. (with Frenchy culinary terms attuned to ANDREI’s Frenchy twang)

32-BLEAT is a goat’s cry.

33- JOE’s surname is VERGARA.

34- MUSEUM is the ENRIQUE ZOBEL Museum located in Calatagan, Batangas.

35- TERRAZA is the patio at the ENRIQUE ZOBEL Museum. It could also refer to the porch along the outside of a building or an outside coffee shop.

36- HEROIC – We learned after a trip at the MUSEUM that after the Japanese forces entered Manila in 1941, the 14-year-old Enrique displayed his resourcefulness and audacity, having to care for his mother while his father was with the USAFFE forces in Bataan. To generate income for their daily needs, he used his father’s polo ponies to offer kalesa rides to his countrymen in Manila. In the 1970s, the late Enrique persuaded his family to award so many hectares of their land to the tenants/original settlers of their land in Calatagan.

37-EPIC- The late Enrique Zobel’s life could be considered as an EPIC as can be shown in this narrative about his early career. Thus: Enrique Zóbel joined Ayala y Compañia in 1955 as a mechanic and worked closely with his uncle, Col. McMicking, who was credited for engineering the transformation of Makati from vast tracts of swamplands into the Philippines’ premier financial and commercial district. When the Ayala y Compañia partnership became a corporation in 1967 (after the retirement of Col. McMicking), Enrique Zóbel became its first chief executive. Like McMicking, Enrique Zóbel showed great strength and business savvy in contributing to the growth of Ayala as one of the Philippines’ biggest and most respected conglomerates. He sustained McMicking’s vision for the Ayala group. He professionalized the Ayala group and was instrumental in fulfilling Ayala’s goal to become a major player in the banking sector, as the company gained control of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Ayala also moved into new industries then- semiconductor (Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc.), food processing (Pure Foods Corporation – now, San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc.), agribusiness (Ayala Agricultural Development Corporation) and telecommunications (Globe-Mackay Cable & Radio Corporation – now, Globe Telecom). In 1973, Enrique Zóbel welcomed the Mitsubishi group as partners and took Ayala Corporation public in 1976. On November 8, 1976, Ayala Corporation was listed in the Makati Stock Exchange (now Philippine Stock Exchange). Among the RICH in thePhilippines, the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL was among those who really cared for the poor as can be seen from the many charitable activities that he championed in Calatagan, Batangas particularly his version of LAND REFORM thereat. ENRIQUE ZOBEL was the one who coined the classifications of the RICH in the Philippines such as: the PROFLIGATE RICH, the IDLE RICH and the WORKING RICH like the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL who showed compassion for the POOR.  In 1981, he founded the Makati Business Club (MBC) to support or oppose policies which affected national life. He felt that the business community needed to speak out as a single solid voice and not lobby for its own corporate or sectoral interest. From 1983 to 1986, MBC would be the prime advocate of political change.

38- CLARO is Spanish word which means “IT’S CLEAR!”.

39- COMMON TAO would mean the ordinary folks or the masses. ANDREI, the Lebanese who now owns LAGO DE ORO has somewhat scaled-down the price rates of the hotel rooms. On top of this, he has even renovated the resort. The resort is now, not only so spic and span, but most importantly, more elegant-looking. Instead of a wooden railing-barrier that separates the beachfront and the hotel premises; ANDREI put up instead the more durable and almost corrosion-free & gleaming stainless-steel  railing along the fence-barrier.

40- EZ is acronym for the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL.

41- IDLE on WEALTH refers to those IDLE RICH. IDLE RICH would mean those who have abundant possessions and especially material wealth having high value or quality but are in fact lazy and who do not care to help those who are poor.

42- As earlier said, it was the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL who persuaded his family to have the first version of land reform in Calatagan, Batangas by awarding home lots and agricultural lots to the original settlers in the lands owned by the Zobels in Calatagan, Batangas.

43- ASEAN is acronym for the Association of South East Asian Nations. The ASEAN Declaration states that the aims and purposes of the Association are: (1) to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations, and (2) to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. In 1995, the ASEAN Heads of State and Government re-affirmed that “Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN.”

44- With economic growth as the primordial goal of the ASEAN for the whole of the ASEAN region, this would translate to an inclusive economic growth for all.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [At this morning’s 1st ASPAC Board Meeting for School Year 2017-2018 at the ATENEO Lynch Hall; I was tasked by ASPAC President Katherine N. Sy aka “Kattie” (shown at extreme left) to speak about the upcoming 2nd ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT to be held on November 30, 2017 at the BADMINTON HALL. Aside from this sort of pep talk to entice participation in the tourney, I also had the chance to rehearse them into singing what will virtually be ASPAC’s signature hymn  entitled “GO BEST”. The song is an adaptation of VILLAGE PEOPLE’s popular song entitled “GO WEST”, using the same melody and tune except that the lyrics were revised (the lyrics of which is reproduced below). The present ASPAC BOARD is headed by Kattie as President and Mr. ROBERT TAN aka ROBERT as Veep.] 

 

Ginanap kaninang umaga ang unang pulong ng ASPAC¹,

Ito’y kakaiba dahil wala na ang tawang HAGALPAK²…

Wala na kasi si Attorney RAUL ZOSIMO PANLASIQUI³,

Dahil pag nandyan siya’y tawana’y siguradong di PAHUHULI⁴!

 

 

Hindi din dumating ang dating simpatikong PANGULO…

Si Doc ANDY TAN yun, na sa FENGSHUI⁵ ay PAMBATO;

Malamang ay naisip na nyang mag-“HUNTING-HUNTING⁶”,

Kasi naman, ang LOVE LIFE nya’y nagpa-BANDYING-BANDYING⁷!

 

  

 Ako naman ay nakaligta at lubos na NAKALIMOT…

Akala ko nga ay ASPAC MEETING pa ng dating BOARD⁸;

Nakalimutan kong ako nga pala’y isa nang SEKRETARYO⁹,

Naalala ko na lang nang si NAP¹⁰ ay nag-KOMENTARYO¹¹!

 

  

Oo nga naman pala, dapat ako’y “quick with the  PEN¹²”…

Nawili ako dahil dati’y non-officer at “quick to depart so OFTEN¹³”;

Kaya ako tuloy ay napilitang mag-OVERTIME¹⁴,

Ginawa ko ang MINUTES baka  memorya’y “would just escape my MIND”!

 

  

Aba at sulit naman ang FIRST MEETING na ito…

Inawit naming sa unang pagkakataon, mistulang ANTHEM po ng GRUPO;

Bago usalin ni MARITESS¹⁵ ang CLOSING INVOCATION¹⁶,

We did a group singing ala VILLAGE PEOPLE¹⁷ in MOTION¹⁸!

 

  

At balak nga ng lahat na gawing

ASPAC HYMN na ito¹⁹…

Pati si DWIGHT^19a  tuloy ay naging-“creative” at nag-PLANO;

Kakantahin daw naming ang HYMN sa Sampaguita Pictures, WALANDYO²⁰…

Baka kami’y ma-DISCOVER ni Mother LILY²¹ ng REGAL STUDIO²²!

 

 

Halos si Doc ANDY ang sya pa ring tampulan ng PANSIN…

Di talaga makalimutan ang GENEROSITY nyang “without a SIN”²³!

At sa panahon ng kanyang mahabang  PANUNUNGKULAN…

Para bagang ang PUNDO’t BIYAYA’y mistulang UMULAN!

 

 

Pero sa CHRISTMAS PARTY aming hiling ay si DOC ANDY…

Makita lamang siya’y “we’ll be BLISSFUL and so very HAPPY”!

Kaya mga ASPAC members, let’s all do the REHEARSAL²⁴,

We’ll sing and dance with ZING and EAT LECHON de PAN DE SAL²⁵!

=====================================================================

[Legend: 1 – ASPAC is acronym for ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL.

 2 – “Tawang HAGALPAK” means BOISTEROUS LAUGHTER.

3 – Atty. RAUL ZOSIMO PANLASIQUI is ASPAC’s Immediate Past President for SY 2016-2017. He now holds the position of COMELEC Chair of ASPAC. Atty. RAUL is virtually the ASPAC’s “court-jester” as every word that Atty. RAUL utters would certainly induce the males in the ASPAC Board into loud guffaws and the distaff side into interminable giggles.

4 – “PAHUHULI” would literally mean that JOKES and LAUGHABLE stories would almost always  be the happy contribution of Atty. RAUL into the discussion of the ASPAC Board meetings especially when the mood would eventually turn somber and serious. Thus, Atty. RAUL’s JOKEs will never be outshone, never be out-matched and never be surpassed.

5 – Doc ANDY TAN is a FENGSHUI Master.

6 –  Perhaps Doc ANDY TAN would be focused now in a search perhaps more apt to be described as “BEAUTY-HUNTING” or “WIFE-HUNTING”.

7 – “BANDYING-BANDYING” connotes leisurely biding one’s time. In case of Doc ANDY TAN, he seemed to have sort of procrastinated in finding the love of his life; his soul-mate and eternal partner.

8 – “Dating BOARD” means the past ASPAC Board for SY 2016-2017 where I merely served as Year Level Representative of  ASPAC.

9 – “SEKRETARYO” means Board Secretary.

10 – NAP is Napoleon Quejada, a Year Level Representative of the present ASPAC Board.

11- “KOMENTARYO” means COMMENTARY. At one point during the ASPAC Board Meeting held this morning, and as a crucial matter was discussed and resolved; NAP commented that the resolution/agreement reached must be clearly spelled out in the minutes. Thus, NAP was compelled to ask who was the incumbent Board Secretary. And only then did I realized that I have to jot down some notes and take down the minutes of the Board Meeting.

12-  “QUICK WITH THE PEN” speaks of my task and duty as Board Secretary to take down the minutes of the Board Meeting.

13 –   “QUICK TO DEPART SO OFTEN” connotes my previous actuation and habit to which I have sort of been accustomed of literally flying and zooming out of the board meeting venue to join my Law Office staff as I have usually made it a point to do an informal update meeting with my Law Office staff on Saturday’s which coincides with the usual dates/days of the ASPAC Board Meetings.

14- In  view of the oversight, of forgetting that I am ASPAC’s Board Secretar; I was compelled to take into Nette’s PC (Nette is ASPAC’s office Secretary)  and quickly encoded and typed out the minutes while the others took their free lunch (i.e. buffet style) served at the hall fronting the ASPAC Conference hall.

15- MARITESS is Maritess Cordero who is a Board Member of the current ASPAC Board; who has always been assigned to do either the opening prayer or the closing prayer in every ASPAC Board Meeting.

16- “CLOSING INVOCATION” is CLOSING PRAYER.

17- VILLAGE PEOPLE     is an American disco group of the 70s well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American masculine cultural stereotypes as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. The VILLAGE PEOPLE did a song-and-dance number of “GO WEST” as can be seen in a video accessible at YOUTUBE in the INTERNET.

18- The “MOTION” connotes the ecstatic song-and-dance number of the VILLAGE PEOPLE in their rendition of the “GO WEST” song.

19- With the revised lyrics of the song “GO WEST” with a similarly revised title of “GO BEST” akin and attune to ATENEO’s “MAGIS” concept; the song seems to be apt to be adopted as ASPAC’s signature hymn.

19a – DWIGHT is Attorney DWIGHT RAMOS who is Board Member of the incumbent ASPAC Board. He really is “quick in the draw” when it comes to momentous ASPAC events such as the 1st ASPAC Badminton Tourney which was held on May 1, 2017, as he caused the documentation of the sports event via a fantastic and wonderful video.  DWIGHT intends and plans now to institutionalize the “GO BEST” hymn as the ASPAC’s signature anthem which will be sung after every board meeting of the ASPAC. Based on DWIGHT’s plan, we will have to record the song “GO BEST” in a recording studio within the premises of the SAMPAGUITA PICTURES complete with musical accompaniment. It is really apt and opportune as ASPAC seems to have become “artistic” nowadays what with the plan broached by CYNTHIA ONG to stage a sing-and-dance presentation by the active ASPAC parents on December 9, 2017; the ASPAC’s Christmas Party. With the recording of the “GO BEST” hymn, initial singing of said hymn will be with the recorded audio so that the ASPAC parents will be able to “acclimatize” themselves with the rhythm, the tune, the melody and the cadence of the song. WOW!!!!

20-“WALANDYO” is a Tagalog-slang which actually means “WOW”.

21- Mother LILY is LILY MONTEVERDE and who is the owner of a movie production outfit called the REGAL FILMS or REGAL STUDIO. Mother LILY was also TALENT MANAGER for many actors and actresses.

22- REGAL STUDIO is REGAL FILMS, the movie production outfit owned by Mother LILY who was so popular back then.

23-GENEROSITY “without a sin” is IMPECCABLE GENEROSITY.

24-The ASPAC members will have a REHEARSAL on November 14, 2017 from 1 PM to 6 PM at the BADMINTON HALL located at No. 6 20th Avenue, Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro-Manila.

25-LECHON DE PAN DE SAL refers to the bread in the form of a roasted pig which was served during the SURPRISE DESPEDIDA PARTY had in honor of Doc ANDY TAN during his last ASPAC BOARD MEETING as ASPAC President on October 21, 2017 at the University Dorm at the ATENEO.]

 

GO BEST (FINAL VERSION)

 

(Together) That is ASPAC’s  way

(Together) We’ll be BEST someday

(Together) Your hand in my hand

(Together) We will make grand plan!

 

(Together) We will fly so high

(Together) Tell our woes goodbye

(Together) We will start ANEW

(Together) This is what we’ll do

(Go BEST) Things are peaceful NOW

(Go BEST) Lots of projects WOW

(Go BEST) To perform MORE SO…

(Go BEST) This is what we’ll DO…

(Go BEST) Much to do this time

(Go BEST) We will do just fine

(Go BEST) ATENEO’s  BLUE¹…

(Go BEST) This and more we’ll do

(Together) We will love the TEACH

(Together) We will learn and PREACH

(Together) Change our kids to men…

(Together) We’ll work hard AMEN!

 

[This part is some kind of ADVISORY to our sons & daughters in the Loyola Schools]

 

(We love you) We know you love US

(We’ll guide you) ‘Cos your carefree & fast!

(So that’s why) We have joined ASPAC

(When you said) You wanna lead the PACK!

(Go BEST) Things are peaceful NOW

(Go BEST) Lets BE FRIENDS oh  WOW!

(Go BEST) To make FRIENDS MORE SO…

(Go BEST) ‘Tis our GUIDE we’ll DO…

(Go BEST) Much to do this time

(Go BEST) We will do just fine

(Go BEST) ATENEO’s  BLUE…

(Go BEST) This and more we’ll do

(We know that) there are many ways

(to reach it)  toiling hard it pays…

(Together) we will reach the TOP

(Together) we will never STOP!

(Without the) busy pace back then,

(the hustling), ruffling feathers like hen..

(We know we’re) eager reaching the TOP

(so this is) why we’ll never STOP!

(Go BEST) Things are peaceful NOW

(Go BEST) Pledge our FRIENDSHIP  VOW

(Go BEST) To be TRUE and BLUE*…

(Go BEST) This is what we’ll DO…

(Go BEST) Much to do this time

(Go BEST) We will do just fine

(Go BEST) ATENEO’s BLUE*…

(Go BEST) This and more we’ll do

(Go BEST) Things are peaceful NOW

(Go BEST) Let’s be FRIENDS somehow…

(Go BEST) Respect and KOWTOW…

(Go BEST) ‘Tis our lasting VOW!

 

[fade out]

=========================================================

[Legend: 1 – The color BLUE in addition to the fact that it is ATENEO’s color, is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Birthday celebrant Gerardo C. Valentin, Jr. aka Gerry V. is shown in this photo cuddling his favorite granddaughter, Ryanne. In September 2013, Gerry V. was appointed as LIQUIDATOR of RUBY INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION, a corporate entity which owned a 5.4 hectare realty in the heart of Mandaluyong City. Gerry V., despite the fact that this was his maiden engagement as LIQUIDATOR;  proved his worth and mettle in seeing through the successful forging of a compromise between the rival groups of stockholders which have been at odds and so fiercely adversarial against each other for over 30 years. YOU’RE THE MAN! HAPPY 58th BIRTHDAY GERRY V.!]

 

He’s a LIQUIDATOR¹ par excellence,

That’s proven by RUBY’s² dramatic DENOUEMENT;

For THIRTY-FOUR years there was no FINIS³…

‘Twas good under his watch, it ended  with a KISS!⁴

 

As though GERRY is an orchestra conductor of a SYMPHONY,^4a

The music was wiped off with the taint of CACOPHONY;

And the principal parties to the protracted LITIGATION,

 GERRY found basis for the case’s long-awaited CESSATION!

 

Indeed, like ZUBIN MEHTA,^4b GERRY gave it all—

Never giving up as he is truly guided by a protocol;

Every detail, GERRY would meticulously check and master…

Even engaged “forensic auditors”^4c as though assaying some alabaster^4d!

 

Being born on November 8, NINETY FIFTY-NINE⁵…

He’s a SCORPION possessed with a TOLERANT MIND,

He has a deep sense of knowing how other people FEEL;

Having him as a FRIEND is quite a STEAL⁶!

 

He possesses much greater WILL POWER…

He prefers to tread the PATH that’s CLEARER;

He dislikes almost every CHANGE,

He’s BOLD — a great RESEMBLANCE⁷, at almost full RANGE^7a!

 

As one born under the PIG⁸ zodiac sign…

He is a trusting person; indeed so BENIGN—

He puts much HIGH VALUE on FRIENDSHIP…

For a friend in need, he’ll not abandon the SHIP!

 

Those born under the sign of the PIG,

Is a motley of personalities so really BIG…

OLIVER CROMWELL⁹ is one among them,

SCHWARZNEGGER¹⁰ is the other who’d perhaps brought much MAYHEM¹¹!

 

And as a friendly advice to dear GERRY,

He ought to pay attention to some AUGURY¹²;

Per the Chinese zodiac sign that’s in CYBERSPACE¹³…

His fondness for smoking seems NOW to be OUT-OF-PLACE¹⁴!

 

But as your health horoscope speaks truly good TOO¹⁵…

I won’t insist making your SMOKING a NO-NO—

Though I am not a true-blue SKYGAZER¹⁶,

Just don’t get too exhausted at the FAIRWAY BUNKER!¹⁷

 

[Gerry V. is shown in this photo, talking to his former colleagues in one of the meetings of  the association of retired personnel of PILIPINAS SHELL & PETROLEUM CORPORATION (“SHELL”). Gerry V. availed of an optional retirement program at SHELL in March 2010 but has remained active in affairs and activities of the association of retired personnel of SHELL.] 

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY GERRY!!!!

=======================================================================

[Legend: 1 – On September 20, 2013, Gerry Valentin was appointed by the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City (Branch 211) as LIQUIDATOR of RUBY INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION (“RUBY”), a corporate entity previously engaged in glass manufacturing and which started to have liquidity problems in 1983 compelling it therefore to file a petition for suspension of payments with the SEC in December 1983.  This case of RUBY, due to the seemingly irreconcilable differences between the “fiercely adversarial” stockholders, reached the Supreme Court for a record FOUR (4) times. Thus, the Supreme Court eventually felt obliged to order the liquidation of RUBY. Still however, the two (2) groups of stockholders (i.e. majority and minority) seemed not as yet so keen to arrive at a compromise settlement. But the tact and diplomacy possessed by Gerry V. who is similarly endowed with a communicative sway, which is the very essence of a compromise; finally brought the “fiercely adversarial” groups of stockholders, to ultimately make peace with a “KISS”.

2 – RUBY is RUBY INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION. It was a pre-war corporation earlier named as CHUAN HUAT Corporation. RUBY was engaged in the glass manufacturing business particularly bottle-making with Pepsi-Cola and UNILAB, among others, as its principal customers. In 1983, after being confronted with liquidity problems brought about by the recession (and the peso devaluation) during that era and the jacking up of its payables particularly dollar-denominated loans pertaining to imports, RUBY was compelled to file a petition for suspension of payments with the SEC.

3 – FINIS means the END.

4 – KISS- The original meaning of the word “KISS” is EMBRACE or RECONCILIATION. It was a most awaited RECONCILIATION between the Majority and the Minority stockholders of RUBY.

4a – The orchestration done by GERRY into arriving at a happy compromise between the principal parties to the liquidation proceedings could be likened to the famous American resident of a symphony conductor, the Indian-born ZUBIN MEHTA, who gives it all—his forceful but gracious gestures and his total focus on the musical rendition. By analogy, GERRY totally immersed himself into the goal of arriving at a compromise by wiping-off any trace of cacophony (i.e. the disagreements between the principal parties) and still keeping the dignity and honor of the personalities among the principal parties in tact. By way of an aside on this famed orchestra conductor MEHTA… a supposed critic said that:   “Mehta brought to the conducting of the score a kind of bedazzlement that has no peer in recent times….It was a lunging, teeming, breathless performance that still had plenty of breath.”

4b – The conductor ZUBIN MEHTA was born in Bombay, India. His father was Mehli Mehta, a violinist who was the founder and conductor of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra, and he gave Zubin his first musical education. At age 18, after short period of pre-medical studies in Bombay, Zubin left for Vienna in 1954, entered the Akademie für Musik there, learned to play the double bass in order to join the Academy’s orchestra, and took conducting lessons from Hans Swarowsky. He graduated from the Academy in 1957 and made his professional debut in Vienna, guest conducting the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In a London appearance in 1961, Mehta became the first Indian to conduct a major British orchestra.  In 1968 Zubin Mehta also became Music Adviser to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and was made Music Director of that orchestra in 1977. In 1981, he was made Music Director for life. Zubin Mehta has conducted over two thousand concerts with this extraordinary ensemble including tours spanning five continents. In 1978 Zubin Mehta resigned his Los Angeles post to succeed Pierre Boulez as music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.  Zubin Mehta made his debut as an opera conductor with Tosca in Montreal in 1963. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on December 29, 1965. Since then he has conducted at the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala Milan, and the opera houses of Chicago and Florence as well as at the Salzburg Festival. Since 1985, he has been chief conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence. Between 1998 and 2006 he was Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera where he conducted more that 400 performances. Since 2007 he is the President of the Festival del Mediterrani of the Palau de les Arts in Valencia.  In 1990 Zubin Mehta was asked to conduct the first of the now-legendary Three Tenors concerts. Mehta proved a highly appropriate choice, being one of the few conductors with the charisma to match the well-practiced stagecraft of the three star tenors. The concert was a huge success. When the phenomenon was repeated in 1994 from Los Angeles, Mehta again conducted.  Zubin Mehta’s list of awards and honours is extensive and includes the “Nikisch-Ring” bequeathed to him by Karl Böhm. In October 2008 Zubin Mehta was honoured by the Japanese Imperial Family with the “Praemium Imperiale”.

4c – GERRY V. was compelled to engage the services of the so-called “forensic auditors” as there were missing documents from the files that the SEC transmitted to the Liquidation Court. Though the term “forensics” actually denotes scientific tests for the detection of some possible crime; in the case of GERRY V., it centered most particularly in determining the legality of some corporate activities of RUBY in the face of its December 1983 filing of a petition for suspension of payments. Thus, in the avowed intent to procure significant documents; many files, records and documents that were eventually procured came from virtually unconventional sources. 

4d – ALABASTER is actually the composition of many artifacts starting from those dug in the Egyptian caves mostly as archaeological findings.

5 –  Gerry V. is a SCORPION being born on November 8, 1959 and by encoding his birth date in a PC, you could read through and peruse via INTERNET his horoscope on both the conventional zodiac sign as well as the Chinese zodiac sign. Gerry’s Chinese zodiac sign is the PIG zodiac animal. Further, with regard to Gerry’s horoscope, I relied on these websites for details on his horoscope, personality and traits as well as advice on health:  http://www.thehoroscope.co/birthday-analyser/November-8-1959-horoscope-and-zodiac-sign-meanings-3607.html and http://birthdayscan.com/1959/november/8/.

6 –  “STEAL” in this BLOG was used to mean as a GOOD ACQUISITION; actually a GOOD FRIEND. Indeed, Gerry is described as a very SOCIABLE person.

7 – In the website http://www.thehoroscope.co/birthday-analyser/November-8-1959-horoscope-and-zodiac-sign-meanings-3607.html, Gerry’s being BOLD is said to be a great RESEMBLANCE to one who is born on November 8, 1959.

7a – In the website of THE HOROSCOPE.CO, an enumeration of personality trait descriptors is therein indicated. And being BOLD, is shown therein as one personality trait descriptor that describes a person born on November 8, 1959. Truly, within the FULL RANGE, as Gerry V. showed his BOLDNESS in weathering out the fiercely adversarial stances of the two (2) groups of stockholders of RUBY into an eventual compromise. The resemblance almost reached the FULL RANGE of FIVE BARS, actually FOUR and a HALF bars.

8 – Being born on November 8, 1959; Gerry V. is governed by the Chinese zodiac animal sign of the PIG.

9 –  Perhaps for Gerry’s BOLDNESS, he could by analogy be compared to OLIVER CROMWELL. OLIVER CROMWELL was an English military and political leader best known for making England a republic and leading the Commonwealth of England. Nicknamed “Old Ironsides”, Oliver Cromwell demonstrated his ability as a commander and was quickly promoted from leading a single cavalry troop to being one of the principal commanders of the New Model Army, playing an important role in the defeat of the royalist forces. Oliver Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in the history of the British Isles, considered a regicidal dictator by historians such as David Sharp, a military dictator by Winston Churchill, but a hero of liberty by John Milton, Thomas Carlyle, and Samuel Rawson Gardiner, and a class revolutionary by Leon Trotsky. In a 2002 BBC poll in Britain, Cromwell, sponsored by military historian Richard Holmes, was selected as one of the ten greatest Britons of all time.

10 – Perhaps for Gerry’s BOLDNESS too, he could by analogy be compared also to ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER also. Arnold Schwarzenegger who was born July 30, 1947, is an Austrian-American actor, producer, businessman, investor, author, philanthropist, activist, politician, and former professional bodybuilder who holds both Austrian and American citizenship. He served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. Schwarzenegger began weight training at the age of 15. He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, remaining a prominent presence in bodybuilding and writing many books and articles on the sport. Arnold Schwarzenegger is widely considered to be among the greatest bodybuilders of all time as well as bodybuilding’s biggest icon. Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, a box office hit that resulted in a sequel. In 1984, Schwarzenegger appeared in James Cameron’s science-fiction thriller film The Terminator, a critical and commercial success. Schwarzenegger subsequently reprised the Terminator character in the franchise’s later installments: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Genisys (2015). This is perhaps the best analogy between ARNOLD S.  and GERRY V.: ARNOLD is TERMINATOR but GERRY is LIQUIDATOR.

11 – MAYHEM is used here to mean RIOT. In Schwarzenegger’s TERMINATOR series, ARNOLD’s role really brought much RIOT and MAYHEM in those fantastic movie scenes.

12 – AUGURY means NOTICE or ADVICE.

13 – CYBERSPACE actually refers to the INTERNET and all things about computer or the notional environment in which communication over computer networks occurs.

14 – OUT-OF-PLACE – Well, with the recent issuance of Executive Order No. 26 which is entitled: PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENTS IN PUBLIC AND ENCLOSED PLACES, smoking has strictly now been totally banned in public places. Thus, that makes SMOKING effectively OUT-OF-PLACE.

15 – Per http://www.thehoroscope.co/birthday-analyser/November-8-1959-horoscope-and-zodiac-sign-meanings-3607.html, specifically under CHINESE ZODIAC HEALTH; it is indicated therein that those born on November 8, 1959: “has a quite good health condition”.

16 – SKYGAZER is used here to mean an ASTROLOGER or HOROSCOPIST or SOOTHSAYER.

17 – GERRY V. is a skilled golf player who does the rounds of ambulating through the fairway and, at times, the fairway bunker… regularly doing a swing, a drive, a putt; with a par, bogey, birdie and even an eagle almost every Saturday at the ORCHARD Golf and Country Club in Dasmariñas, Cavite. ]

 

 

 

 

 

 [My dear ALEE started out as a ballet dancer at age 3 at the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet and snatched her first solo GOLD MEDAL award in an international dance contest held in Singapore in July 2006 when she was 7 years old. Now Alee, has switched to HIPHOP and as a member of the CADS aka COMPANY OF ATENEO DANCERS; she will, with her CADS team mates compete at the DANCE EXCELLENCE contest in LA, U.S.A. in April 2018. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEE!!!!]   

 

Being a SCORPION¹ born on November 6,  NINETEEN NINETY-EIGHT…

You’re so FOCUSED, BRAVE and truly STRAIGHT²…

You always wants things done RIGHT,

Being BRAVE, you won’t back down from a FIGHT³!

 

 

 

You are a giving person who always HELPS…

And your KINDNESS extends even to the WHELPS⁴,

And you love beautiful and expensive THINGS,

You surely would refuse being given FARTHINGS⁵!

 

 

 

 

As a TIGER⁶ person, you’re POWERFUL and TOUGH…

You were born with stately CONFIDENCE; that’s hard to TOP…

But you’re also seen as somewhat TALKATIVE…

That’s not good, as you could become your teacher’s PET PEEVE⁷!

 

 

As regards your health take some extra PRECAUTION,

You are easily angered and is prone to DEPRESSION…

Getting angry so quick, may damage your LIVER…

Don’t be angry so much, as you might not find a LOVER!

 

 

 

But you are by nature truly HEALTHY…

In fact, you seldom get SICK, that’s quite DUCKY⁸…

And as a BRAVE person you’ll not lose sleep over FAILURES…

SCORPIONS always take head on difficulties unto quick CURES!

 

 

Just recently ALEE wowed some PEOPLE,

As she danced a BALLET INTERPRETATION in a HALL…

It was a surprise party for DOC ANDY⁹…

ALEE plied,did  a releve and did some GRAND JETE¹⁰!

 

 

  

Indeed, ALEE’s passion for dance is quite AMAZING,

She could switch from ballet to hiphop with much  ZING¹¹…

And as an endearing father’s advice to a DANCER…

Reach your dream with a GRAND JETE –sans any FEAR!

 

 

 

On this your natal day my dear ALEE…

I wish to greet you with laughter and much GLEE¹²;

You have brought much joy to our FAMILY;

I’ll pray you’ll reach your NORTH STAR¹³ so truly QUICKLY!

[Alee is shown here doing her ballet rendition/interpretation of the song popularized by the duo of ANDREA BOCELLI and CELINE DIONE-THE PRAYER, as it served as the invocation/opening number during the surprise DESPEDIDA party for Doc ANDY TAN held on October 21, 2017 at the ATENEO’s UNIVERSITY DORM.]

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEE!!!!

=================================================================== 

[Legend: 1 – ALEE was born under the SCORPIO zodiac sign having been born on November 6, 1998 and by encoding her birth date in a PC, you could read through and peruse via INTERNET her horoscope on both the conventional zodiac sign as well as the Chinese zodiac sign. Alee’s Chinese zodiac sign is the TIGER zodiac animal. With regard to Alee’s horoscope, I relied on these websites for details on his horoscope, personality and traits at:http://www.thehoroscope.co/birthday-analyser/ November-6-1998-horoscope-and-zodiac-sign-meanings-17852.html and https://www.sunsigns.org/ birthday-6-november-zodiac-sign-scorpio-astrology-responsible/.

2 – The use of the word STRAIGHT here carries an ambivalent meaning; one, of doing things rights; and the other, of being UNBENDING or STUBBORN, at times ONLY.

3 – ALEE is competitive as she has been competing in her younger days in international ballet dance competitions and nowadays, in international hiphop dance competitions.

4 – WHELPS are PUPPIES.

5 – FARTHING or FARTHING means the least possible amount especially, in the case of ALEE, she would plead for a slightly bigger amount (slight lang naman) in regard to her school allowance.

6 – Being born on November 6, 1998; ALEE is governed by the Chinese zodiac animal sign of the EARTH TIGER.

7 – PET PEEVE is something that is seen or perceived as annoying.

8 – DUCKY means DELIGHTFUL.

9 – The currently active parents of the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL staged a surprise DESPEDIDA party in honor of Doc ANDY TAN, the outgoing President of ASPAC on October 21, 2017 at the University DORM basement HALL at the ATENEO.

10 – The terms used are ballet dance moves, such as: plie (plee-ay): to bend or of keeping both feet flat on the floor at all times, thence bending the knees; releve (ruh-leh-vay’), which is to rise which can be done on one foot or both feet together. And finally the GRAND JETE, which is a jump or jeté, preceded by a grand battement or high kick, in which a dancer leaps from one leg and lands on the other leg, foot actually.

11 – ZING means energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness or to move swiftly.

12 – GLEE means DELIGHTFUL or with much DELIGHT.]

13 – NORTH STAR connotes one’s ambition and/or goal in one’s LIFE.]