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1,000 housing units in CdeO
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Vivina
Chiu-Yrastorza (Batch '61) is the new president of the Philippine-Israel
Business Association (PIBA), Cebu chapter. She led her association members
in Cebu City in the recent celebration of the 53rd anniversary of Israel's
independence day. The occasion was attended by Israel Ambassador
Irit Ben Abba and kingpins of Cebu's business community and diplomatic
circles. Accompanying photo shows Vivina Chiu (at center)
flanked by Israel Ambassador Irit Ben Abba (at left) and US Consular
Agent John Domingo (at right).
3
dead, scores injured in Iligan explosion
By Roger Suminguit (Batch '73)
Three persons died and more than 20 people were reported injured after a grenade exploded around 7:00 p.m., June 15 at Pala-o supermarket, Iligan City. The grenade was thrown by still unidentified men in front of the New Ellie Commercial Store, a few doors away from Apollo Electrical & Industrial Supply of Henry Dy on Aguinaldo St. The explosion occurred on the eve of the city's 51st year anniversary as a chartered city. The victims were brought to three nearby hospitals. Police are still clueless on the motive of the explosion but they suspect it could be a handiwork of criminals who want to sow terror in the city.
Henry Dy reelected to BSP nat'l board
Henry Dy (Batch '64) was reelected to the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) last June 8. This is his third time to be elected to the highest governing body of the BSP. Among the new members of the National Executive Board, only Henry Dy and Salvador Pangilinan received unanimous endorsements in the nomination. The BSP is headed by Mayor Jojimar Binay as president. Jaime Semaña, of Iligan, was elected VP for Mindanao.
Juanita Siao holds 60th birthday bash
Juanita Siao marked her 60th birthday last June 15 with a formal dinner party tendered by her husband, LCHS school director Henry Siao (Batch '57), along with their sons and daughters in law, Frederick & Ma. Teresa, Robinson & Marianne Joy, Dominic & Sheila Marie, and Sherjack. Relatives, friends, colleagues, and various club and association members were invited to grace the celebration held at the Skyroom of the Maria Cristina Hotel, Iligan City. Cash gifts received by the celebrant will be donated to the St. Michael Filipino-Chinese Catholic Community Foundation, Inc.
Tan-Gonzaga wedding
Christopher L. Tan (Batch '90) will exchange marriage vows with Sheillah R. Gonzaga on June 24, 2001, 3:00 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Church in Cebu City. Dinner reception will follow at the Grand Majestic Convention Center. Christopher is the son of the late Crescencio "Cresing" Tan and Hilaria Lua-Tan of Crestan Commercial in Iligan.
Alumni
in the limelight
Very much in the limelight these days is Iligan's well-known property developer Richard Lim (Batch '69), whose company, Jondorf Ventures Corporation, is developing 1,000 housing units adjacent to the site of SM Mall in Cagayan de Oro City. Jondorf Ventures has also developed several low-cost subdivisions in Iligan City in previous years, all of which proved to be smashing successes. Richard is an electrical engineer. He is married to Norma Tan of CdeO. They have two daughters. Richard is the younger brother of Wilson Lim (Batch '66), now an accomplished doctor with clinics at St. Luke Hospital and Metropolitan Hospital, Manila. He is married to Lily Ong, a pediatrician, with whom he has 3 sons and one daughter. Richard's other equally successful siblings are:
Johnson Lim (Batch '70), also an electrical engineer and a third placer in the board exams. He manages his own engineering & calibration standard consultancy firm in Manila. His wife is Ana Pataroque of Manila. They have one son. Jane Lim (Batch '71), is a medical technologist (board 4th placer) and a doctor of medicine. She is the chief dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon of Deaconess Special Clinic in Evansville, Indiana, U.S.A. She is married to Enrequi Pertierra, a computer system engineer at Southern Bell Companies Ameritech. Wilford Lim (Batch '75), also an electrical engineer, is a computer network consultant of Worldcom in Edison, New Jersey, U.S.A. His wife is Maribel Cu of Manila, with whom he has one daughter. Fanny Lim (Batch '81), the youngest in the family, is a Certified Public Accountant (board 16th placer). She earned her MBA at Columbia University in 1989. She is connected with Siemens Shared Services, LLC, New Jersey, U.S.A. She is married to Jimmy Tan, Ph.D., who is the assistant director of Regulatory Affair in Novo Nordisk, New Jersey. They have 2 sons. The Lims come from an illustrious family in Iligan which ran a thriving business in the trading of coffee beans started by their parents, Sy Chian Biao (deceased) and Dy Giok Tiu.
Meanwhile, another alumnus figured anew in the spotlight with his personal charisma and popularity. As president of the Lanao Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Henry Dy (Batch '64) attended the recent Philippine Independence Day celebration of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce at St. Stephen's High School in Manila. In her speech, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was the guest of honor, spotted Henry Dy among the multitude of delegates and singled him out with a special acknowledgement: "Si Henry Dy, ang kababayan ko."
An
appeal to LCHS alumni
Thu, 14 Jun 2001 05:56:37 +0800
We are proud to inform you that the LCHS Alumni Foundation has been doing what it is tasked to do for the past three years now, that is, to grant scholarship to deserving children of our less fortunate alumni who wish to study in our Alma Mater. But sad to say, we can only send 5 to 6 scholars each year due to our limited funds. This number may even be reduced with the yearly increase in tuition fees.
In view of such grim prospect, we appeal to you, kind-hearted alumni, for your financial support and contribution so that this noble endeavor will continue to benefit our fellow LCHS alumni from generation to generation. -- Fe D. Quimbo, President, LCHS Aluumni Foundation, Iligan, Philippines
This is with regards to the article of Dr. Henry Yu entitled “Our Native Land” (Spectrum, June 4, 2001). Sadly, the item he wrote regarding American citizenship is true. But does he or anybody else want to see the other side of the coin?
One of the reasons why I wanted to become an American citizen is to change my last name from Handumon to Sy. No hassle and no attorney to represent you in court just to change your real family name. The other reason is to work with Federal government which offers good benefits and a good pay, including 12 holidays in the paychecks. Another reason is to travel with American passport. By this you don't have to join a long queue to check in and out of the airport.
Being an American citizen doesn't alter my outlook in life. I'm still the same Alex V. Handumon or Shia Ya Leh uh ... I still speak fluent Cebuano, eat the same lumpia, binignit, pancit, etc. And most of all, Iliganonghugot bisag unsaon, ug pislat gihapon ang ilong. Singing "Constantly" and "Summer Holiday" doesn't make me Cliff Richard, bisag unsaon Alex Handumon lang gihapon ang tingog (pero hapit-hapit na baya mapareha ni Cliff. Hahaha! ).
Leaving our native land was one decision in my life that I hated to
do. However, working with Del Monte for 12 years was enough for me to think
that moving on was a better choice. Indeed, I was wrong. Yes,
“regrets, I have a few, but then again, too few to mention.” Just
some thoughts: Aren’t Americans, Chinese, or Filipinos all citizens
of the world? And the world we live in is only temporary. Life is
what we make it. We only live once. The choice is all yours.
-- Alex Handumon (Batch '68), Burnhaam, Illinois, U.S.A., SyAlex@aol.com
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Life's
Journey
By Henry L. Yu, M.D. Batch '69 ![]() |
The Fear Factor
Fear is “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by expectation or awareness of danger,” so goes the age-old definition of Mr. Webster. Its synonyms, according to Roget, are: “dread, fright, alarm, panic, terror, trepidation.”
As we travel along life’s journey, we experience a lot of this emotion called fear, as children of the universe and as adults trying to carve a name in this world of ordinary people, of extraordinary people. For as long as there is life, there will always be a certain degree of fear creeping deep within all of us. We experience them all at a certain time in our lives, whether they be as true as life’s drama (realistic fear) or as false as science fiction (imagined fear).
As a child, we do have a lot of fears, like the fear to be left alone in the dark because of mamaw, to fail in class because that would hinder us from graduating together with our classmates, to be orphaned as it would leave us without lao pe or lao bo to support us, to attend the PTA meetings, or pin the medal on us during awarding ceremonies, or the fear of being an outcast by our barkada, peer pressures, etc.
As we grow older, our fears grow directly proportional with our age. There’s the fear of being laughed at because of our baduy looks and ways. That’s why oftentimes we live and do things according to set protocols and standards, to the commonality of things. We always would want to be accepted by our friends so we wear light blue Bench polo shirt match with dark blue pants, blue socks, and black shoes. There’s the fear of not being accepted by the company where we applied for a job, the fear of rejection by that uptown girl whom we sashayed with and courted, the fear of not finding “Mr. Right” and you’re almost past the calendar (lapas sa kalendaryo), or to be left alone on a last trip to marital journey.
As parents, we experience another set of fears, foremost of which is the fear of waking up one day to see our children become juvenile delinquents, or drug addicts, the fear of teenage pregnancy, broken marriage, separation, or annulment. There’s also the fear of our children contacting Dengue Fever or other diseases that would warrant hospitalization, the fear of us getting ill and become physically disabled, the fear of not being able to offer a comfortable life for the family, pay for the children’s tuition, and other such fears that come along with the challenges of parenthood. Yes, it’s easy to be parents, but how to be good ones is something that needs exhaustive research, diligent study, and the right application at the right occasion, time, and place.
I still have to meet somebody who doesn’t want a happy and harmonious life. All of us certainly would want that kind of life. But no matter how secure and contented we are by being certain or stable with our work or partner at the moment, we just cannot discard the possibility of eventually losing them someday, by and from whatever means or reasons. Yes, “The only thing permanent in this world is change.” It’s sunshiny today, but will it still be so by Monday next week? It is the uncertainty of the future that makes us fearful of what lies ahead or how long would these feelings last. But it is also these uncertainties which make life more exciting, challenging, a reason to do better and strive more in life in order to achieve our goals.
So, if you have some fears lurking deep in you now, consider these part
of life because for as long as we’re living la loca vida, there
will always be the FEAR FACTOR in each and everyone of us. The bottom line
is how we deal with these fears. You win some, you lose some. Nothing in
between. We just cannot have everything in this world. And that’s the plain
and simple truth, nothing but ...
Straight
from the Heart
By Marie Janiefer Q. Lee Batch '87 ![]() |
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The Japanese Invasion
Every June 12 of each year our country observes its Independence Day. The day we got our freedom from all foreign forces, from all foreign control.
When World War II was over I guess almost everybody said that they would never have anything to do with the Japanese. But that was more than 100 years ago. Now we may not see the Japanese army marching in our streets and taking each country by force but somehow they have “invaded” almost every country worldwide. They are here with us in our everyday life.
First, they have invaded our consciousness of their products. That everything “Made in Japan” is better, from a simple home appliance like a toaster to the cars we drive to work everyday. Here in our store we sell "made in Japan"car stereos, and we use "made in Japan" tools -- from a simple screwdriver to the electriical jigsaw and iron nibbler. Somehow these “made in Japan” items have been so intertwined in our life that it seems impossible to be without them.
Back during the war, the Japanese army had to take our women by force as their so called “comfort women” but nowadays it’s our women who go to them freely. Women who’d pay a high price just to be able to work in Japan. Women flock to Japan since the 80’s, they work there and most of them end up marrying Japanese men. Now in addition to the “made in Japan” electrical and electronic appliances, we have the growing “made in Japan” babies, the so-called Japinos.
While most of us were named with American names, now it seems to be a new status symbol to have a Japanese-sounding name. I have a Chinese friend who named her two kids Akio and Maiko, just to make them sound Japanese. I’m sure our forefathers who fought to drive away the Japanese in the past must be turning in their graves by now.
Now that our generation is already into everything Japanese they are now targeting the next generation. They are now once again invading our homes through the Japanese animations that are bombarding our televisions. These are those shows like Dragon Ball Z, Sailormoon, Flame of Recca, Gundam, Ghost Fighter, just to name a few. These shows may be dubbed in either English or Filipino but their theme songs are still in Japanese. Now my two sons can sing along with these songs by heart. As if they understand what the song really means. Not to mention the Sony Play Stations that is a must in every household .
So we may have succeeded to drive the Japanese away before but they
were able to come back inconspicuously. This time they are here to
stay.
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moody
BLUES, 14221
By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D. Batch '65 ![]() |
Jabs Of Free Style: I always savor refreshing delight in being able to scramble nouns and verbs and showcase their potentials in rare forms, especially when such literary aerobics pumps a reader to marvel, "Whoa, didn't hit me that whispering 'A loveliness without love' is a poetic cousin of 'Miss you again'." A major disability of mine is, warned by a pal once, I don't connect too well with some of our newsletter's diehards. That I breed passionate glows out of romantic longings and use hard-hitters in sentence construction instead of small-town words (there I go again). Yet, if we are all witnesses to a uniform parade of adjectives and adverbs, what a tragedy for the outflow of creative juices individuality. Fortunate or pathetic, I am what I am: a juggler of dictionary residents who drifts by Cloud Nine through the simple pleasure of extracting the playful characters, finesse and glories of vocabularies, and doubly exhilarated by the thunderous moans emitting from such mating games! Yes, that's another form of declaring, "Live with my mental disaster because it is here to stay."
Ready to dress your brain in my style?
Banana Republic Memories: Maruya -- an overlapping banana snack that puffs up my taste buds to utter submission - heads my inventory list of yearned-so-much native calories. This sugary treat is heavenly gratifying even when tossed as a passing remark. It revives my carefree adolescence in the company of high school buddies who made munching these satisfying delicacy during recess a case of survival of the fittest. Likewise, just this recent alumni reunion, the mention of kumbo (Dumaguete City lingo) rewinds and replays the positive spin of having a host family in Iligan who catered to my shameless request. Of course, it also reincarnates my one atypical bout of ducking into the boys' room, a pupil in short pants then, after letting my unruly appetite nerve endings coordinate my stomach's craving exercises. An excruciating bout of MO (maruya overdose)! That was the day when I pledged never to abuse that "explosive stuff" unless I dearly long for free enemas. Until the next sizzling aroma of these merienda beauties tickled the air that I breathe.
Won't mind living in Banana Republic.
Roots Of A Dream: It boils down to a nurtured childhood ambition to become a healer of some sort. Occasions abound in my growth chart where I was whacked by spiking temperature and hacking cough that refused to bow down to folk medicine. But when our family doctor greeted my butt with a drug-laced needle, my air pipes got a new lease on dear life. To possess such soothing presence, a compassionate touch that drastically melts miserable ailments is a downright eye-opener to a kid who was in active pursuit of a hero to emulate. It never fails to stun me how our town physician could dust off unwanted irritants with just the strength of an assuring pat. Maybe this brand of juvenile fascination solidified my affinity to anything biomedical. Nah! Just allergic to math! You don't need to be a doctor, however, to exhibit a pain-easing personality. We all can help each other by adopting an attitude of kindness and understanding. These traits, no doubt, can go a long way in propagating a sense of peace and love in our heart, family, community and the world.
Surely, this is the Earth that God sketched it to be.
Mixed
Bag from Bunn Hill
By Aurora H. Tansiokhian, M.D. Batch '58 ![]() |
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Proud Parent; Roots and Wings
This week, my younger child, John, a board certified pediatrician, graduates with a Master in Public Health degree from Harvard. He is also completing a pediatric fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School).
Last week, my older child, Mary Dawn, returned from Paris, France, after participating in an international symposium on positive-stranded RNA virus at the Pasteur Institute. This symposium is held every three years alternating between Europe and the USA. She is a fellow in infectious disease at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and is board certified in internal medicine. Her research is on yellow fever vaccine.
I am so very proud of their career achievements. I hope they will continue to pursue what author David McCullough describes as things that are true, solid, and important.
But the real test for them has yet to come. How are they going to live their lives? Is it going to be a life of kindness, consideration, gratitude and love? Is it with those who provide love, nurture, and support? Will it be a life of integrity and ethnic pride?
As they continue in their careers, I hope and pray they will know to give back. I hope they will realize that what makes life worthwhile is being involved in family, community and country. I hope they will do something for their country.
I would then even be prouder if they have chosen to live a life of kindness, love, gratitude, and integrity.
Someone said: “there are two things you give to your children, one is roots; the other wings.” I hope I have given them both.
Till next time.
A Father To Remember
Cle S. Estrera, Jr., M.D. (CIM ‘72”)
A healthy, loving father is a blessing. But many of us no longer have one anymore, let alone a loving, caring one. We may not have liked the way we were brought up by our father who happened to be easy with his belt to hit us, easy with his hand to strike us, easy with his mouth to yell at us, easy with words to criticize and degrade us, and hard with words to tell us that he is proud of us and that he loved and cared for us. But he brought us up the best he knew how at the time, and what he knew probably came from his father before him. We simply cannot blame or fault him for what he lacked to be a good father we would have liked very much.
Barbara Streisand was only 15 months old when her father died and she said she remembers the loss in her body and psyche. She underwent years of therapy to deal with a number of issues. In one of her interviews, she said, “And I believe I’ve changed a lot, by the way, in many areas. I think I’m mature enough to see the patterns; I’m not always strong enough to change them. The big things, like when your father dies, that feeling of loss – I don’t think I will get over that.”
Perhaps some of us may identify with Barbara’s loss, or with her comment about childhood patterns. Many of the thoughts, feelings and behaviors we have today may be a result of our relationship with our father while we were growing up. The child within us may still be crying out for a father with whom we can share our victories as well as our upsets, our pain as well as our growth, our failures as well as our successes.
Yet if we think that our own father did not do a real good job in raising us, then we have no reason not being able to do a better job in raising our own children. So for those of us who have children of our own, let’s be the best father our children can ever have so that every year, instead of thinking about us with anger, resentment, regret, sadness and bitterness, our children on Father’s day would look back and remember us for being loving, understanding, caring, patient, kind and tolerant.
Now here is something about fathers by an unknown author.
FathersWhen the Good Lord was creating fathers, he started with a tall frame.
And a female angel nearby said, “What kind of father is that? If you are going to
make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high?
He won’t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without
bending or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping.”
And God smiled and said, “Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would
children have to look up to?”And when God made a father’s hands, they were large and sinewy.
And the angel shook her head sadly and said, “Do you know what you’re doing?
Large hands are clumsy. They can’t manage diaper pins, small buttons,
rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats.”
And God smiled and said, “I know, but they’re large enough to hold
everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day, yet small
enough to cup a child’s face in his hands.”And then God molded a long, slim legs and broad shoulders.
And the angel nearly had a heart attack. “Boy, this is the end of the week, all
right,” she clucked. “Do you realize you just made a father without a lap? How is he
going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?”
And God smiled and said, “A mother needs a lap. A father needs
strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a child on a bicycle, or hold a sleepy head
on the way home from the circus.”God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever
seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. “That’s not fair. Do you
honestly think those large boots are going to dig out of bed early in the morning
when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing
at least three of the guests?”And God smiled and said; “They’ll work. You’ll see. They’ll support a small
child who wants to ‘ride a horse to Barnbury Cross’, or scare off mice at the
summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill.”God worked throughout the night giving the father few words, but a firm,
authoritative voice; eyes that saw everything but remained calm and tolerant.
Finally, almost as an afterthought, he added – Tears. Then he turned to the angel
and said, “Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?”
And the angel shuteth up ...
What happened to those sacred vows "for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part"? Gone with the wind? A more civilized world with highly educated people? Women's liberation? Expression of freedom versus hiding behind closed door saturated with taboos? Loosen values and morality? Young kids -- easy in, easy out?
When a marriage fails, it's not surprising for people to raise their eyebrows, ask tons of questions, point fingers and pass judgment on who's to blame. It's a hot topic! And a very sensitive one at that. Some people find it very entertaining while others are just plain sympathizers.
Why do marriages fail? Combination of factors. Little things piling up till they get bigger and harder to solve. It crushed into pieces like broken glass. It bleeds, it hurts. It's embarrassing. Most couples don't like to talk about their private life so we don't really know what's goin' on. We'll just wake up one day and find out the marriage is over.
When someone believes in prince charming and fairytales chances are that she's not yet ready for marriage, because in reality there's no such thing as "... and they live happily ever after." The wedding is just the beginning of a new life. There are so many twists and turns in marriage life, so fasten your seat belt and hold on. Young couples may find it more difficult to wait and be patient because of their maturity level, they being torn between whom to prioritize – themselves first or their partner? I think it's very important for anybody to achieve her personal goals first before getting married, that way, she shall have enjoyed her life as a single professional. Never use marriage as a "scapegoat," believing to find the missing pieces of the puzzle by marrying. Neither should you set high expectations from your spouse because if these are not met, you’ll only get frustrated, become argumentative and abusive. Some of us have been on an abusive relationship without really knowing it because there's no physical involvement like actual hitting and apparent bruising. But we're called with names and other caricatures, criticized, insulted, yielded at, with very degrading and humiliating words. And those words are just as painful and traumatic. Soon you'll experience self-pity, your self-esteem is all the way down. It's emotional and mental abuse.
Other factors contributing to a failed marriage would include a marriage that has no open communication, or when one always feels that he should win over the other, a very sheltered life with no freedom to do anything for yourself, too much pride to accept that you can make mistakes, too much pride to forgive and forget. And here comes the interference of the in-laws, dictating what to do coupled with a spouse who has no backbone. Each of us comes from different family backgrounds, orientation, and upbringing, so you can't force your spouse to just change overnight to fit in your family.
Financial problems -- not enough money, one loves to spend while the other is frugal or who earns more income. This will always create some conflicts in marital relationships because this will affect one’s lifestyle, where you go and what you do. Along with finances are vices, especially gambling, drinking, and the nightlife somewhere, where one pretends to be amnesiac by acting single when he’s married.
Infidelity tops the list among the many reasons why a marriage fails, and it's not just because of physical changes (overweight after childbirth, not taking care of one’s looks, etc.). There are more roots beyond your sight for dying love, the relationship gets sour and bitter, sex life is falling apart (you're lucky if you get it once a year!), no more excitement, and frustration keeps building up. The next thing you know, there goes the spouse with another soulmate!
Certainly, there are more reasons why a marriage fails. I just hope it won't happen to you as it did to me. But for those of us who failed, just remember that life has to go on. Let us try to do our best with what's left in our life. It’s not the end of world, afterall. Good luck!
Iligan basketball champ, 1971
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LCHS basketball team, "Lan Hua," champion of Iligan City, after demolishing the La Salle Academy team in 1971. Standing, from left: Reynaldo Suminguit, Edelino Dagondon, Luzvelo Dy, muse Gloria Yip Quilat, team captain Roberto Lagrosas, Roger Suminguit, and Carlos Tan. Squatting, from left: Benjamin Tan, Pokien Chan, coach Agapito Suan Jr., Jackson Wong, Prudencio "Wahoy" Tan, and Jorge Racines. (Photo courtesy of Roger Suminguit) |