Accents
Of reunions and integrity
It was a reunion to beat all reunions. At least, that was the conclusion of the throng of alumni who attended the 2nd General Alumni Homecoming of the San Antonio-San Nicolas Elementary School (SASNES) — many of them coming from the different parts of the country to celebrate and dance late into the night of May 24, 2008.
Situated between Brgy. San Antonio and Brgy. San Nicolas in Oton, Iloilo, SASNES was founded in June 1914, showing how early and how great was the Filipinos' craving for education. Its concrete entrance bears the year of construction, 1933, engraved along with Kusog sang Pamatan-on (Strength of the Youth), the organization which brought the welcome arch to impressive reality. SASNES takes pride in its equally impressive concrete school building that had served as a veritable fountain of knowledge to the children of the two barangays.
A Mass fittingly opened Homecoming Day with Rev. Fr. Theodbriel Villariza, Jr. as celebrant — the young priest fittingly giving the alumni his own compelling version of the popular "t-l-c" (tender loving care): transcendence, learning, and care. From the little I could deduce, Fr. Villariza's homily urged the audience to transcend the status quo, incessantly learn to become a better human being, and to care abundantly. After the Mass, a motorcade followed—a total of 65 vehicles coursing through the streets of the municipality.
Inspiring messages came from the public officials who graced the affair. Said Gov. Niel Tupas on the theme: "Paghili-ugyon sa handum nga pagpasanyog sang aton buluthuan nga nahamut-an spells out your earnest desires and aspiration for your dear Alma Mater to prosper in its standing as an educational institution." From Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico: "Your well-chosen theme bespeaks of your determination to harness the unity of your people and together raise the living condition of the community." Rep. Janette Garin, who missed the affair, wrote: "May the alumni impart the experience and wisdom they have gained to the succeeding generation of students who wished to be equipped with the same level of excellence they have attained." Other well-wishers were Board Member Richard Garin, shovel-man in the Ground-breaking Ceremony of the SASNES Gymnasium, Board Member Macario Napulan, Mayor Vicente Flores, Jr., and Vice Mayor Neil Olivares who noted how the Kusog sang Pamatan-on "speaks of the rooted partnership of the school and community in attaining quality education for the youth." Profuse with stimulating statements were the educators' group: Div. Sup't. Raymund Lapating, former SASNES Principals Eliodoro Cofreros and Aida del Prado, and current Principal Ramon Colacion.
Noteworthy are greetings from the Ad Hoc Committee Pres. Perry Clavel who steered the Committee to draw plans and goals of the SASNES Alumni Association. Exhortations to her fellow alumni came from the incumbent SASNESAA Pres. Cristeta Carreon-Balinghasay: "My heartfelt gratitude to all Alumni, to the Principal and Teachers, to the Ad Hoc Committee, and to all the recent officers and advisers for their unstinted support. Our journey to achieve our goal [the SASNES gymnasium] will soon be realized through your unceasing help." Well-deserved orchids are due to indefatigable prexy Bebita and to veep Amy Casiano-Turija who turned out a thick souvenir program, concluding to "humbly accept our human shortcomings despite our desire to attain a level of perfection."
Needless to say, hugs and kisses were as plentiful as the foods and drinks on the well-laden tables of the different batches of SASNES alumni garbed in vari-colored souvenir T-shirts. There were years represented by only two graduates, unlike the numerous attendance of those belonging to the '80s, '90s, and the 2000s classes. In my own Class '49, there were just the two of us: this writer and dear classmate Corazon Panique. Classmates Alicia Gallenero and Fortunato Epilepsia, both disabled, couldn't come, so with several others who have migrated to the other side of the globe. Many of the old alumni were already "six feet under the ground;" we could only picture them smiling from across the Great Divide.
Among the numbers contributed by the different groups of alumni, a stand-out was the Hawaiian hula from Vicky, charming wife of war-time alumnus Esmeraldo Haro. My own batch couldn't dance nor sing, so I just gave a brief message in behalf of Class '49: "I would like to focus on the term INTEGRITY. Whether or not you were a politician elected by the people or a tanod member, whether your abode is a mansion or a modest four-square wall, whether you are a pedigreed doctor or a humble sikad driver, or a media representative like I am, etc., etc., if we—you and I—have imbibed and lived a life of INTEGRITY as taught to us by our Alma Mater, then SASNES can be proud of us, and in turn, we can be truly proud as products of this school." (Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)