Internet Newsletter of the Alumni of Lanao Chung Hua School Iligan, Philippines, Year 5, Issue No. 7, July 2, 2001 NEW CENTURIONS Vy names new committee chairs By  Roger Suminguit (Batch '73) LCHS-AA President Vy Beng Hong announced the appointments of new committee chairpersons for 2001-2003.  Vy Beng Hong (Batch '69) made the announcement in a meeting of the Board of Directors last June 21. The new chairpersons are Roger Suminguit (Batch '73), committee on meetings; Suniel Lim (Batch '66), awards; Glenda Sy Cabilan (Batch '72), property custodian; Belinda Cu Lim (Batch '82), socials & fellowship; Ernest Oliver Uy (Batch '87), ways & means; Dominic Siao (Batch '85), education; Rodolfu Yu (Batch '69), youth; Teresita Racines (Batch '67), membership; and Marie Joan Quimbo (Batch '87), multimedia.  Also at the same meeting, the LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc., headed by Fe Quimbo (Batch '55), received a cash donation from Carolina Sy, the first alumna to respond to the Foundation's appeal for additional financial support to the Alumni Scholarship Program. Fe Quimbo expressed the hope that more alumni will soon follow suit to help the Foundation with their contributions.

EDITORIAL STAFF Henry L. Yu, Editor Correspondents Roger Suminguit, Teresita Racines, Vinson Ngo & Johnny Chen (Iligan); Igdono Caracho (Cebu);  Marie Janiefer Lee (Manila); Peter Dy (Canada); Leonardo Tan (Australia); Ernesto Yu & Aurora Tansiokhian (U.S.A.); and Charles O. Sy, Editorial Consultant Founded Aug. 1, 1968. Published fortnightly since its revival on April 15, 1997. Distributed free on the Internet to LCHS alumni and supporters worldwide. Postal address: LCHS Alumni Association, Lanao Chung Hua School, Pala-o, Iligan City, Philippines. Website: www.geocities.com/lchsspectrum For subscription, contact: Johnny Chen, Tel. No. (063) 221-3883. Email: johnchen@iligan.com For submission of manuscripts, Email: hvty@skyinet.net

We need more alumni to subscribe to the Spectrum.  This, in substance, was the call of the LCHS-AA president manifested at the meeting of the Board of Directors last June 21.  President Vy Beng Hong urged the officers to solicit more subscriptions to the printed edition of the Spectrum.  He stressed that the newsletter is the best medium for alumni to keep themselves informed of the activities of the Association, particularly for those without access to the Internet.  At present only a few copies are printed per issue for the officers and regular sponsors of the Spectrum in Iligan City.  The LCHS-AA hopes to reproduce more hard copies to reach a bigger base of alumni subscribers in Iligan. Also discussed at the meeting was the proposal to set up LCHS-AA chapters in different key cities in and outside the Philippines.  The chapters will serve to provide better coordination in the activities of the Association and to ensure the success of the next grand homecoming.

Latest batch of LCHS-AA members
By Teresita Racines (Batch '67)

The LCHS Alumni Association is pleased to announce its latest batch of members.  Comprising Batch 2001, they are Dax Vincent Lua, Jeremy Ling, Irish Mae Kuan, Carrissa Ong, Jane Dale C. Racines,  Katherine Yu, Wilbur Chua, Luzette Go, Maria Christine Samson, Ghelbe Garay, Piscean Mae Aranton, Sheila Vy, and Aimeelyn Fuentes.

Alumni news updates

"Tracers" has just learned that Charles "Amboy" Ang (Batch '71) had a mild stroke recently and was admitted to a hospital in Iligan City.   He is out of the hospital now and has been advised to take some rest.  Amboy is a regular benefactor of the LCHS-AA with his perennial donations of lechons at LCHS-AA parties and fellowship programs.  We wish Amboy a speedy and complete recovery.  In Cebu, Aida Lim-Uy (Batch '61) inaugurated last June 22 the new offices of her Cebu Fortune Travel International, Inc. at Machay Bldg., Gorordo Ave., Cebu City.  The occasion was attended by key men of  Cebu's business community and tourism industry.  Another alumni kid starred anew in the limelight recently. Derwin Dexter Sy, son of Nelson Sy (Batch '62) & Josephine Sy, was elected president of the Student Council of the Bethany Christian School (BCS), Cebu City, for school year 2001-2002.  Derwin (in accompanying photo), 14 years old, is a 3rd year high school student. He recently received two gold medals for topping the scores nationwide in English and Science in the International Competition for Schools given by the Educational Testing Center of the University of New South Wales.  Bethany Christian School, represented by Derwin Dexter Sy and other selected school mates, garnered the most number of honors (with 3 gold medals and 5 awards for high distinction) in this year's competition, besting other participating schools in Cebu in the high school level.
 
 

The seventh month of the year, July is the month when Julio, Julius, Julian, Julieto, Julieta, Juliet, Julia, Juliana, Jolina, Julie, or simply July, among others, celebrate their birthdays. It is vacation time for those in the U.S. of A. when people out there would go places for that much needed break from the humdrum of daily living. It’s summer time in the Big Apple, that’s why you hear the song “Though we gonna say goodbye for the summer, darling I promise you this, I’ll send you all my love every day in a letter,  sealed with a kiss.”  Welcome home, mga kababayan ko sa ating lupang sinilangan.

So, what’s up this July?

July 2 – Second death anniversary of Dy Sun Kang, past president of the LCHS Alumni Association, among other positions and achievements.
July 4 – Fil-American Friendship Day. It’s the 4th of July, man!
July 11 – Second death anniversary of Judge Marcelo B. Fernan, of which the new bridge connecting Cebu and Mactan was named after.
July 16 – Next issue of the Spectrum (Year 5, issue no. 8).
July 18 – 82nd Anniversary of the Freeman, the oldest newspaper in Cebu.
July 20-21 – Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) Class 1976 Silver Jubilee Celebration.
July 21 – Man’s first step to the moon (First Moonlanding) and the day Gloria Diaz was crowned Miss Universe. Both events happened thirty-two years ago in 1969.
 

Writing would relatively come easy as long as we have the topic to write about. But oftentimes, not knowing what to write seems to be the problem for most of us writers. So, hereunder is a list of suggested topics where you can choose from to come up with an article for the Spectrum:

I. THE PAST:  A Rewind

Unforgettable personalities (grade school, high school, college)
Memorable places and events
Diary of the rolling 50s
The fabulous 60s
Flower power of the 70s
Adventures of youth
Beliefs, customs, and traditions of yesteryears
Movies, songs, and dances of past decades
Retro: Yesterday Once More

New friends, associates, and neighbors
High tech inventions
Life begins at 40
The golden years
Midlife blues
Realizations
Hobbies for the young onCE
Grandparenting
The Plastic Age
The Y2K Generation
Celebrating a jubilee
Travel and tours
Present tense crisis
Political and economic issues
Principles and philosophies
Today’s etiquette
Today’s educational system and methods
Top of the line products

Let’s get futuristic
How do you see yourself 10 or 20 years from now?
What do you want people to remember most about you?
The reality of life and living
Life after retirement
The sunset years
At the end of the rainbow
The final curtain

Straight from the Heart By Marie Janiefer Q. Lee Batch '87

Guess I can call myself a movie-dic, as in a movie addict because I can’t let a week pass by without watching a movie.  It’s my treat for myself.  I think this started when I was still in college. For me and my dormmates back then, this was our reward for studying the whole week. Our only form of relaxation. It’s probably our way of escaping from reality for a few undisturbed minutes and leave our worries outside the theater doors. I could still remember how we were so excited to watch the "Little Mermaid," and when we went back to the dorm we kept singing "Under the Sea" for weeks. That song became our room’s national anthem.

Up until now I still haven’t shaken off this habit. And somehow I got my husband hook on it too. It’s the only “extra-curricular” activity we do together. I didn’t realize how obvious this “addiction” is to the people who’ve visited us through the years until I went to visit my cousin Marites in Vancouver last year. Because one of the first things she asked me was: “Do you still watch a movie every week?”  Of course, my answer to that was a big yes.

I usually go for those movies like “Notting Hill,” “Runaway Bride,” and “You’ve Got Mail.” Movies that would make one feel good or those which some people might call “feel good” movies.  Though they may make it sound like a dumb movie, for me I don’t mind as long as I really feel entertained and get my money’s worth after watching it. I’m also fascinated with movies like “Entrapment” and “The Three Musketeers,” the suspense comedy type.  Just don’t make me watch horror movies because I won’t be able to go to sleep, being the self-proclaimed “most talawan person” in the whole world.

One of the most memorable movies we’ve been to was “The Mask.”  That was years ago.  We watched it at Greenbelt here in Makati. We weren’t able to finish the movie because a home-made bomb exploded just three rows in front of us.  It was a good thing that nobody panicked. At first we thought it was just part of the effects of the movie, wow 3D!  It was only when we saw a lady slump in her seat that we realized it was for real. You’d think that with that experience we’d stop going to the movies, well actually we did ... for a few weeks.

I can still remember when a movie ticket costs just P15.00. Since then it has increased to P120.00 per stub. Here in Makati there are three places to watch a movie, The Greenbelt Mall, The Glorietta, and the newest one in town is Rockwell. Though I’d still prefer watching at Greenbelt because of the lesser crowd and the parking area is nearer.  All three places have good quality sound system, nice, clean and cozy interior but the best thing I like most in these movie houses are those drink holders in each seat.

Last weekend we’re suppose to watch "Pearl Harbor" but all seats were taken. So we just watched "Dr. T and the Women." Not a very nice one, as what would be expected from Richard Gere.  The movie I’m waiting for is "Tomb Raider" by Angelina Jolie; it’s showing this week.  It looks interesting.

So come rain or high water, for a movie-dic like me, the show must go on.
 

moody BLUES, 14221 By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D. Batch '65

Mother Hen Strikes Again:  Bunn Hill Rory Tansiokhian’s amplification of her inner uncertainties regarding her clan of superb physicians knocked my socks off.  To evolve from the renowned portals of Harvard and Massachussette General Hospital speaks volume of enviably glimmering accomplishments that no parents in the right frame of mind can save themselves from drooling and sighing, “Wish those kids are from our camp.”  Her pack of success stories projects an absolutely mystifying academic endeavors, high-grade missionary zeal on anything that jerks brain waves, and extraordinary intelligence genes refined from the maternal side (gathered from research studies, mind you). Hence, Comadre, don’t lose sleep on their succeeding behavior at the next crossroads. You molded and indoctrinated your tribe with your bests. Doubtlessly, in due time, your transplanted “roots of kindness, consideration, gratitude and love” will flap out of their wings. On second thought, they are already wearing your shoes. Bigger perhaps but same design of clogs! Gosh, you never cease to sprinkle my planet with a reason to salute you over and over again.

Another feather to your cap, Mother Hen.

Head Over Hills:  Local buddies devoured in utter alarm my repetitive tossing in the air of a revolting suicide mission: Attend Silliman U Centennial Celebration this end of August. “Wildly dangerous, man,” cautioned our tennis pro, “you’ll be creamed down to your torso with no backhand to boost forever!” “Freak! Get a life!” pumped my gym trainer, “your muscle fibers can’t even execute basic push-ups without panting and sweating breathlessly for hours, how much more scrambling toe-to-toe with those terrorists-Godzillas in the hills of Zamboanga amid rain of bullets?”  My trusted travel agent had this line, “I can get you a reservation at Northwest Airlines for a hundred bucks one way. With seat belt and chewable meals, of course.  Sadly, your return flight may be funded by the American taxpayers. Wrapped in flag.”  “Don’t flash a smile when those rabid barbarians excise your head to the tune of Rollover Beethoven,” chorused the golden boys of my photography club, “the pagans might get the impression that you are overjoyed in having the ability to think away from your shoulders!” And here’s one from my home front: “Hon, we only have prayers in our bank book to buy back your being a stubborn Taurus,” intoned my darling in seemingly stone-cold seriousness, “even that won’t be enough to secure you an easy ticket to heaven.” Geez, why is it that my beloved Philippines always displays this veil of frighteningly dark clouds every time I cook up a desire to check the azure blue waters and ethnic cuisine of the islands? Why did pirates from the South discover kidnapping-for-ransom a surefire business venture, especially when I still need my family to bless officially my travel documents?

No choice. Will let fertile imagination do the flying.

Love Is Blind:  My sons, the exclusive distributors of the Yu chromosomes, usually condemn my redundant twists with hyperbole. “In high school,” I bragged, “most of my waking hours were either dedicated to needling lecture notes till these texts are transformed into mental tattoos or spent in maximizing whatever IQ I possess in devising good study skills.” The boys’ ears must have been bombarded relentlessly with this personal homily:  “I’m preaching my tested, fool proof approaches to school finals because I hate to be a spectator to your brain contents’ degeneration into Jellos.”  Last night, in fact, I had a face-to-face fatherly chat with our youngest family flag carrier about the virtues of dating homeworks instead of TV sitcoms.  “Chris, those reruns of ‘Friends’ and ‘NYPD Blue’ are nothing but toxins to your dreams and ambition if you stamp higher priority to them than your school assignments. Those garbage can easily destroy your eyesight to the point of being blind as you reach my age.”

“Dad, I’m here,” he replied with a goofy grin.

We all knew him simply as Mr. Pongay.  Older folks in town called him the "monk."  Exactly how he came to be called the "monk" is not known.  Maybe because he led a solitary life after having set out of China to seek greener pastures in Iligan City.  Maybe it had to do with his passion for Buddhism. Or maybe it was because of the spartan way with which he carried on with his life as a peddler of sorts.

To me, however, Pongay was the quintessential salesman.  In a small town like Iligan in the early 60s, Pongay was known to every household. At a time when direct selling had not yet become an integral part of marketing mix, he had already mastered it as a lifetime occupation.

To the little Chinatown of Iligan, the "monk" was the source of a variety of foodstuffs which were scarcely available in the local market during the early 60s.  Once a week, he would sail off on a slow boat to Cebu or Manila and return home with fresh haul of goodies for many households in our community.  It was not uncommon to see Pongay doing house to house marketing, often carrying his fresh load of foodstuffs in two worn-out wicker baskets.  The products he peddled included a vast array of goodies:  From rare imported stuffs such as Chinese mushrooms to dried shrimps and sotanghon, from medicinal herbs to fresh vegetables and bean curds, from grapes and pears to bottled bean pastes and preserved cucumber, from delicacies like kiamoy and salted duck eggs to an assortment of exotic grocery items.

How he packed such boundless energy to peddle his goods from house to house on foot all by himself was a feat in itself.  Already in his 50s, he was short, frail and lanky.  Yet day in and day out he could be seen cheerfully doing house calls to supply his regular customers with rare goodies.  At the end of the day, he would settle back in his quarters in a decrepit wooden house by the Tambacan river at the back of the Century Theater.

The room where Pongay stayed also doubled as his stock room.  It was well stocked with his supply of goods where patrons would frequently visit to make their purchases.  The owner of the house where Pongay rented his room was a Chinese mestizo who made ampao and apa (or barquillos) for a living.  On many occasions where my mother would send me to buy some goods from Pongay, I would often hang around awhile at his place to watch the ampao maker prepare his freshly cooked delicacy on his kitchen table.  While he sliced the slab of ampao to small pieces for retail, the aroma of the fresh ampao never ceased to make my mouth water.  As irresistible as the ampao itself was the joy of observing the ampao maker carry on with his daily chore.  Together with a few other kids, I would wait until he finished the slices, after which he would leave the crumbs to us to savor for free.  If only for such a side treat, being sent on an errand to Pongay's place was always a pleasure.

Having had our fill of the ampao, we would venture off to the backyard of the house by the bank of the Tambacan river.  And there, precariously balancing ourselves on the pile of boulders by the river bank, we would scour for tiny crabs lurking in the cracks between boulders, often unmindful of the stench of sun-dried human wastes that littered the area.  But who cares about the stench?  For carefree kids like us, the faint scent of freshly cooked ampao nearby was enough to make our day.

Here I am again, and one year older. Although birthdays do come and go, this one has been different. I celebrated my thirteenth year on June 10. Thirteen ... why does that ring a bell? Oh yes, because it means you have become a teenager. Doesn’t everyone recall those were one of the best years of their life? Becoming more mature, learning new things, staying young and vibrant?

I have mixed emotions. I’m excited and thrilled as to what the future may bring me, yet nervous and scared at the same time. Drugs, sex, many subjects like these always come up when you’re a teenager.  Sometimes when I watch talk shows on TV I’ve noticed that the most popular subjects are about teenage mothers, paternity tests or cheating lovers, and many such similar subject matters. I have a lot of sympathy for those teens but I hope I won't end up like them.  I don't want to get tattoos and I hope not to pierce another body part, besides my ears, which have already been pierced. I have found out that some teens, in later life, regret having tattoos because it may affect their job. What about drugs and alcohol? I have seen many movies featuring them and some of the morbid outcomes deal with death. I have smelled beer before, and not once have I had the urge to try it. At thirteen, what’s the point of drinking?  It's scary because you never know, you could actually become addicted or die from it! I don’t want to end up like that because I still have so much to live for. I’m not a child anymore, I am a teenager, and I must respect myself and others when making my choices.

There is a part of me, as I said, that is excited. A teenager! Finally, I don’t have to eat from the children’s menu at restaurants or get half priced at the movie theater. Although I’m more expensive now, I feel more powerful for myself. I feel ready for the life ahead of me, and very ecstatic. I’m excited for high school. I’m excited for having more freedom and planning for my future. This is a time where grades count and I have to be more serious about them.  I’m excited for scholarships and colleges or universities and for meeting new people. Adults will look at me differently and give me more respect. The respect I deserve. I’m not "cute" or "adorable" anymore, I’m referred to differently. When they look at me they don’t look at a child, but more of a person who holds the whole future in her hands.

At a tender and young age like mine I have been called very mature and that makes me smile!  It makes me proud of myself and helps me become stronger and set a good example for others.  I believe that when people meet you for the first time, especially adults, their first impression of you is very important.  How's her lifestyle?  Is she okay to hang around my child?  I have to make that impression last.  I guess my mother just raised me up so well.

That’s what I’m excited about. I’m scared, frightened, ecstatic, thrilled, anything you could possibly imagine, all in one body. As long as I have people who love me, as long as I have my intelligence, a good heart, and make the right choices, and all that, I hope I'll go smooth sailing from now on. So help me, dear God.

It was fall and raining when we arrived here in Vancouver and the temperature was 5°C.  Alec, our four-year old son, noticed and told me that the houses here are broken because the air conditioner is outside. A week after we arrived, there was a sunny break, so my cousin called me over the phone and told us that since it is sunny why not bring Alec to the park, but we opted to stay at home. I thought I had so much sun in the Philippines and few hours of sunny break was no big deal. But after weeks and weeks of rain we started to miss the sun only to learn from my uncle Hesing that the other name of Vancouver is Raincouver because it always rains here.

Then winter came when we will be lucky enough to have a few hours of sunlight because it rains a lot.  Picturesque view of snow-capped mountains painted the north side of Vancouver, scenes which I would only see on the December month of the calendars.

Finally, the buds started to sprout to signal the coming of spring. The trees which I thought were already dead started to come to life again. Then it was spring, the flowers bloom, tulips of different colors all around, cherry blossom trees line the streets, daffodils, mums, carnations to name a few, those kinds of flowers which I thought only belong to the books finally come alive. The days started to get longer, though it still rains here but at least we get to see the sun a few days before another days of rain.

June 21st, the first day of summer, a day when we had 17 hours of sunlight. Long days pose a problem for me, because I used to tell Alec that it is already 8 p.m. and time to go to sleep because the sun is already fast asleep, so that when the sun comes back in the morning he could again go out and play. Now when I tell him that it’s bedtime already, he always gives me that kind of look that seems to say: “You must be kidding, Mama, the sun is not yet asleep.”  I could not blame him because the sun at 8 p.m. is as bright as 3 p.m.

So for us who are used to rely so much on the sun for time, it is something that needs getting used to.
 

BATCH 1967
Joselyn Ang,  De Leon St., Iligan City, tel. 221-5522, cell 0917-7161220, e-mail: manolov@iligan.com; Ramon "Ham" Balian, Thian Tee Commercial, Ipil, Zamboanga; Aldo Caracho, Noria, Mahayahay, Iligan City, tel. 221-5132; Dionisio Chiu, Tibanga, Iligan City; Aida Chow (Ipili), Rabago Subd., Iligan City, tel. 221-6264, cell 0917-7160024, e-mail: hqipili@mozcom.com; Rudy Co, Andrada Compound, Mahayahay, Iligan City, tel. 221-5729, cell 0917-9898335; Abraham Edusma, California, U.S.A., e-mail: WONDERLUST@worldnet.att.net; Jose Sam Go, Villa San Lorenzo, Gervacio Quijada St., Cebu City, tel. 253-4724, cell 0917-3212091, e-mail: jenny_go@cnms.net; Melania Handumon, Iligan City; Rosalinda Kaw Hoc, Rosalinda's Store, Quezon Ave. Ext., Iligan City, tel. 221-6038; Elsa Lagrosas, U.S.A.; Carlos Ong Lim (deceased); Lilia Lua (Sy), Ma. Cristina Subd., Brgy. San Miguel, Iligan City, tel. 221-6139; Lolita Lua, U.S.A.; Lily Lueong (Yang), 1349 Yuseco St., Sta. Cruz, Manila, tels. 254-0627, 252-4708, cell 0919-3442432, e-mail: Tigerllgy@edsamail.com.ph; Virginia Ngo, Ubay, Bohol, cell 0919-4479041; Susan Ong (deceased); Teresita Racines, 0099 Quezon Ave. Ext., Iligan City, tel. 221-3253, cell 0917-7160344, e-mail: csm-tur@sulat.msuiit.edu.ph; Alicia Singco, Iligan City; Charles O. Sy, Geo-Transport & Construction, Inc., Room 301, 3/F Cebu Long Se Temple Bldg., Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City, tel. 412-4088; email: charlesy@i-cebu.com.ph; Marcy Sy (Go), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., e-mail: marcysgo@hotmail.com; Fena Choa Tan, Manila; Florentina Tan, Iligan City; Lucio Choa Tan, Lucio Tan Enterprises, Initao, Misamis Oriental, cell 0918-9016621, e-mail: lucks@cdo.weblinq.com; Josefina Tiu, Cagayan de Oro City; Manuel Tee Tiu, Cagayan de Oro City; Lalita Uy, Loy's Pharmacy, Aguinaldo St., Iligan City, tel. 221-3590, cell 0917-7162471; and Alberto Yu (deceased).  [Next issue: Batch 1968]

Campus stars of  the 60s LCHS campus stars in a scene of a musical drama staged during the commencement exercises in the 60s.  Shown in picture are (from left) Gloricita Racines, Helen Ngo, Fena Choa Tan, and Gloria Tecson.  (Photo courtesy of Roderick Ngo)