MANILA, Philippines  President Aquino approved yesterday the promotion of 15 generals of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on recommendation of Interior and Local Government Secretary and National Police Commission chairman Jesse Robredo and PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo.

In a simple ceremonies at the PNP Multi-Purpose yesterday, Bacalzo also administered the oath of office to SAF chief Director Catalino Cuy, whose new rank is equivalent to a military Major General.

The new police generals with the ranks of chief superintendents are Lester Camba of SOCSARGEN Region; Jose Jorge Corpuz (Eta’77) of Southern Mindanao; Valiant de Guzman of Central Luzon; Victor Deona of Bicol Region; Jesus Gordon Descanzo (Delta’75), of DIPO Northern Luzon; Roman Felix of Ilocos-Pangasinan Region; Vicente Loot of Eastern VIsayas; and Manuel Piera of Cagayan Valley Region.

Other new generals are Chief Superintendents Elmer Soria of Cordillera; Catalino Rodriguez Jr. of Northern Mindanao; Francisco Uyami of DIPO Southern Luzon; Noel Lazarus Vargas of Civil Security Group; Mario Yanga of Western Mindanao and Samuel Yordan of Central Visayas.

Bacalzo reminded the generals to continue working for the good of the police organization and help in regaining the trust and confidence of the public.

As posted on Philippine Star.

CoA bags external auditor role for world health body

THE COMMISSION on Audit (CoA) has been voted external auditor of the World Health Organization (WHO), the first for the country, a Palace spokesman said yesterday. Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda shared the good news over a forwarded text message of CoA Chairman Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan (’73).

“We have just won the position of external auditor…We beat Germany, France, Spain and Malaysia. We were number one in the first round, then beat Germany 74-62 in the runoff,” Ms. Tan said.

Ms. Tan said the choice of CoA was a vote of confidence in its “resurgence” in the international community. Mr. Lacierda said in a separate text message that this was the third time that the Philippines bid for the position. The country lost to India. Ms. Tan is now in Geneva, Switzerland with CoA Commissioner Heidi L. Mendoza and Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona attending the 64th assembly of the World Health Organization

Business World
Friday, May 20, 2011

COA has recently been in the limelight after former auditor, Heide Mendoza, testified before Senate inquiry on alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Mendoza was also appointed commissioner of said agency.

” Well, she’s a lawyer; she’s had accounting experience, so she fits the bill, and she already had government experience also…” said Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office to media during announcement of Pulido-Tan’s appointment.

This business administration and law graduate from the University of the Philippines had already occupied sensitive posts in government, first as commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government and second as undersecretary of the Department of Finance until 2005.

Atty. Pulido-Tan was also consultant for the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China’s Tax Policy and Administration under the auspices of the Asian Development Bank. She has a Masters of Law degree from the New York University as a Gerald L. Wallace scholar.

Congratulations Sis!

Atty. Jay obtained his AB Political Science from the University of the Philippines, Diliman and Bachelor of Law from the San Beda College of Law.

Mabuhay ka brod!

Atty. Felix J. Mariñas, Jr. ’73B (Trece Hudas) was recently appointed by President Aquino as president of the Natural Resources Development Corporation, a corporate arm of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Atty. Chato is the past National President of APO Philippines (1993-1995) and active in the private practice of law prior to his new assignment.

Meanwhile, Atty. Luis A. Paredes ’75B (AntHill Mob) was also appointed commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), a regulatory body for housing and land development under the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). Atty. Luis is also active in the private practice of law prior to his HLURB post.

Congratulations brods!

Brod AMAN’s party, the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) also secured the Chairmanship and Vice-chairmanship of the UPD USC and 5 other seats for University Councilor.

The Fraternity is an active member of STAND UP.

Congratulations Brod!

The tragedy that was the 2010 Bar Exams Bombing spawned another tragedy which directly affected Alpha Phi Omega as an organization: the tragedy of a Secretary of Justice pinpointing APO as the perpetrator of the dastardly deed even before all angles of the incident has been exhaustively investigated and intelligently discarded. It was, after all, Sherlock Holmes who said, in the “Sign of the Four” that “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” To further cast calumny on Alpha Phi Omega, the Secretary of Justice questionably blamed Alpha Phi Omega as the perpetrator of two other grenade attacks in Metro Manila and, thereafter, directed the NBI to find the evidence to sustain her determination. This is not justice nor even a parody of justice but a clear case of pseudo-bill of attainder where membership to APO automatically makes one a suspect. The Secretary of Justice makes a mockery of the Blackstonian formulation that “better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” This is the reason for the call:

JUSTICE FOR ALPHA PHI OMEGA

The tragedy of blaming Alpha Phi Omega for the incident has spawned a much greater tragedy: that the true perpetrators of the 2010 Bar Exams Grenade Attack will go scot-free, never to face the bar of justice. As the State’s resources are expended on a clearly unjust prosecution, the trail leading to the true architects of the crime becomes obfuscated while the memories of the witnesses, defective as these naturally are, become even more defective as these are diluted by misidentifications of the clearly innocent. And as the trail grows cold and memories fade, the offenders escape unscathed even by the vexations of accusation and prosecution. In the end, therefore, the victims are the true losers which is the reason for the cry:

JUSTICE TO THE BAR BLAST VICTIMS

The greatest injustice of all is that the agency which is tasked by law to determine probable cause makes an accusation before gathering evidence to support the indictment. To make matters worse, the Secretary of Justice publicly denounces Alpha Phi Omega, forgetting her duties, both as THE Secretary of Justice, a FORMER Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, and, most importantly, as a lawyer trained in the intricacies of the law, that the pantheon upon which all rights proceed is that: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.” Equally forgotten is the premier legal presumption of all, which applies in all instances and in all cases that “a person is presumed to be innocent of crime or wrong.” When these rights and presumption are forsaken for the sake of expediency, then we revert to the tyranny of old where the fate of all persons are determined, not by law, but by the will of the individual who rules over his fellowmen. Thus, we plead for –

JUSTICE FOR ALL

As our brothers “streak through storied history,” never before has an issue directly affected the Fraternity as the present witchhunt. Never before has the spirit of defiance and freedom been more apropos than at present where the strong arm of the State has once more been heavily laid

This video was a special project of the Golden Anniversary Reunion Committee headed by Jejomar Binay as Overall Chairman,  and Manny Clarino as President of UP APO AA, and whose  consent I have replicated an “on-line” internet-based version of this special video collection.

To view the videos, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/p/B2409C34EACA87B3?hl=en_US&fs=1

Yours Etally,
Mike Quiray, ’79B

When my batchmate, Rollie, died in a rumble, Papa and his family right away pursued the formation of the Rolando T. Abad Engineering Scholarship Foundation. A number of UP students, Alpha Phi Omega members and nonmembers alike, have been beneficiaries of the 33-year old foundation.

The Abad family, with APO legal support, also pursued Rollie’s killers. After five years in the court of first instance, four years in the court of appeals, and four years in the supreme court — 13 years all together — the homicide conviction of Rollie’s assailants took hold. According to Papa, two of them (Benjamin L. Camins and Rodolfo T. Daza) were able to change their identities and flee to the United States. And, as far as Papa knew, of the two other convicts (Mario M. Rilles and Juancho T. Jaime), one already died and one was seriously ill.

Zodiac 1973D batchmates met Rollie’s family during our initiation weeks. The night before our final initiation, all twelve of us slept in Rollie’s bedroom and in the third floor room accessible by using a wrought iron spiral staircase. At the time, the Abad residence on 11 Roseville was the tallest structure in the White Plains Subdivision in Quezon City, Metropolitan Manila. Our initiation was conducted in Pasig, and we made it back to Rollie’s rooms after and nursed ourselves there.

Papa and Mama knew what we were up to, and they were always supportive of their children. Even with Rollie’s passing, the family would welcome APO to their home warmly. Brod Titus, the fourth child, joined Alpha Phi chapter even after the incident. And Rollie’s death anniversary was marked with mass and fellowship at the house that Papa designed and built.

Angel B. Abad, architect, studied at MIT in Santa Cruz and Intramuros in Manila. He graduated in 1951 and taught for 20 years in the MIT departments of chemical engineering and architecture. He took the board examinations in architecture in 1960 and placed third. He was a fellow of the United Architects of the Philippines and was active with the UAP Quezon City chapter.

Angel and Gloria’s six children were: Oldest daughter Malou married Rocky Reynolds, and they live with their daughter in Veradale in the suburbs of Spokane, Washington. Oldest son Edward and Eva Marie nee Padilla live in Quezon City with their three daughters. Then there’s Rollie, whose remains were first buried at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina and then moved to the Christ the King crypt in Greenmeadows when Mama passed on August 17, 2006. Next is Brod Titus who married the former Erlee Santos. They live with their two daughters and one son in Daniels, West Virginia, where Titus is a practicing doctor. Michelle, the youngest girl, married Ronald Ariban, and they have a son and live in Quezon City. The youngest son, Gabby, is still single.

Two years after Rollie died, Papa started to devote himself to building churches and chapels. From 1979 until his retirement, Architect Abad designed and supervised the construction of at least 13 religious buildings. Four of those are the Christ the King church on Greenmeadows Avenue, the San Andres chapel and parish center in the White Plains Subdivision, and two in Barangay Bagumbayan, all in Quezon City. Other communities that benefit from Papa’s apostolic work are in Dagupan City, Iligan City, Batangas, and Pangasinan.

For his dedication to the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II honored Papa with a plaque of distinction. Jaime Cardinal Sin presented the following award on January 8, 1987 (in Latin):

IOANNES PAULUS II PONT. MAXIMUS
AUGUSTAE CRUCIS INSIGNE
PRO ECCLESIA ET PONTIFICE
EGREGIA OPERA STUDIOQUE CONSPICUIS PRAECIPUE CONSTITUTUM
D.no Angelo Abad
DECERNERE ET LARGIRI DIGNATUS EST, EIDEM PARITER FACULTATEM
FACIENS SESE HOC ORNAMENTO DECORANDI
EX VATICANS DE VIII JANUARIS MCMCLXXXVII

The plaque, signed by the Pope, was displayed behind Papa’s desk in his office on the main floor of his home in White Plains.

“God gave us three gifts: the gifts of time, talent, and treasure,” said Papa. “I don’t have much treasure, but I have time and talent. I do apostolic work as insurance upstairs,” he quipped. “Of real value is not what we have, but what we have done with what we have.”

God gave us Papa and Mama Abad, who in turn shared Brod Rollie with us. We value Rollie’s precious little time, Papa’s generous talent, and all of Mama’s treasure.

In Papa’s passing, and in remembering his life and times, we realize the worth of his apostolic work. Accepting His will be done, Papa honored God and us. It was a privilege to have learned and served, cried and laughed, and loved and prayed with Brod Architect Angel B. Abad.

In Leadership, Friendship, and Service,

Brod Mel S Gonzales Jr
APO-Eta Zodiac 1973D
APO-USA Gamma Beta 1984