MY BROTHER THE PRESIDENT

My brother, Manuel Luis Quezon, was born on August 19, 1878 in the sleepy coastal town of Baler in what is now the province of Aurora. As a child, Kuya Manuel was called “Ang Kastila” because of his mestizo lineage. It is not clear if Kuya Manuel fought in the Philippine War for Independence but his father, a sergeant in the Spanish colonial government’s army, remained loyal to the Spanish flag which led to his and another son’s death in an ambush by Filipino Katipuneros while travelling to Baler from Nueva Ecija.

During the Filipino-American War however, Kuya Manuel served as an aide-de-camp of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and rose through the ranks from private to major until he surrendered in 1901 after which he was imprisoned for 6 months by the Americans. During that war, he was promoted to the rank of captain after rescuing the wounded Novo Ecijano and would-be general Col. Benito Natividad from the frontlines.

Kuya Manuel was made a master mason on 17 March 1908 in Manila’s Sinukuan Lodge No. 16 when already an elected member of the Philippine National Assembly. He went on to become a senator and the country’s first Senate President in 1916.

Most Worshipful Manuel L. Quezon is acknowledged as the First Filipino Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines which he helped establish in 1917 after spearheading the unification of American and Filipino Masonic Lodges in the country. He, however, resigned from Freemasonry in 17 September 1930 apparently due to the request of her wife, Dona Ma. Aurora Aragon-Quezon.

In 1935, Kuya Manuel won the Philippines’ first national presidential election which he contested with two other equally worthy brother Masons: Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay.

Seven years after leaving Freemasonry, Kuya Manuel clarified his resignation with the following statement: “I didn't and never will renounce Masonry. There is a form which those returning to the Church are supposed to sign but I refused to sign it. Instead, I wrote the Archbishop a personal note saying that I understand that I could not be readmitted to the Roman Catholic Church so long as I remained a Mason, and, for that reason I was resigning from Masonry but I never renounced Masonry”.

Kuya Manuel died of tuberculosis in Saranac Lake, New York while in exile in the United States during World War II. His remains were later interred at the Quezon Memorial in the city named after him.

Today, Kuya Manuel is honored in the town where he was born by the constitution of the Manuel L. Quezon Memorial Lodge No. 262 that was presided by now Supreme Court Chief Justice and Past Grand Master Reynato Puno.

It should be noted that aside from Kuya Manuel, 3 more brother Masons served as president of the Philippines. They are Kuya Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo (Philippine Revolutionary Government, 1899-1901) of Pilar Lodge No. 203 and now Pilar Lodge No. 15, and founder of Magdalo Lodge No. 31 that was later renamed Emilio Aguinaldo Lodge No. 31 in his honor; Kuya Jose P. Laurel (Japanese-sponsored Republic, 1943-1945) , past Junior Warden of Batangas Lodge No. 383 and now Batangas Lodge No. 35; and (3) Kuya Manuel Roxas (First Philippine Republic, 1946-1948), Past Master of Acacia Lodge No. 13 and Makawiwili Lodge No. 55.

FOOTNOTES: The information used for this article was gleaned from the following sources: Quezon City Lodge No. 122, Our Famous Brother Masons, Wikipedia, RP Stamps and Postal History, An Online Guide About Philippine History, WikiFilipino, and the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines. This article was written by Bro. Shubert L. Ciencia and first appeared in his blog at "Shooting Churches, Eating Noodles” on August 19, 2009 and published in the November 2009 issue of "The Craftsman".

THE BANGKOK CHRONICLES: NOTES BETWEEN CROSSWORDS AND YOSI BREAKS

I was busy doing a bundle of crosswords killing the 3 hours until my flight to Bangkok and did not notice the man seated in front of me.

“Saan ang lakad, bro?”

I looked up surprised but expecting who would be asking such question. That’s how I met Kuya Melo Naguiat (Pampanga Lodge No. 48) who was also on his way to Bangkok with Ateng to watch the Thailand Tennis Open. And that’s when I realized what is meant by the symbols where one brother may know another.

Kuya Melo was a past District Deputy Grandmaster. It would perhaps surprise the people around us if they would know that it was only our first meeting. And yet our long warm conversation would made it look like we had known each other for some time.

We were on the last plane out before the airport was closed due to heavy rains. I was on my way to attend the Bangkok-leg of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change as an official observer. Typhoon Ondoy has just arrived and would unintentionally thrust the Philippines into the limelight during the Bangkok climate change talks as the world’s reluctant poster country on how climate change affect people’s lives.

In Bangkok, I bumped into Kuya Usec. Fred Serrano (Makiling Lodge No. 72) of the Department of Agriculture during one of those yosi breaks in between sessions. I can see the quizzical looks of the other Philippine delegates with us. I’m sure they were thinking why would Kuya Fred call me kuya when he looks older than me? And then I called him kuya too?

That’s one mystery they’ll have to discover on their own, if they’ll ever will.

Outside the UNESCAP where the Bangkok talks are being held, wave after wave of protesters came. And the shutterbug that I am urged me to go out and shoot them, which I did, and ran into Kuya Milo Tanchuling (Rafael Palma No. 147) of the Freedom from Debt Coalition. Again, a yosi bonding moment. And these quizzical looks. I can almost read their minds: “Kapatid ba ni Milo yung kausap niya? E ba’t kuya ang tawag niya samantalang hamak namang mas may edad si Milo?”.

Kuya Serge Francisco (Model Lodge No. 373) of the Philippine Rice Research Institute was also in town for a conference. Unfortunately, our hotels were on the extreme sides of the city. That and the legendary traffic gridlock of Bangkok plus the inhumane schedules we have to work on prevented us from having an impromptu Singha Beer-cum-Thai spicy beef salad fellowship. Kuya Fred told me though during one of our yosi breaks that Kuya Serge is his college classmate at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos. “Malayong mas pilyo sa akin yan,” he added.

I did tried brother hunting in Bangkok too. And there are quite a few under the Grand Lodge of Ireland, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of the Netherlands, the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Delaware, and the National Grand Lodge of France. The lone lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England is Chula Lodge No. 9745 and they meet only once every third Saturday of the last month of every quarter at the Sukothai Hotel along South Sathorn Road, Bangkok. I leave on October 10. Maybe some other time then.

It was my fifth trip to Bangkok but an entirely new experience. The highlights of my previous trips were mainly shooting those old Buddhist temples, exploring the Thai noodle cuisine, and bargain hunting along Sukhumvit, Pratunam, and Chaktuchak Market. I went home with a more profound appreciation of the brotherhood in this trip.

In Bangkok, I met some brothers and I am one of them.

FOOTNOTE: This article's text and photo are both by Bro. Shubert Ciencia who recently attended the 2009 Bangkok Climate Change Talks. The photo above shows the author (left) with Kuya Usec. Fred Serrano (right) at the UNESCAP building in Bangkok, Thailand. This article was also published in the September-October 2009 issue of "The Craftsman".

MODEL LODGE SETS UP CORPORATE ARM

Moringa Technology Development and Resource Center, Incorporated. Or MTDRCI for short.

No, it’s not another new institute in that research and development hub of the Science City of Munoz.

That kilometric name is in fact Model Lodge No. 373’s newly established corporate arm.

The MTDRCI was officially created on 18 September 2009 upon its registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was meant to supervise Model Lodge’s budding Project Moringa and later the Lodge’s corporate activities and community development program.

In particular to Project Moringa, the MTDRCI intends “to propagate the production of the malunggay tree and from it develop and promote various products through: (1) community-based malunggay production, (2) development of malunggay products and by-products, and (3) market linking for and promotion of malunggay products”.

Among its projects in the pipeline is the establishment of a 6-hectare malunggay seedling production project in Diarbasin, Dipaculao, Aurora in partnership with the Manuel L. Quezon Memorial Lodge No. 262 and several cooperating farmers.

The Board of Trustees of the MTDRCI are VW Prudencio Elegado who was also elected as its president, WB Anacleto Fernandez as the vice-president, Bro. Sergio Francisco as corporate secretary, WB Lamberto Miranda as treasurer, VW Monico Delgado, WB Perfecto Parinas, Bro. Manolo Mercado, Bro. Marionito Guerrero, and Bro. Jojit Floro. The trustees are also the incorprators of MTDRCI together with VW Antonio Umali, VW Usec. Narciso Nieto, WB Gov. Aurelio Umali, Bro. Nathaniel Elegado, Bro. Erwin Macalinao, and Bro. Marciano Dela Cruz.

The MTDRCI was conceptualized to enable Model Lodge to pursue its socio-civic interests without being distracted from its Masonic duties and obligations which is the Lodge’s first and foremost priority. All members of the Lodge become Regular Members of MTDRCI upon the payment of at least P30,000.00 as capital contribution at P1,000.00 per share. Payment of at least 1 share qualifies them as Associate Members.

Aside from the members’ contributions, the MTDRCI also plans to acquire its funds from grants, donations, income from its properties, and consultancy fees.

PHOTO EXPLAINED: VW Prudencio Elegado, president, preside over the first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Moringa Technology Development and Resource Center, Inc. (MTDRCI). Also in the photo are WB and Trustee Monico Delgado (second from left), WB and Vice President Anacleto Fernandez (right), and WB and Treasurer Lamberto Miranda (foreground). This article was also published in the September-October 2009 issue of "The Craftsman".

NUEVA ECIJA'S BOY GENERAL

No, Gregorio del Pilar is not the Philippines’ youngest general ever. He was 22 years old when he got his commission in June (or July) of 1898. In fact, he was still a lieutenant-colonel when the 20 year old Manuel Tinio of Nueva Ecija was promoted to the rank of a General de Brigida in 20 November 1897 by Mi Presidente Emilio Aguinaldo.

Gen. Manuel Tinio after which the town of Papaya was renamed was born on 17 June 1877 in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija to one of the province’s landed and richest families. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not have higher education because when the revolt against colonial Spain broke out in 1896, he dropped out of segunda ensenanza at the San Juan de Letran to join the Kaitpunan at the tender age of 18. His first battles were in his province and nearby Bulacan where he distinguished himself and was commissioned a captain by Gen. Mariano Llanera --- Gapan’s capitan-municipal and the Katipunan’s recognized supremo in Central Luzon. That was how he earned his feathers and got noticed by Mi Presidente who soon promoted him to colonel in June 1897, then to brigadier general 5 months later in Biyak-na-Bato.

The general was a protégé of Mi Presidente whom he joined in exile in Hongkong at the conclusion of the Pact of Biyak-na-Bato. He followed Mi Presidente back to the Philippines on May 1898 during the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, was immediately tasked with liberating the Ilocos region from Spanish colonial rule and was placed in command of the ragtag Ilocos Expeditionary Forces. As his Brigada Tinio marched through Ilocos, he linked with pockets of Ilocano revolutionaries and encountered stiff Spanish resistance until the town of Tagudin. From then on, it was a walk in the park as the “natives” in the Spanish colonial army deserted en masse to the side of the Katipunan. By September 1898, Apo Heneral Tinio has accomplished his mission.

However, his next battles during the Filipino-American War were not as glamorous and victorious. His Brigada Tinio was called to the frontline on September 1899 seven months after the war started in Sta. Mesa, Manila. They plunged to action 2 months later in San Jacinto, Pangasinan as the rearguard of Mi Presidente where they fiercely engaged the Americans troops that landed in San Fabian. From then on, it was guerilla warfare for the Brigada Tinio after the regular revolutionary army was disbanded by Mi Presidente before continuing his retreat to the Cordilleras. But aside from waging war, Apo Heneral Tinio also has to contend with the resentful Ilocanos and a deadly rivalry with Batac’s Padre Gregorio Aglipay as an offshoot of the Ilocano Gen. Antonio Luna’s treacherous assassination in Cabanatuan.

Despite the odds, it took the Americans 7,000 troops, 1 and a ½ years, and 2 generals to subdue the Brigada Tinio which has been said as the last remaining army of the Malolos Republic. On March 1901, Mi Presidente was treacherously captured in Palanan, Isabela and a month later issued a general proclamation of surrender. On 01 May 1901, the Brigada Tinio formally surrendered to the Americans. Thus ended what according to Gen. Arthur McArthur is the “most troublesome and perplexing military problem in all Luzon”.

After his military stint, Apo Heneral Tinio returned to Nueva Ecija and became a rich hacendero. He was rivaled in terms of landholdings by his brother Col. Casimiro “Kapitan Berong” Tinio who served under him in the Brigada Tinio and who owned “the largest singularly-titled hacienda estate any Filipino has ever owned”. Apo Heneral Tino was Nueva Ecija governor from 1907 until his resignation in 1909. He died at the age of 47 in 1924 of cirrhosis of the liver. His grandson said he is fond of Tres Cepas brandy of which he consumed a bottle after every meal.

It is interesting to note that almost throughout his Ilocos campaign during the Filipino-American War, Apo Heneral Tinio was with another boy general from Nueva Ecija --- Benito Natividad, twice wounded in action and erstwhile aide to General Luna, who was promoted to General de Brigada at the age of 24. Nueva Ecija should be proud to having contributed the youngest and the third youngest generals in the modern history of the Philippine armed forces.

FOOTNOTES:
(1) Unless cited, all the information and the Tinio photo in this article is from Orlino Ochosa’s celebrated “The Tinio Brigade” book which the author recommend for reading to every Filipino, especially Novo Ecijanos. The author also have the chance of a short conversation with Martin Tinio Jr. --- a grandson of the Apo Heneral --- who confirmed the “youngest general” tag and shared surprising anecdotes that are not yet published. Any errors are mine alone.

(2) Like most leaders of the Kaitipunan, GEN. MANUEL TINIO is a member of the craft. The online Wikipedia encyclopedia cited him as the spearhead in “the establishment of the first Masonic Lodge in Nueva Ecija at Cabantuan City” which, however, is erroneously reported to have been named after him. That distinction belongs to the Gen. Manuel Tinio Memorial Lodge No. 167 in Guimba, Nueva Ecija. Wikipedia might be referring to the Cabanatuan Lodge No. 53.

(3) Almost all the other famous personalities mentioned in this article are members of the craft: GEN. EMILIO AGUINALDO who was made a master mason on 01 January 1895 in what is now Pilar Lodge No. 15, and founded the Magdalo Lodge No. 31 that was later renamed as the Emilio Aguinaldo Lodge No. 31 in his honor; Cabiao’s GEN. MARIANO LLANERA whose black with skulls-and-bones Katipunan flag has been inspired by symbols of Freemasonry; FR. GREGORIO AGLIPAY, General Aguinaldo’s Vicar General and the first Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipiniana Independiente, who is also a member of the 32º Philippine Bodies, A. & A.S.R.; GEN. ANTONIO LUNA who was made a master mason in Madrid; and GEN. ARTHUR MCARTHUR, Gen. Douglas McArthur’s father and a former US Military Governor General in the Philippines , who in 1879 was made a master mason in Arkansas’ Magnolia Lodge No. 60 and was a recipient of the US Congressional Medal of Honor. It is not known to the author if Gen. Gregorio Del Pilar and Gen. Benito Natividad are also Freemasons.

(4) This article was written by Bro. Shubert L. Ciencia and first appeared in his blog at “Shooting Churches, Eating Noodles” on September 7, 2007 and was also published in the September-October 2009 issue of "The Craftsman".