Vol. 11, No. 25, April 7, 2008

The LCHS Alumni Association is leaving no stone unturned to draw the most number of alumni to the 3rd LCHS Grand Alumni Homecoming set on May 23-24, 2008.  Members of the Secretariat led by Marie Joan Quidlat (Batch '87), in photo, along with LCHS-AA officers headed by President James Booc (Batch '82), went on a house-to-house sales blitz in Iligan City starting last Mar. 28.  Registrations for the GAH have also started to trickle in from alumni in Manila and Cebu.

In a meeting of the board last Mar. 17, the offer of Ritky Dy ('76) to shoulder the registration fees of twelve alumni was acknowledged and accorded due recognition.  The board expressed the hope that Ritky Dy's initiative will inspire other good Samaritans to do likewise to enable other less fortunate alumni to grace the forthcoming GAH. In the same meeting, the Steering Committee, chaired by Johnny Chen ('83), endorsed the proposed hiring of a professional event coordinator to help organize the shows.  This is in line with the committee's objective of offering good entertainment for the enjoyment of alumni at the GAH. The committee also issued its clarification that the free "polo shirt" being offered to alumni availing of pre-registration is a collared t-shirt, and not a polo shirt.

Meanwhile, the LCHS-AA tendered a welcome dinner last Mar. 26 for LCHS high school graduating class. During the dinner the GAH committee made arrangements to recruit the new graduates for the GAH.  Their manpower is being tapped to assist in some areas of the GAH activities

A few good men

Once in a while, in times of need, there's bound to emerge amongst us a few good men.  An occasion like the forthcoming GAH 2008 presents a fair glimpse of the generous hearts that reside among a few gallant alumni.

Just recently, the GAH Steering Committee received the offer of Ritky Dy (Batch '76), U.S.A., to shoulder the registration fees of twelve alumni.  Ritky named no particular alumni as beneficiaries of his generosity. He left it to the discretion of the Secretariat to apply the payments for the registrations of alumni who are most in need.  And only recently, John "Tuti" Go (Batch '65), of Canada, Mario Go (Batch '68), U.S.A., and Johnson Dy (Batch '64), U.S.A., each sent in their registration fees of $30.  Their remittances were coursed thru Peter Dy (Batch '66).  Although the three can't attend the GAH, they insist on paying for the registration as their contribution for the success of the affair. The gestures of these concerned alumni are just a few of other similar initiatives that we hope many of our other well-meaning alumni can emulate.

May their tribe increase.

Remittance from Ritky Dy
From Teresita U. Racines (Batch '67), Iligan, Philippines; email: csm-tur@sulat.msuiit.edu.ph
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:53:38 +0800

To Ritky Dy:  Gloricita R. Kinnan notified me by email that your check in the amount of US$390.00 for yours and friends' GAH registration fees was received March 18, 2008. I will give the money to the registration committee together with the information you supplied on your registration form. Thanks. You are the first oversea registrant. May we have more like you.

New email address
From Henry L. Yu (Batch '69), Cebu, Philippines; email: henrio522003@yahoo.com
Tue, 1 April 2008 2:19:42 AM

To all my friends: I've changed my internet server from Skyinet to PLDT DSL, so my new email address is: henrio522003@yahoo.com.

Congrats!
From Leonardo Tan (Batch '66), Sydney, Australia; email: edtan@iinet.net.au
Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:52:25 -0700 (PDT)

To the Editor: I am very pleased to congratulate you on the latest issue of the LCHS SPECTRUM. It is becoming better and better, especially with the return of the women writers or columnists, such as Marie Janiefer Lee and Dra. Belinda "Bunz" Lim. I hope they continue to be regular contributors. Janiefer's "GAH-BINISAYA" reminded me of my favorite joke just after I came back from Europe. I told my fellow Visayan friends here in Sydney that I felt very much at home in Venice among the places I visited in Europe. "How come?" was always their query.  I told them: "Because of the language -- VENICE-saya!"

It is very appropriate that Bunz would write about the latest activity of the Resurrection of the Lord Chinese Filipino Catholic Community. She will soon join the World Youth Day here in Sydney this coming July with no less than Pope Benedict in attendance.

I am glad that my suggestion regarding the GAH registration brought forth some unselfish and voluntary spirit from Marie Josiefel Ello of Vancouver and Maximilian Te of Toronto, covering the east and west coasts of Canada. That is a very commendable.

Well, as for the hope of Johnny T. Chen for "Ahia" Leonardo to do the same for Australia, I think that we (the LCHS community ) here in Australia is very insignificant in numbers. The suggestion for any of them to just contact their families in Iligan to register on their behalf is the best solution. No one has to involve this grumpy old man anymore.

Lastly, may I congratulate Dr. Ritky C. Dy for volunteering to pay the registrations of a dozen alumni plus all his relatives. My only regret is that he forgot that I am also one of his uncles! Kidding aside, this is the perfect example of "Sharing the Spirit of GAH 2008."

Above all, keep up the wonderful work, Mr. Editor!
 
 

Rewind: Batch '55 in GAH 2000

See you at the 3rd LCHS Grand Alumni Homecoming, May 23-24, 2008, LCHS Gym, Iligan City

SUMMER ESCAPADE.  With summer in the air, many alumni in Iligan and elsewhere have started packing their travel bags for a vacation abroad.  Among the early birds to go on a summer escapade was Peter Dy (Batch '66). Peter and wife Mansueta flew to Mexico last March 9 for a week-long vacation. Among the famous spots they visited were the Mayan ruins (in photo below).  Earlier Jesus "Hesing" Dy (Batch '63) and his wife Melania spent their vacation in Taiwan and Kinmen where they revisited their ancestral home in Kuningtou county and had a happy reunion with their old folks.

OPERATION SMILE.  The Operation Smile International and Operation Smile Philippines volunteers came to Cebu for the 11th time last Feb. 21, and conducted free medical services for patients with cleft lips and palates.  The volunteers, numbering about 120 doctors, nurses and medical aides from the U.S.A. and the Philippines, performed 198 cleft lips and palates operations for patients coming from under privileged families. In the thick of the operations was Dr. Vivina Chiu Yrastorza (Batch '61), in photo, who is a member of the board of trustees of the Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung Charitable Foundation under whose auspices the project was held.

TOP GRADS. Karen Leslie Ngo Militante graduated valedictorian in Bachelor of Laws last month at the University of San Carlos, Cebu City.  Karen Leslie is the daughter of Dr. Alice Ngo-Militante (Batch '69). In her undergraduate years, she also finished at the top of her class in Management Honors at the Ateneo de Manila University. Another daughter of Alice Militante, Stacey Kaye Militante (in photo below), graduated salutatorian during the 49th Commencement Exercises of the Sacred Heart School Hijas de Jesus heldt last Mar. 25.  She was also a recipient of the following awards: Best in Science, Best in Math, Best in Campus Journalism, and Service Award. Two other daughters of LCHS alumni also graduated with honors. They were Steffi Ann Ngo-Lim, daughter of Helen Ngo-Lim, (Batch '68) and Hannah Victoria Ting Yu (in photo below), daughter of Dr. Henry Lim Yu (Batch '69).

SPRING FESTIVAL.  Over a hundred members of the Cebu Kinmen Association got together last March 16 for a lauriat luncheon party at the Grand Majestic Convention Center, in celebration of the annual Spring Festival.  The occasion also turned out to be a rare reunion for many LCHS alumni in Cebu City. Among those spotted at the party were Sy Chu Tek, Rosie "Bian Bian" Siao-Sy, Sergio Sy, Arthur Dy, Elizabeth Sy-Dy, Bonifacia Co-Go, Aurora Ong-Sy, Jonas Sy, Peter Sy, Nelson Sy, Roderick Ngo, Charles Sy, and Ong Peck Lee.  Adding a bit of excitement to the affair was the raffle of cash prizes.  The Association is currently headed by Sy Chu Tek (Batch '56) as president.

Charles O. Sy, Batch '67

My office neighbor, Mr. Ang, wants to change his name because nobody seems to take him seriously. His first name is Gavino.

I recently met some Korean girls in a bar.  They allowed me to join them at their table because I told them I needed a Seoul mate.

Marriage, according to Peter Dy, is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is the husband.

A Cebu newspaper reports that a thief was nabbed after he fled and fell into a pool of wet cement. He is now a hardened criminal.

I recently attended a luncheon party where most of the guests seated at our table were our fellow alumni. The conversation initially involved current events and the business community.  It progressed to the latest buzz in social circles and other inconsequential babble. Eventually, the tete-a-tete wound up with reminiscences of the good old days.  This is where everyone became more spirited, and the conversation more engaging. Even if some stories were recycled, the sense of nostalgia that they evoked remained no less invigorating.

The same familiar scenario is repeated whenever our fellow alumni get together.  After the usual exchange of pleasantries and other superficial banter, the conversation veers towards reminiscences of the good old days and our years at the alma mater. And here, almost always, everyone has something he can share or relate to. Understandably so.  Our past is the singular umbilical cord left that still connects us today.

There lies the bedrock upon which the bond that binds us stays undiminished. Such is the kinship that we can't hope to find among new acquaintances. In the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 9:10, it is written: "Forsake not an old friend, for a new one does not compare with him."

Now can you imagine what it will be like when hundreds of your fellow alumni and old buddies converge to relive the glory of the good old days come May 23 & 24?  Go figure.

Roger Suminguit, Batch '73

The Iligan public plaza has undergone several facelifts under different city administrations through the years. The man-sized Rizal statue was removed some years ago.  But now the national hero is back at the park. A bronze bust of Rizal has been put in place.  And now with Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz at the helm, the plaza has been transformed into a beautiful promenade ideal for strolling.  The once bare  pebble ground has been paved with marble tiles all over the entire interior ground (photo below). Alumni coming home for the 3rd GAH on May 23 & 24 should revisit the plaza.  It's now spic and span and well lighted at night. There's also a small tower that houses the Iligan City Tourism Information Center under which are public comfort rooms for men and women.  The improvement of the park, a pet project of the present administration, was undertaken at the cost of P2,304,000.00.

NEW ALUMNI. The new high school graduates of LCHS, Batch 2008, were honored with a welcome dinner last March 26 at the JY Dimsum.  Suniel Lim, LCHS-AA Executive VP, inducted them as new alumni members (photo below). Batch 2008 is composed of 25 new graduates. Two of the graduates were recipients of the LCHS Foundation, Inc. Scholarship Program.  They expressed their gratitude to the Foundation for supporting their education at LCHS. The Scholarship Program has been extending grants to deserving sons and  daughters of LCHS alumni for several years now. The funds are derived from donors, mostly from alumni and other benefactors. Its fund has reached more than P1,000,000.00 in bank deposit. LCHS-AA past president Dy Sio Te has served as head of the Foundation for quite sometime now, along with several alumni as support group. The Foundation will appreciate donations in any amount from LCHS alumni to enable the Scholarship Program to sustain its mission.

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

Nothing really compares those times in our life when we were the young ONES in a world all our own, the so-called Stage of Youth, when we were the reigning teenagers of the Jam Session era, when there's still so much time ahead of us to commit mistakes and learn from them, that time when life's loaded with so much excitement, frolic and fun, plus a face that refreshes, a body to die for, and anything that spells vim, vigor, vitality and vibrance.

Then when we were in our 20's, we used to say "45 na si Tita. Tiguwanga na niya oy!" or "55 na si Tito pero walastik lady killer pa rin" or things like that. But look now, we've reached the Golden Years, and it seems like everything's the same, except for some few changes which are mostly for the better us, as children of God and as citizens of our country.

Yes, it's only the age that moves. Basically, we are the same Pepe and Pilar and Nena we used to be, only we could no longer eat too much of the fatty foods like lechon, humba, chicharon bulaklak or too much sour things like green mangoes, etc. Climbing stairs would make our nose flare up and leave us panting. We find it hard to stand up from prolonged sitting. Then when we wake up in the morning, a litany of aches here, there and everywhere. We follow the "Early to bed, early to rise" schedule. So we sleep at 9:00 p.m. and wake up at 2:00 a.m. and could not remember what to do. We read the newspaper from a distance, with wrinkled forehead and half-closed eyes. We sometimes forget where we place our eyeglasses only to find out that it's on top of the TV. We find it hard to put on our socks sitting down. We don’t mind much what people say, so we go ahead and do our things. We rest our head on our pillow and find out some saliva stains in the morning. We watch TV and we become teary-eyed even if the show is not a tear jerker drama. We wake up from our sleep every two to three hours to urinate and to drink water. These and many more ...

But be it as it may, now that we're into our 50's, we cannot do anything but to accept the fact that we have finally arrived. So, let's seize the moment and enjoy the best of the Golden Years: new discoveries, new dimensions, career moves, paradigm shift, reinventions ...

For life is beautiful. May there be more.

Computer newbies
From Roderick Ngo (Batch '70), Cebu, Philippines

Tech Support:  How may I help you?
Customer:  I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech Support:  Ok; what seems to be the problem?
Customer:  Well, I have the letter "a" in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?