Baluarte Elementary School Grand Centennial Alumni Homecoming: Remembering the past, looking forward to the future
BES alumni sing the BES Alumni Hymn.
December 30, 2005 marked the highlight of the Grand Centennial Alumni Homecoming of Baluarte Elementary School in Baluarte, Molo, Iloilo City. The day was filled with activities to rekindle past memories and experiences with the school and give honor to the school's founder Don Rosendo Mejica.
Baluarte Elementary School is recognized as the first public elementary school in the country founded by Mejica in 1905. For the past 100 years the school has already produced numerous graduates, some of whom are now famous in their chosen fields.
Rosendo Mejica II introduces the guest
of honor Senate President Franklin Drilon.
Aside from the alumni also present were retired teachers and former officials of the school. Also gracing the occasion were the descendants of Mejica and the Baybayanon, a civic group organized by Mejica that mobilized the civic spirit of the people of Molo who contributed money and labor to construct the school.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, the school's most prominent alumnus, became the guest of honor of the occasion. Drilon who belongs to class '57 of the school recalled how Baluarte Elementary School molded his character and taught him the basic foundations that he carried through his life.
BES Most Outstanding Alumnus
Senate President Franklin Drilon
delivers an inspiring message.
The Senate President who have contributed a lot in the renovation of the school again pledged to rebuild the Home Economics Building and to cover the school's quadrangle to the delight of the school faculty present.
The Baluarte Elementary School Alumni Association (BESAA) then conferred on Drilon the Most Outstanding Alumnus Award for his remarkable performance as a public servant. In response Drilon said, of all the awards he had received from various educational institutions, the award given by BESAA is the one he will value most because he is proud to be a product of Baluarte Elementary School.
City Councilor Jeffrey Ganzon accepts
the posthumous award for his father
Senator Rodolfo Ganzon, also a
BES alumnus.
Likewise the BESAA gave posthumous awards to the late Senator Rodolfo Ganzon, also a graduate of the school, and Don Rosendo Mejica. The awards were received by Ganzon's son Councilor Jeffrey Ganzon and Mejica's namesake and grandson Rosendo Mejica II, respectively.
The Grand Centennial Alumni Homecoming celebration ended with the alumni carrying a light heart having recalled past memories and shared experiences with each other even for just a brief moment.