Vol. 9, No. 3, May 23, 2005

With just a little over a month to go for the 2nd LCHS Alumni Grand Homecoming slated on July 7-9, 2005, alumni registrations and ad placements for the GAH souvenir program have started to pour in.  This encouraging development was announced by Suniel S. Lim (Batch '66), in photo, GAH Steering Committee chairman, during the LCHS-AA board meeting at Jollibee, Tibanga, last May 17.  The GAH chairman also reported that publicity materials in the form of outdoor tarpaulin posters announcing the forthcoming GAH have been posted in the city's different strategic locations and distributed to various FM & AM radio stations.  The campaign will be intensified further with the distribution of flyers soon.

Meanwhile, alumni officers have scheduled a city-wide house-to-house campaign among alumni families in Iligan starting on Sunday, May 29.  After that, the LCHS-AA will send a delegation to personally enlist the registration of alumni based in Cebu City on June 3.  Expected to join the delegation will be past LCHS-AA president Arturo G. Samson (Batch 59), GAH Secretariat chairman Roger Suminguit (Batch '73), and Alexander Chua (Batch '60).  The threesome made up the same team five years ago who sailed off to Cebu where they made remarkable success in the ads and registration drive among Cebu-based alumni.  They were then assisted by Roderick Ngo (Batch '70), Charles O. Sy (Batch '67), and Igdono Caracho (Batch '66).  The delegation hopes to be able to seek the assistance of the three alumni again when they visit Cebu this June 3.  Another campaign sortie is scheduled in Cagayan de Oro on June 11 to round up alumni and solicit grocery distributors for free snacks & beverage, including such items Tanduay, Nestea, Zest-O fruit juice, noodles, biscuits & coffee.   No stone is being left unturned in the GAH preparations to bring much fun fare to all homecoming alumni on July 7-9, 2005.

More GAH registrations

More and more alumni are joining the rush for early GAH 2005 registration.  The latest to turn in their registration payments are the Tan brothers & sisters of the former Everlast Bazaar, along Juan Luna St., Iligan City.  They are Remedios Tan-Wee (Batch '64) of Cotabato City; Marciano Tan (Batch '65) of Iligan City; Ricarda Tan-Lee (Batch '66) of Ozamis City; Pablito Tan (Batch '66) of Manila; and Timestocles Tan (Batch '69) of Naa-wan, Misamis Oriental.  Another early bird is Gil Portugalisa (Batch '73) who owns and operates Aquasoft Water Refilling Station in Iligan City & Linamon, Lanao del Norte.  The deadline for early registration, to be entitled to a 20% discount, has been extended up to May 31.  After that, the full registration fee of P1,500 shall be assessed.

Looking for Yu
Thu, 12 May 2005 10:21:52 +0100 (BST)

Hello! I'm looking for the real name of a guy whom I met lately.  The only thing I know about him is that he is an alumnus of Mapua.  I'm not sure what year he graduated but as far as I know, he is 36 years old and a graduate of architecture.  His last name is Yu.  Can you please send me any information you have regarding him?  Thank you very much.
--Karen Anog, email: ennakaren2003@yahoo.com

GAH schedule

Tue, 10 May 2005 23:22:36 -0400
I would like to know when is the party of the GAH 2005.  I need to know the specific date of the event so I can schedule my trip to Iligan.  Unfortunately, I can't stay long enough for the entire 3 days.  Best regards.
--Terence L. Chua (Batch '89), Mandaue, Philippines, email: tlchua@lenbertfurniture.com

[The highlights of GAH 2005, scheduled on July 7-9, 2005, were published in the April 15, 2005 issue of the Spectrum.  For the benefit of those who may have missed the issue, the complete schedule of activities is available under the heading "GAH 2005" on the top menu bar at the Spectrum website: www.geocities.com/lchsspectrum. --Editor]

Tue, 17 May 2005 09:20:25 -0700 (PDT)
So the final date for GAH is July 7-9,2005.  Well, I have submitted my registration fee to Dir. Teresita Racines last April.  I'm trying my best if I can come home to attend the homecoming.  We are quite busy now and lack staff at the hospital.  Please extend my regards to the Spectrum staff and most of all to Charles Sy, Henry Lim Yu, Terry Racines and you.
--Antonio "Boy" Te (Batch '69), Taiwan, email: tonite52@yahoo.com

[I know you can be home by that time.  Just make early preparations for the 2005 GAH. We'll be waiting for you. It is the time to see each other after 5 long years of waiting. Let's return once more to our beloved Alma Mater, Lanao Chung Hua School (formerly Lanao Chinese High School). Till then.  Ang imong ka tropa gahulat sa imong pag balik nganhi. Let's enjoy and have some fun! --Editor)

Roger Suminguit, Batch '73

FATHER & SON TRAVEL BUGS.   Last May 9-11, an alumni father-and-son tandem took off for Manila to grace the 3-day Feeders-Koppel Annual Conference & Invitational Friendship Games.  They were PP Carlos C. Dy and son, Dir. Chester O. Dy-Carlos (in photo), manager of Hi-12 Appliance Sales & Service Center, Iligan.  The free travel opportunity was Feeders-Koppel's compliments for Hi-12 Appliance's consistent top performance in air-conditioning units & service high turnover.  Carlos and Chester were billeted at the Manila Peninsula Hotel where the conference was held.  The golf tournament that followed was held at the Santa Elena Golf Club in Cabuyao, Laguna.  Surprisingly, Chester O. Dy-Carlos played golf for the first time along with his father.  Is Chester now switching from basketball to golf?  Maybe.  Many businessmen would prefer to play golf for business PR.  The high turnover of Feeders-Koppel sales and service by Hi-12 Appliance likewise entitled Chester Dy-Carlos to a free 3-day vacation in Hong Kong on May 17-20, 2005.  Maybe he is now into Asian Invitational Golf Tournament with only 2 days of golf practice!

ADVENTURE TRIP.   Meanwhile, our good friend Roderick Ngo (Batch '70) arrived home in Cebu last May 18 after a three-week cross-country journey to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand along with his wife and three children.  Ever the adventurous person that he is, Roderick embarked on the trip with the barest preparations and luggage, pretty much like the popular Reality TV series, "Amazing Race."  While in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Rod and family took on an even bolder challenge to join a two-day mountain climbing expedition to Southeast Asia's highest mountain, Mt. Kinabalu.   The adventure took them eight gruelling hours to ascend the mountain's 13,455-ft summit on foot and another five hours for the descent the following day.  They came home tired and exhausted but richer with the experience plus an official mountain-climbing certificate each attesting to their conquest of Mt. Kinabalu.  An impressive feat indeed for this family of bold adventurers.

JUST MARRIED.    Robert Booc (Batch '84) exchanged marital vows with Cristine Oh in Cagayan de Oro last May 22.  Robert is the brother of LCHS-AA 1st VP James Booc (Batch '82) and the son of Sheik Din Dy Booc and Bily Booc.   The bride, Cristine, is the daughter of Victor Oh and the late Rosario S. Oh, of Cagayan de Oro.  The wedding ceremonies were officiated by Pastor Young Jin Park.  The principal sponsor from Iligan was Judge Valerio M. Salazar.  Dr. Francisco L. Oh, husband of Virna "Kuan-Kuan" Sy-Oh (Batch '62), was one of the principal sponsors from Cagayan de Oro City.  Do we still have a few bachelors-at-large left?  I hope it would be raining men! Or be one of the TV series' Joe Millionaire.

WANTED:  OLD PHOTOS & MEMORABILIA.  The GAH2005 Secretariat would like to solicit old pictures and memorabilia items for inclusion in the preparation of the GAH souvenir program.  If you have any, please forward them to the Secretariat Office at Tan Lam Glass Palace, Inc., Quezon Ave., Ext., Pala-o, Iligan City. Or call Telefax No.(063) 221-2422 or Cell No. 0918-9277641.  We are ready to pick them up.

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

Yo! The summer vacation is over. It's back to school season as evidenced by the Back To School sale promos here, there, and everywhere, with us joining the long queue at the cashier's area to pay for those school supplies (notebooks, folders, brown envelopes, pencils, ball pens, etc.), and of course the feeling of excitements from among our students who, after the summer break, are now looking forward to seeing their classmates and teachers anew, feeling refreshed and energized, some gaining weight, more tanned, and adjusting to another school year of cerebral calisthenics that they must have forgotten after the off-school period. Yo! Game na sila.

Looking back, school days of today's dot.com generation are no different from those of our "Yeah, Yeah Vonnel" generation of the fabulous 60's, when we were students ourselves.  We all had a grand and exciting time during the first day of classes and the rest of the school year studying for the periodical tests, doing homeworks, working for school projects, playing volleyball or basketball, intramurals, cheering squad, drum and bugle, signing autographs, penpal writing, buying 45 rpm records of Matt Monro, the Beatles, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, etc., going gaga over movie stars who would come to our hometown for a personal appearance, sharing photos of Amalia-Susan, Guy &  Pip, Vi & Bot, and all the rest of the Sampaguita Stars '66. The popular movies then were: To Sir With Love, The Sound of Music, etc. The songs were The End of the World, There's Always Me, Black is Black, Bus Stop, Homeward Bound, and other such hits.  There was also Jose Mari and the Electromaniacs, Eddie Mesa and the Hijacks. The popular dances were Limbo Rock, Elephant Walk, Twist, Jerk, Grind, Soul, which we immensely enjoyed during jam sessions. There was Song Cavalcade song hits, Graphic, Kislap, Liwayway, the Philippine Herald, and other reading materials like the Junior Illustrated Classic comics, Wakasan, etc. Chippy, Royco Noodle Soup, watusi, etc. were then newly introduced in the market and it took us no end digging for these stuffs. Oh well, as the song goes: "Those were the days, my friend, we thought would never end". It was really simpler in more ways than one during our time. We didn't have these hitech amenities now like the cellphone, computer, texting, email, internet, remote, CD/DVD, etc.  With the passage of time comes the modernization of the world, modifying or reinventing the things we once enjoyed as students of yesteryears.

Life is indeed a cycle. It comes by stages. We were yesterday's students and today's professionals and parents. Some of us may be too lenient or strict towards our children now, and that's because we only want the best for them. After all, they will soon be the professionals who will be working, earning, and saving for their own future. As Dr. Jose P. Rizal would put it: "The youth is the hope of the fatherland". Yes, we were the young ONES. Now we are the young ONCE.

There's no stopping it.  It's back to school! And along with it our all-around roles as the great alalay: as school bus drivers, guides, run-errand, crying shoulders, tutors, disciplinarians, advisers. In short, being parents offering unconditional love to our kids. Whether in or out of school, we will always be there for them today, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives. Being parents is a total commitment.  It is for a lifetime.

Igdono U. Caracho, Batch '66

River Cruising