Vol. 8, No. 19, Dec. 20, 2004

It's Christmas time in the city.  Nowhere is the celebration of Christmas more evident than in Iligan where various activities have been held in consonance with the spirit of the season.  The Iligan City Christmas Festival Committee is making this year’s Christmas celebration extraordinary by letting Iliganons feel like tourists exploring several Christmas destinations in the locality.  The city government has put up the tallest Christmas tree at the Centennial Park in Barangay Dalipuga on the first week of this month.  The Committee also coordinated with all transport groups in preparing designated vehicles to take on special routes to and from these destinations.

To highlight the spirit of giving, the city government and various civic clubs launched a feeding program for street children.  The Rotary Down South heads the activities at the Centennial Park in Dalipuga, Kiwanis Club for the activities to be held at the NSC field, Rotary North & the Barangay Council of San Miguel for the Miguel Sheker Park activities, CMO-Youth Affairs for a “well-lighted” Christmas at Cabili Avenue, and the City Sports Office for the band competition and song competitions on reggae, acoustic, folk-rock and ethno-rock.

LCHS teachers attend Mindanao congress
By Michael John Siangco (Batch '96)

The faculty of the Lanao Chung Hua School Chinese Department attended the Mindanao Chinese Schools Congress held on November 26-27, 2004 at the Grand Mensheng Hotel in Davao City.  Attended by the different participating Chinese schools all over Mindanao, it aims to upgrade the Chinese language education in the Philippines.  The said event was organized by the Philippine Chinese Education Research Center (Huajiao Zhongxin).

Alumnus places 7th in nursing exam

Another alumnus made it to the top of the Nursing Board Exam held in June this year.   Paolo Marco Kwan Soriano, an elementary alumnus (Batch '96) was ranked no. 7 with an average score of 83.6%.  Soriano took his Nursing degree and high school at Velez College, Cebu City, and MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental School respectively. (MJLS)
 

Let's stick to the original GAH sked

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 03:58:02 +0000
With regards to the date of our 2nd LCHS Grand Alumni Homecoming (GAH) next year, I suggest that we stick to the first Thursday of August date just like the 1st GAH in year 2000, which was held on Thursday to Saturday, August 3 to 5. So for the 2nd GAH, let's have it on Thursday to Saturday, August 4 to 6, 2005. Let's not keep on changing the date to suit anybody's schedule because we will end up with nothing as we can never please everyone. For always, there'll be conflicts in schedules because each of us have other events to attend to being members of not just the LCHS Alumni Association but of several others (college alumni, professional, civic, religious, business, political, hobby, sports, PTA, etc.). May this suggestion of mine put to rest the problem of deciding when to hold the GAH.
--Henry L. Yu (Batch '69), Cebu, Philippines, email: hvty@skyinet.net

Rejoinder:  We have received comments regarding the coming 2nd GAH from other alumni through e-mail. This issue shall be discussed thouroughly with the GAH Steering chairman & the LCHS-AA officers & directors. In fact, during our last meeting, this was brought out to the body and several comments have been noted by the secretary accordingly.  Rest assured that this issue will soon be resolved.  In the meantime, we shall send information to all alumni living abroad and any comments will be entertained. Thank you for your contributions.
--Roger Suminguit, Spectrum Editor & GAH Secretariat, Iligan, Philippines, email: teboncho719@yahoo.com

I just want to make the correction that my club's name is Rotary Club of Muntinlupa South, not Mandaluyong (as reported in "Tracers," Spectrum, Dec. 6, 2004 ). We belong to the Rotary International District 3830. We meet every Tuesday 7 p.m., at Diamond Hotel along Roxas Blvd., Manila.  My official title now is still PE (president elect).  I'll be the president of the club from June 2005-2006. By the way, our batch of PE's have an e-group and I was designated as the moderator. Of course I want to thank Spectrum for teaching me what I know now about the Internet.
--Marie Janiefer Lee (Batch '87), Makati, Philippines, email: janiefer@pacific.net.ph

The new Beijing Airport, to be opened in time for the 2008 Olympics in the city, will be the world's biggest and "truly awesome," according to its architect, the British Lord Foster, who also designed the new Hong Kong gateway.  In an interview in the Hong Kong Sunday Post, he pointed out that the development would take less than three years to complete, against the 13, from planning inquiry to opening, for London Heathrow's Terminal 5.  Beijing is the main hub of Air China, in which Cathay Pacific has agreed to take a near 10 percent stake.
--Larry Sy, Chicago, Ill., U.S.A., email: LVS@comcast.net

Roger Suminguit, Batch '73

December Reunions.  It's Christmas and several batches have gathered themselves anew for their respective reunions in various places here in Iligan. One of the places is Teepoy’s Grill. I have seen the batches of 1994, 1995 & 1996 quietly exchanging pleasant "hi" & "hello's" with each other.  My eyes focused on their reactions when they started grouping in the corner.  They all shared a common sense of excitement and joy as they got together once more -- with feeling.

Other batches held their reunions in other hangouts, like D’ Tap Bar, Club 7, Dzyr Resto Bar, Darren’s Bar and in their homes.  The month of December has been full of Christmas surprises and endless partying.  "Tracers" is having its hands full trying to snatch some first-hand information from older batches during these times, knowing that some activities are held clandestinely in other bars.  Now what could they be up to?

Iligan's First Letchon Parade.  The city government of Iligan, through the office of the City Tourism, has successfully held the first Iligan letchon parade.  There were over 100 letchons being paraded along the city’s major streets last December 17.  The letchons were later sold to the public at only P190/kilo at the public plaza.  This was the first-ever festive letchon presentation of the city government.  This activity was made possible through the joint efforts of the new administration of Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz, Vice Mayor Henry C. Dy, the city councilors, and Jose Maria L. Boza, the City Tourism Chairman.

Another New Resto Bar.  A group of alumni, belonging to several batches, opened a new resto bar last September called Darren’s.  It has an elegant music lounge, bar, function rooms, billiard tables, and features a live band with stage show.  The new bar is located at Tibanga, Iligan City.  Of late, bars and pubs have sprouted in several places in the city.  They are owned mostly by our alumni yuppies belonging to batches of the 1990s.  Despite the economic crisis that hit the city a few years back, night time recreation is still making good business.  In their own way, our young generation of alumni is making their contribution to help Iligan catch up with other cities in the night life business.  Older alumni, on the other hand, are having a heyday hopping around the new bars just to have some elaborate glimpses to enhance eyesights and physical endurance.  Well, “may kaya pa molantaw sa maanindot nga mga ... ahem!"

LCHS-AA Weekly Meeting.  The LCHS-AA Officers & Directors will hold meetings at the JY Dimsum on December 21 & 28 to finalize preparations for the coming Christmas party on December 30.  The meeting will focus on the raffle tickets, venue setup, physical arrangement, foods & drinks, invitations & notices.

A Wedding in Cebu.  Sighted in Cebu City recently were Rene Tio (Batch '70), in photo at left, and wife Miriam who were there to grace the wedding of Marie Irene Yuge and Jose Manuel Boloqui at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Dec. 17.  Irene is the daughter of GloriaLagrosas-Yuge (Batch '62).  The groom, Jose Manuel, is an Argentinian and office mate of Irene at the Hewlett Packard IT Division in Manila.  The new couple plans to move to Singapore soon.  The wedding reception was held at the posh Shangrila Hotel in Mactan, Cebu.  Among those who stood as godparents at the wedding were Florsita Tiu Huan Sy (in photo at right), Dy Sio Te, Chu Eng "Ben" Sy, Rene Tio, and Dr. Vivina Chiu-Yrastorza who celebrated her birthday last Dec. 16.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

The Yuletide Season strikes again! You know it's Christmas time in the city when stores start to have an array of displays - from greeting cards, Christmas decors, to non-stop blinking lights, Christmas songs via CDs, etc. There's no stopping the season of merriment, reminiscences, sentimental journeys, get-togethers, manito-manita, exchanging gifts, and a litany of parties to attend to. Yes, you know it's Christmas time because the atmosphere says it all.

In the Philippines, the Yuletide Season starts as early as SeptemBER, the first of the so-called BER months (SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER). It's Christmas time when we would start making a long list of what gift to give to lolo, lola, mommy, daddy, anak, inaanak, driver, yaya, kusinera, labandera, atbp. Indeed an endless listing of what to give, to whom and when and how much. Truly a season of giving and forgiving.

How was Christmas of the "Yeah, yeah Vonnel generation" compared to today's "Mambo No. 5 generation"? Practically the same spirit of merry making, of preparations, of celebrations. As kids of the 60's, we certainly didn't have the hi-tech gadgets which our children have now (CDs, computers, mini-component, laser disc, LCD, Power Point, brick games, cellphones, text, email, internet, website, videos, and other state-of-the-art amenities that our children have in this dot.com generation). Ours were definitely simpler in more ways than one, but enjoyable to the max nonetheless because we have no choice then.

Decades may have passed from the time we were kids but the fact still remains that we are what we have been -- all children of God awaiting for His coming, our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the reason for the season. There's still the feeling of excitement, maybe not so much for us but for our children.  We still make a countdown as to how many more days are there to Christmas, and everything else that spells joy to the world, of the season's best. Yes, we still believe in the magic of Christmas. We will always do because it's magic whenever we think about the memories of those wonderful Christmases in our beautiful past when we were kids of the 50's, the teenagers of the 60's, the yuppies of the 70's, the family men and women of the 80's, the midlifers of the 90's, and the golden boys and girls of the new millennium.

Marie Janiefer Q. Lee, Batch '87

“Are you happy?” -- a question which brought tears to my eyes.  Tears of joy, for having accomplished something I’ve always wanted to do. Without saying a word, she knew that I was so happy that day.

For months I’ve been coordinating with the orphanage, and for months I’ve been begging the current president of our club to let me initiate a project to reach out to a group of 72 children ages 5 and up.  I promised my president that I’ll do all the leg work and he doesn’t have to lift a finger.

The first time I called the orphanage, I asked one of the sisters if there’s anything specific that they need.  And I choked when she answered, “Anything that you can give we will gladly receive.”

Most of the members of my club said that we should give old clothes and old toys.  But I had to emphasize that aside from that, we have to give them something new.  That it doesn’t have to be all hand-me-downs.  Thank goodness they understood what I meant.

For weeks a small corner of my shop looked like a refugee camp.  Where I placed all the donations ranging from boxes of milk to dozens of brand new slippers.  I know that our economy isn’t going well but there are still people in our midst who are willing to dig deeper into their pockets to share a little something for the less fortunate.  And I believe that orphans are worse than being ”less fortunate” because they are there not for losing something material or fortune but they are there for losing somebody in their lives.

On the day of the visit itself more people arrived and donated.  Friends whom I haven’t seen for years dropped by bearing all sorts of gifts. Some came with packs of coloring books and crayons. Some arrived with boxes of apples.  Friends from the gym came with their families, just as I brought my kids too. I hope that they understood what we were doing there, although when my son Justin saw a child with the same name, he whispered, “Mom, can we take him home?”

I didn’t ask for monetary donations although our friend Igdono Caracho sent some. Thanks ha!  My only requirement for those who intend to donate is that they should give 72 pieces of whatever they want to give because I want each and every child to get the same thing. Like if somebody plans to give toothbrushes, he has to make sure that it’s 72 pieces.

Some friends came and shared their time. It was a good thing that they did because seeing the joy in a child’s eyes is nothing compared to just sending in your help.  We made our visit extra special by calling the children by their names as we hand them their gifts.  It was more personal that way. Once a name was called a little body bolts out of his chair and runs up front to get his bucketful of goodies. I prepared real buckets for each child where I placed all the goodies I’ve solicited.  More useful than plastic bags.

We prepared a short program and some games for the children.  One little boy volunteered to give us a short song in exchange for a big bag of wafer biscuits. And once again I had to fight back tears because he sang a Filipino folk song about faith and trust.  Something which I never thought he’d know or understand.  We were told that the children there were mostly abandoned and some were taken from abusive parents or guardians.  We learned that they have been through a lot, it was really something to hear him sing with so much hope.

All the members of my club were reduced to tears when one little girl said in her tiny voice, “Maraming salamat po sa inyo; sana paglaki ko maging katulad ko kayo.”  Or in English: “Thank you very much and I wish that someday I would grow up to be just like you.”

As I thanked all those who shared their time and their blessings that day, somebody whispered, “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help.” I learned that a lot of people really want to help; they just need the proper avenues to do so.

As we bade good-bye, everybody went home happy.  But I went home the happiest.

I intend to go back soon with another project, because we were taught that in order to really make a difference there has to be a consistent effort. So in order to make a difference in the lives of those children I intend to go back with a project that will have a long term effect, like update them with their vaccinations and try to answer their lack of vitamins, like A and Iron. I know this would entail more work and more funds, but if there’s a will, there’s a way, right?

As I gave the children one last look, I realized that they are about the same ages as my own kids.  These are the kids that my kids will be mingling with when they grow up.  I believe that this is the best time to make a difference in their lives.  I wish that they would grow feeling that somebody cares for them and that they are not nobody’s child.

Michael John L. Siangco, Batch '96

Christmas is in the air. You experience traffic, you'll get asthma because of the legions of people shopping with you, your money is not your money the next hour, and if your heart is weak, you have to be careful with the firecrackers.  They are everywhere and most annoying.

Of course, that is Christmas in the Philippine setting, or perhaps in Iligan to be particular.  People are everywhere and there is really the drive to celebrate, even in the most modest way, the rituals and the practices that come along with it.

We all know that Christmas in the Philippines is the longest celebration of Christmas anywhere else in the world. Christmas celebrations start nine days before Christmas with a mass known as Misa de Gallo.  At this mass the story behind the birth of Christ is read from the Bible. Then we have the Panunuluyan pageant which is held each Christmas Eve.  A couple is chosen to re-enact Joseph and Mary's search for shelter.  We also have the serenading cumbancheros, or strolling minstrels (including the children of the neighborhood) who sing Christmas songs from house to house.  Most important of all is the Noche Buena, a meal that celebrates the family as a love and support unit under God.

China, being a non-Christian country as it is, of course has a different way of celebrating Christmas. Influenced by the west, they conceived Christmas as a time of merriment. They have colorful decor, Christmas trees, and a lot of Santa Clauses.  For them, it's 'in' to copy the western culture. They have no "child in the manger," no exchanging gifts, no Christmas songs (except in Christian churches).  To my surprise, they even have classes!

But with my "fellow countrymen" back there, there was at least some Christmas spirit.  We went to church, exchanged gifts and ate noche buena.  Although we didn't have the setting per se, we had the Christmas spirit.  And it is this Christmas spirit that brings this festivity meaning.

Amidst the traffic, the people, the lack of money, and the firecrackers, I don't dread Christmas. In fact, I look forward in celebrating it year after year. You know why? Because aside from the fact that it's a time when families get together, it is most importantly the time when God showed us His unfailing love.

Merry Christmas, everyone!