The Cabletow

EDITORIAL BOARD MW REYNATO S. PUNO, PGM, GMH MW DANILO D. ANGELES, PGM, GMH WV SIXTO S. ESQUIVIAS IV SGL VW AMANTE A. LIBERATO, AGS WV ROSELLER M. MALABANAN, CS, AAGM

EDITORIAL STAFF VWJ, FLOR R. NICOLAS - Editor-in-Chief WB EDMUNDCORONEL Associate Editor VW EMMANUELT. DIESTA Circulation Manager BRO. GENE ILLENBERGER Art Director MS. JENNIFER C. MAGALLANES Secretary VW SAMUEL P. FERNANDEZ Conrultant Foreword 02 Our cabletow is tougher than any calamity and crisis By MW Juanito G. Espino, Jr

September 9 Zamboanga siege THE CABLETOW t a bimonthly publicatlon ofthe Grand Lodge of Free & Ac.epted Masons oftht Philippines. Main Ofhce: Plaridel Masonic Temple, San MarceLlno st., Derring-do Zamboanga bros Ermita, Manila, D 2801, Philippines. Members of Blue Lodges in this grand jurisdic- 07 tion are regular subscribers thereto. Brethren in other grandjuasdictions are invited to subscribeto lt at US $20 a year Send check payable to the Grand Lodge of Free & delivered food aid amid battles Accepted Masons ofthe Philippines, with complete mailing address, to THE CABLE- TOw atthe address given above. Subrcribers are advised to noufyTHE CABLETOW of address .hanges. Original articles are subjected to editlng and, when published, become Cabletow property. Any article ln THE CABLETOW may be reprinted ln full, october 15 7.2 or excerpts thereof reproduced, provided prcper atrlbution to the author k made, the source is qiven due credits, and the Cabetow office b furnished with a couilesy 28 magnitude earthquake copy ofthe reprinled material.

Boholbiking bros beat Paid advertisements are accepted for printing in THE CABLETOW temblor's crippling odds

November 8 super typhoon 34 Yolanda & storm surge District R7-A Tacloban bros beat Yolanda 70 Cebu becomes the hub of with brotherly spirit Masonic relief

The Leyte other GLP Committee on Charity 61 Ormoc: Roofless but Yolanda upped Masonic not hopeless 76 Charity one level higher - and tougher

bounced 64 ff*-J#tiodseNo'55 back' As of March 24 moved onruit 8 1 Donations for Yolanda- devastated bros at Hamtik Lodge No.76 Php 16.48 million 67 Rising above adversity By WB J. Turalba Gobin, PM

iireLA4Jtet{}W : . i; | 1 \l"ri. -r 5rUQ By MW Juanito G. Espino, Jr. Grand Master

Our cableto\,y is tougher than any calamity and crisis

hen Mt. Pinatubo erupt- Hardly had I fully de- ed on June l^2, rggl., my scended the ramp in Tacloban first reaction was to run Airport when all my weeks of away far from harm's way. I anxiety gradually slid into a was yet the Commission on stifling, numbing, depression. Audit Director for Region 3 There was devastation every- (Central Luzon). It fell on my where. The smell of death and shoulders to ensure the safety decay was in the air. Every- of the people and businesses thing looked unreal. I felt like under my care. my feet were not touching the Twelve years later, the ground as I walked in utter situation changed. When su- disbelief. per typhoon Yolanda whipped For this, I summoned Tacloban hard on November all my will to put up a calm 8, my first reaction was to exterior before VW Edward rush to the devastated city Chua, our Junior Grand Lec- and see our brethren fast. turer for the Visayas, and the My anxiety compound- rest of the Tacloban brethren. ed as I watched the TV news. Hard as I tried, yet their sight So, when flights resumed two and stories grounded into bits weeks later, I quickly boarded whatever hardened mettle the first plane to Tacloban, on had remained in my breast. November 24, with VW Ben And to think that they Tan, chairman of the Grand had come to meet the Grand Lodge Committee on Charity. Master, with the simplest

The {abletow Jii i-i SJrci ia t::ur lunch they could offer-amid tives of its ringleaders. so humble conditions-was I was wont to think like the best example of Brotherly everybody else for the next Love that I had ever seen in few hours until we boarded all my life. That unforgettable the fast craft to Cebu. Out at scene alone was Masonry in sea, it finally dawned on me, its finest form. w.lrile gazing across the wa- No Masonic education ters, how unfair I was to the can teach you that. Lord Himself. In times of ad- On our way to Ormoc to versities, we lay the blame on catch an evening ferry bound the Almighty. But in times of for Cebu, I looked out of the joy and prosperity, we never vehicle's window and saw the credited Him for all the good devastations Yolanda had He has given us-much more, wrought across the province. to thank Him for all of it. Amid the flitting but repeti- tive scenes of destruction, of victims begging for food "In the same way that God and water on the roadsides, allows disasters to occur, a question came across my He also allows mind: why does God often goodness pick on the Philippines for to rise from the ruins." disasters? Why does the Lord allow the Filipinos to suffer this much from one disaster And still, we jumped to another? quickly into judgment faster .The year 2oLB saw a than we can comprehend His string of natural and man- messages written all over na- made disasters-the Zam- ture-even in the sporadic convulsions nature-that boanga Siege on September 9; of the Bohol Quake on October comprises a Mason's instruc- 15; and the Super Typhoon tion. It Is said in the First De- Yolanda on November B. AII gree Lecture, "that great book these huge and extraordinary of nature and revelations." events, interrupting the flow In other words, we of normal life, are called "acts search nature for signals. We of God." Even war acquires di- pore over the Volume of Sa- vine attribute when it spawns cred Law for meanings. tragic consequences beyond So, I nestled down the wicked designs and objec- comfortably in my seat, sat-

Yl're {ahletow I }*13 Special lssue isfied with my introspections Editor-in-chief of THE CAB- that finally quieted down my LETOW, to come up with a weeks of anxiety. Special Issue that will cele- Iflwereareligious brate the strength and good- zealot, I would say that dis- ness of the Brethren who re- asters come to chastise men sponded and prevailed over for their sins. But I am just an adversities. Year 2ot1 was a ordinary faithful. And what year of disasters. But it was ought to be the attitude of a also a year of heroes. simple faithful but to bow his head and whisper "Thy will be done." "Year 2013 was a year of So, let the heavens disasters. But it was also down hail cast its rain of a,yeur of heroes." and lightning-and the lowly faithful will only submit. Let the heavens send a hurricane The job certainly fell on diamonds and gold-and of our Associate Editor, WB Ed- the lowly faithful, again, will mund Coronel. He is a multi- only submit. For it is written, awarded literary writer, and and create "I form the light languages-English darkness, prosper- in two I bring and Filipino. But before mak- ity and create disaster; I, Jhe ing his mark in the literary these things." Lord, do all long years (Isaiah field, he has spent 45:7) in the journalism profession. In the same way that In r99r, he obtained allows disasters oc- God to a grant from the Philippine cur, He also allows goodness Center for Investigative Jour- rise from the ruins. Just to nalism to write an in-depth as He allows mournings and report white slavery. weepings to waft in the air, on Sometimes disguising himself He also allows celebrations to as a Taiwanese tourist, WB fill our spirit. For just as He Coronel said, he followed the allows weak and evil peopl.e, trail of human trafficking of He also allows the strong hnd young girls, from remote vil- the good to prevail over ad- lages to the brothels, and into versities, giving dignity to our the dark world of the slavery humanness. syndicate. For this reason, I in- A brother from the De- structed VW FIor Nicolas,

Yhe Cahl*t*w i 2*13 Special l:sue partment of Labor and Em- who received their share of ployment said that WB Co- misfortunes but responded ronel's published report was with greater generosity in ex- used as reference by govern- tending relief to one another. ment policymakers during the All over, we read Ma- formative years of the human sons coming to help Masons, trafficking issue. driven by the eternal tenet of Sent to the calamity- Brotherly Love and Relief. stricken jurisdictions in Janu- 'In all this, never for- ary, WB Coronel gathered the get the adoptive bodies-the stories and set them all down Jobbies, Rainbow, DeMolays, in print. Amaranth and Eastern Star. Now that it is all told, Often, they sent help to our we now read the many amus- distressed brethren ahead of ing but inspiring stories of Masonic lodges. our Brethren in the Visayas So, no matter how de- and in Mindanao. structive, the crisis and ca- In Zamboanga City, we lamities lost. We won. read our brethren charging I also commend WM before bullets and mortar ex- Jose "Gene" Illenberger, the plosions like Rambo just to Art Director for our CABLE- deliver food aid to the soldiers TOW. He gave our official or- and civilian victims of war. gan its magazine look, allow- In Bohol, we read our ing us to read it with ease and muscle-flexed brethren do- style. ing a triathlon to deliver re- He is a graduate of the lief supplies to thousands of College of Fine Arts in the earthquake victims. University of the Philippines Heartrending stories in Diliman, Quezon City. marked the ordeal of our Presently, he is the Master of brethren in Tacloban-but Frank Reed Horton Memorial but not without the heroism Lodge No. 979. of the spirit prevailing over Let this Special issue ali odds. serve as a reference for Ma- Cebu, which became the sonic relief programs to come. hub of Masonic relief, stood Ever capricious nature grows out as a beacon of light dur- increasingly unpredictable ing this dark and trying times. over the years, unleashing its Not to say the least of vicious force without sign or our brethren in Panay Island warning. But the same vicious

The{ahleiow I 20' 3 Special lsru+ force also resides in the heart undo the Craft if the Brethren of men. Our seas breed not were made of lesser spirit. only deadly storms but also But as adversities come, unimaginable troubles along the Brethren rise to meet the our country's disputed terri- challenges head-on without torial boundaries. regard for comfort, even for Let us hope that the safety. next Masonic relief programs will be planned and systemat- ic where no brother needs to "So, no matterhow risk his life anymore. destructive, the crisis and Moreover, let this Spe- calamities lost. We won." cial Issue stand as a modest contribution to Masonic his- torical documentation. Phil- ippine Masonry is presently They rise without knowledge of their deeds giv- handicapped by immense lack of historical narratives that ing color and honor to the an- nals Grand Jurisdic- are essential to the assembly of this tion. of a full, complete and precise history of the Most Worship- They rise taller than any prestigiously-titled Ma- ful Grand Lodge of Free & Ac- son. For their actions weigh cepted Masons of the PhiJip- heavier glows pines (or GLP). and brighter than any jewel But the timing for his- officious that the Grand Lodge can confer. torical recoding can never be And they are just so relevant than today. Fu- ordi- nary Masons. ture generations of Masons This is their story. will no doubt find the Craft at present riddled with flaws; its shortcomings, embarrassing even to the Craftsmen a hun- dred years ago. Yet, it can never be said that all Filipino Masons have slackened in the profession of the Craft. Standing at the edge of a new century, Masonry was immediately greeted by tough challenges which could

The Cabletow' 201i Spec,at lssue F A*"e

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'ffS: ii l Government solciiers take cover from MNLF 'i,,tr'!F'c. " .: rebel sniper fire during the eaily battles in t Zamooanga City ort September 12, 2013.

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A deadll,attack by N'Iuslim separatists in Zamboanga City earl-v on September 9 grew into a fierce 3-w'eek urban warfare that had sent over' roo,ooo residents fleeing, razed 1o,ooo houses to the grorind, and left 1oo people dead. But Nlasons of this bustling southern port citv re- mained unshaken-and went on to aitl governlnent sol- diers regularlv, even under fire, lrrith food. Bloody street battles par- MNLF jungle stronghold. alyzed Zamboanga City of nearly At daybreak of September a million people forzo days. But 9, early risers and commuters the bros-and sis-of District R9 woke up to the sight of soldiers ARMM-C drew strength from the scurrying to positions around Craft to serve the country and the city, cordoning civilians off save the city, charging past whiz- the area which was to become zing bullets and blasting mortars the battle zote. Troops from the with a derring-do camaraderie. 3znd Infantry Battalion of the Zamboanga City is home to two Philippine Army, walking behind GLP lodges, Mt. Apo Lodge No. the cover of diesel-fired armored 45 and Samboangan Lodge No. personnel carriers (APCs), head- 310. ed toward the southern coastal Trouble began on the villages. night before, September B. Some Barangay officials and 1oo heavily-armed Moro Na- watchmen stood guard overtheir tional Liberation Front (MNLF) territories against MNLF intrud- militants from adjacent Basilan ers. island province had slipped into the southside of peninsular Zam- Facebook boanga City in motorboats. But Bro. Jeffrey Russ Taripe, a project contractor for "The raid was unlike of the the city hall, was unmindful of political sawy Nur Misuari, the trouble breaking out in the founding chairman of the streets. He was in the hospital watching over his kid in bed. He Moro National Liberation *i only heard the nurses frantically Front (MNLF). It was sense- i* talked about "a war going on." * less"" %1 Staccato bursts of ma- :: chine gun ,.: fire increasingly rang ia,: throughout the city-and they v;4 Before darnrr, they were were growing louder and closer. ,:{ already in control of 4 coastal viJ- The police had ran into rebel po- # lages-Rio Hondo, Sta. Barbara, sitions in sporadic gun battles. Sta. Catalina and part of Talon- Bro. Aldrine Lee, another Talon. project contractor, was wakened Basilan, separated only by up by his worried wife at around a narrow strip of sea from Zam- B a.m. saying, "Lumalakas lng boanga City, is the traditional putukan." (The gunfires are get-

Ths (abletow i 2*1 3 Special lssue Government troops advanced into MNLF-con- _"tr trotled village behind ormored personnel carriers (APCI while fire rages on September 12, 2013.

(AP Photo/Bu I I it Morquez)

I fnis photo of 3 soldiers sharing cold rice ' and one dried fish went virol after posting at the Yahoo Southeast Asia News Room. ting louder.) web. His friend, Nicolus Andico, Bro. Robert James "RJ" was the first to respond. Iringan, a bachelor and supervi- "Seryoso ka?r" (Are you sor of the family-orrr,ned medical serious?) Andico asked. equipments firm, first learned "Paroon talaga tayo," of the trouble from a friend who (We reallyhave to go there.) Bro. had called him, wishing to move Iringan replied. into his house. The latter was liv- But his plan would not ing within the battle zoue. take effect until the next day. Quickly, Bro. Iringan made calls himself, sent out text Cabatangan messages, and went over his Fa- cebook (FB) account to grasp the The MNLF militants situation. landed at Zamboanga's southern coast to capture City Hall and raise the "Bangsamoro Republic" "The Zamboanga siege was flag. variously described as a "cri- But the plan was unten- sis." But there were gaps in able even if it had succeeded. the run of events to make the Many explained the raid as an attempt to scupper the au- touted "crisis" credible." tonomy talks between the gov- ernment and another rival group while simultaneously recovering But of all the info he had the MNLF's lost political clout. collected, one minor detail struck But it backfired even on Day r. him most. The soldiers fight- The raid was unlike of ing in the battle zone were hun- the political sawy Nur Misu- gry. They were dispatched to the ari, founding chairman of the scene without meal or rations. Moro National Liberation Front Neighborhood barkadas (MNLF). It was senseless. were the first to deliver food to The September siege was the soldiers defending the city. actually the second MNLF attack This led him to put a plan in the city in the past rz years. In together-to hand out food to 2oo1, former Pres. Gloria Maca- government troops. "Kahit sim- pagal Arroyo removed Misuari, pleng pagkain, makaraos lang ng who was then governor of the gutom," (Even just a simple food Autonomous Region of Muslim to satisfy hunger) he said. Mindanao (ARMM), from office. He posted his plan on the The MNLF lashed back.

10 The Cabletow i 201 3 Special lssue Tens of thousands of evacuees crammed in the city's stadium to escope the fighting between government forces and MNLF militants in Zamboanga City in septem- ber 2013. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

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'rffilli ry.v-^, A man fights alone the blazes gutting his home when fire broke out during a clash between government troops and MNLF militants in Zamboanga City on September 12,2013. (Reuters/ Erik De Castro)

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d}l :ffi q- ": Government troops, in gas masks, look at burned bodies believed to be MNLF militants amid devastated houses in Sta. Catalina vil- lage in Zamboanga City on September 26, 201 I 3.(Frederick Alvarez/AFP/Getty lmages) They seized the ARMM govern- launched an offensive early on ment complex in Cabatangan Day z. But resistance was fierce. village in Zamboanga. Residents A volley of sniper fires, mortar were rounded up as hostages. rounds and rocket propelled gre- But they were released only after nades (RPGs) came dorrrn on the the government agreed to let the soldiers advancing into the MN- MNLF raiders go free. LF-controlled villages. Traces of the Cabatan- Significantly, rebel snip- gan raid-albeit without political ers ha'd seized control of the high sense-still showed in the Sep- ground in densely populated ar- tember attack. But the govern* eas, particularly the 6-story-high ment and the militants upped minaret of Sta. Barbara mosque, the stakes this time. and the 4-story-high KGK Build- ing in adjacent Sta. Catalina vil- lage. "The brethren boosted the The MNLF finallybrought morale ofthe people the battle to the city. And they canre with ruthless terror tac- city." defendingthe tics that forced the government troops, wary of high civilian cas- ualties, into a standoff. rebels, on Like in 2ooL, Non-combatants, placed their way to join comrades in the between the flring lines, were city, hid behind civilian hostages used as shield and bait. The mili- as "human shields" while firing tants torched houses as they shot soldiers to keep them at bay at at arriving fire trucks sent to at- during a predawn gun battle on tend to the blazes. Day z, September ro. New arrivals brought the MNLF ranks up to a force of zoo Delivery men backed by local assets. Similarly, fresh troops What situation Bro. irin- and equipments from around gan read to map out his plan z4 the country arrived at dawn and hours ago had changed for the bolstered the composite govern- worse. The risks were getting ment forces to 3,ooo men. higher. Both sides were digging in Handing his life and safe- for a long battle. ty to the Almighty, he set out to a Soon, fighting escalat- local bakery and bought a variety ed when government troops of bread worth Php 4,ooo and

'13 The(abletow | 2013 Special lssue . boxes of bottled water for Php ingan posted his first food aid on 1,OOO. FB. Along with Andico and z A11 the Zamboanga bros other friends, they headed to the were wired to the FBs of their Zamboanga City Medical Center respective lodges. Seeing Bro. dornm Veterans Avenue, an area Iringan alive and well, they given to government offices. signed up either to join or to They were met by a waiting con- support his successive deliver- tact who led them past the mili- ies. tary cordon and into the "ground The Masonic food aid zero" ofthe siege. was on. The hospital was located Not until Bro. Iringan just a few meters right behind had chatted with Bro. Jesus the KGK Building, the MNLF "Jess" Burnos, head ofthe plan- command center. ning unit of the local Maritime Noteworthy, the Geneva Industry Authority (MARINA) Convention prohibits any attack office. or hostile fire on hospitals and Learning that Bro. Irin- their staff, whether civilian or gan was the only Mason making military, in times of war. the drop, Bro. Burnos declared, "Samay pader lang kami "Sige, samt ako,"(.Nkight, I will dumaraan kasi naririnig ko ang come with you.) mga putok at saka nakikita.ko "Though very risky, the sila," (We only walked by the intention of Bro. iringan was concrete wall next to us because very noble," Bro. Burnos re- I could hear the gunshots and I called. "As a Brother Mason, could also see the militants.) Bro. I have to answer all due signs Iringan said. given to me by a Brother." Stone walls served them Bro. Iringan confided protection against swishing bul- that he was running out of lets.Thestructurealsokeptthem funds. Bro. Burnos threw in a frorn eyeballing with the mili- couple of cash. tants up the KGK building who Noteworthy, Bro. Iringan is af- were poking rifle barrels from filiated-with Mt. Apo Lodge No. behind porch and window sills. 45; Bro. Burnos, with Samboan- Reaching the soldiers huddled gan Lodge No. 3ro. in a street corner, they quickly Bro. iringan's father is passed bread and bottled water also a Mason, Bro. Lope Irin- and Ieft. g&n, similarly affiliated with Returning home, Bro. Ir- Mt. Apo Lodge No. 45.

14 Tlre(*bletow I 2013 Speciai lssue Bros and sis packed the food before delivering them. From left: Bro. Jake Hubert Tan, Bro. Jess Burnos, Sis. Ana Marie Ledesma and Bro. Ebong Chiong.

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Team boanga were cancelled. Day 3 was perhaps the Fierce fighting ensued on riskiest in the 3-weeklong siege. Day 3, September rr. Soldiers Ambulance sirens shrilled be- and militants clashed in sporadic tween the gunfires. The fighting battles. was vicious; the streets, danger- Some 13,ooo evacuees ous. No sane individual or Mason flooded the city's sports stadium would dare doge bullets flyrng with only 4 comfortable toilets, all over and bring Bro. Iringan no beddings, except open-air the relief goods which had been concrete bleachers. A few civil- pledged over the web. ians were killed by stray bullets. "Maririnig mo talaga du- A curfew-from B p.m. to madaan Aung mga bala sa tabi S a.m.-was in effect. But still, mo ... Zoom! Zing! ... Akala mo the city proper was a ghost tor,,rm sa sine lang napapanood. Pero by day. Schools, shops and of- enjoA nemen," (You could re- fices were closed. Only APCs and ally hear the bullets passed by military trucks ran the deserted beside you ... Zoom! Zing!... You streets. All commercial flights thought you see them only in the and sea travel in and out of Zam- movies. But we enjoyed it.) Bro.

The {ablet*w | }013 Speciai l:sr.;e 15 Iringan recalled. area again. They quickly handed The city ground to a halt. the meals over to the command- And Bros. Burnos and Iringan ing officer of the Army's Light had to shove the odds hard to get Reaction Company manning the the Masonic relief moving. zone and left. Luckily, Bro. Iringan was Then, they headed to Fort helped by his girlfriend, Reggie Pilar, a tTth century Spanish for- Anne Villar, and the Dinglasa tress, and onto the fringes of the family. They blew the money in battle zone. hand on food. Then, they cooked Final drop was at the a meal of chicken adobo, garlic Arenas Blanco area at the city's rice and kangkong adobo. outskirt. Soldiers posted in They split the food into the neighborhood, to intercept small plastic bags a la carinderia MNLF militants, had been re- packaging. Grocery stores, sell- ported to be famished due to ab- ing sty,ropor packs, were closed. sence ofrations. Done, Bros. Burnos and Residents eyed the de- Iringan jumped into Andico's livery team hard as it arrived multi-cab and sped off to the around 5 in the afternoon. A Zamboanga general hospital slum district, Arenas Blanco, was

t-'3'{. Zambongo's delivery bros go around in open pick-up '. i.'&* trucks for free and quick movements regordless how they ore vulnerable to svay bullets. tri;..,!..y--:* "r----*\

Soldiers, often in deserted streets, gladly welcomed the hondouts possed by Zamboonga\ delivery bros. *

notorious for its high crime rate. Bro. Burnos sent out text mes- After handing the meals over to sages calling on all Masons to the commanding offrcer, the de- mobilize and run a food aid for livery team quickly boarded the the soldiers. minivan and drove off. Groupie In the street, residents, who had suspiciously stared at On Day 4, September 12, them, begun walking toward the MNLF had seized z more vil- the vehicle, even attempted Iages, Mampang and Canelar. But stopping it. "Bilisan government tanks and air strikes mo! Bilisan began pounding on MNLF posi- mol" (Faster! Faster!) Bro. irin- tions, softening the MNLF resist- gan urged Andico who, in turn, ance. stepped hard gas. on the Government forces finally Later, the team learned contained the militants. The city that food was running low in was relieved. Zamboanga City the neighborhood. The resi- Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco- dents only wanted to ask for Salazar called on all shops, banks handouts. and other commercial establish- Before the day was over,

The {abletew I 2rJt 3 Special lssr-rr 11 ments outside the battle zone to Taripe. Safely located along Air- open and resume business. port Road, about 3 kms. from the Food shortage was avert- battle zorte) the bros-and sis- ed. Daily necessities flowed again gathered, sorted out, cooked and to the city. packed here all the food sent by She also asked all project Masons all over. contractors to bring their trucks Manning the center were to the local crisis management the husband-and-wife teams of office, help evacuate affected res- Bro. Jeffrey and Sis. Aileen Mae idents, and deliver relief goods. Taripe; also, WB Ramon and Sis. Bro. Taripe responded. He man- Anna Marie Ledesma. aged to get himself and his truck Bros who reinforced the relief assigned to the Zamboanga City processing and deliveries were Masons. Bros. Ebong Chiong, Jake Hubert With lessened risks and Tan, and WV Leon Tan, PDGL. safer streets, help began coming Hence, Day 4 saw a big- in for Bros. Burnos and Iringan, ger-and wackier-team com- raising the relief project one level posed of Bros. iringan, Burnos, up. Chiong, Taripe, Jake Tan and VW Leon Tan. Sis. Anna Marie Ledesma "Politics undergirded the was the "amazon" in the group. siege, of course, But it would The team made the drop in the afternoon at Pilar Street, in be certainly loathsome to dis- Sta. Catalina village, the "ground cover if certain hideous infi- zero" of the battle zone. viduals masterminding the The day before, MNLF siege turned up somed ay-in- militants displayed here civil- dividuals who were prepared ian hostages-strung together to slaughter hundreds of in- with ropes about the hands and neck-before TV news cameras. nocent lives just for media ex- After handing the packed posure, or slippery ambition." meals over to the commanding officer, the team decided to take a groupie photo for posting on the The bros finally came FB. out on Day put 4 and up a relief A plume of thick black operations center at Oshi Ko- smoke, rising from a fire raging rean Resto, ovmed Kathrina by then in adjacent Sta. Barbara vil- Janice Malinao, Bro. sister of lage, would make for a memora-

18 The (abletow 2i]1 3 Special lsrue ble background. the help coming. They were posing, smil- Quickly, he took the job- ing and setting themselves up for and called his air-soft game pals the shot when a mortar round and friends for the packing and whumped and exploded roo me- deliveries. ters away. They all ducked for But the SSS food aid cover. wof,ld remain useless if not for Five Red Cross volun- the cook who turned all the do- teers, 5 police and military per- nated cash and goods into ready- sonnel, and r civilian were hurt to-eat meals. Bro. Carlos tasked by the blast. his father, Bro. Rodrigo Balbon, Quickly, the delivery team of the local National Labor Rela- packed up and left. tions Commission (NLRC) offrce, to become "master chef." Viral Both father and son were members of Mt. Apo Lodge No. Soon, the Balbon tandem On Day 5, September 13, 45. the lack of food that ailed the sol- was delivering meals, cigarettes, diers defending Zamboanga City chocolate bars and even energy -- went public. drinks to the soldiers in the bat- tle zone. A picture of 3 soldiers in the battle zofie, eating cold rice The daily delivery runs and a piece of dried fish spread had gotten the bros used to the dangers. oYer a banana leaf, went viral in plotted the internet. They even the dai- The Yahoo Southeast Asia lybattle routine to schedule their Newsroom-which posted the deliveries in the safer hours of photo on its website-reported the day. a that the soldiers, hungry and Bro. Aldrine Lee said * that fighting often begun before t sleepless, had begged residents for food, even for leftovers. breakfast at 5 a.m. lasting un- Netizens were moved. til B or 9. Militants and soldiers I would call a break at midday. g g Help was mobilized, for instance, 6 among the Social Security Sys- Battle would resume at { tem (SSS) offices all over the around 1p.m. after lunch. country. By z or 3 p.m., the rebels For this, Bro. Carlos Rod- would start setting the houses on rigo Balbon, an employee of the fire, signaling the end of the day's Zamboanga City SSS office, was fighting. They used the blaze as asked by his boss to dispatch all cover to bury their dead.

Theeabletow | 2013 Spec,al lssur 19 Islamic custom requires kaya nagbabatian na lang kami the burial of the dead within z4 tapos alis na." (But since every- hours. bodywas in a rush, we justbrief- Dusk to night was rest ly greeted each other and left.) time. The dark served the MNLF In one of his food deliver- cover to move from house to ies, Bro. Balbon chanced upon house and shift to new battle po- Bro. Ferdinand Galang, a snip- sitions. Occupants who had not er from the police elite force in fled were seized as hostages. Nueva Ecija. The latter was as- But mortars and bul- signed to a night watch. lets were not the only dangers Asked how many enemies the delivery bros had'met at the he had dor,uned one night, a vis- streets. Motorcycle-riding tan- ibly famished and haggard Bro. dems, cruising the city's desert- Galang replied, "Eight." ed streets in leisurely touristic speed, often tailed or came up Shutdown before them. "They were spotters," As the siege dragged on, said Bro. Lee-MNLF spies the more the government troops who tipped the militants on the had cornered the militants-and strength and situation of the the more relief deliveries had soldiers in and out of the battle become tenable. From soldiers, zofie. Masonic help was widened to the But where spotters were 13o,ooo evacuees jam-packed unavailable, local MNIF assets into the city's stadium. flew kites to mark sniper and Interestingly, the first RPG targets. batch of relief goods to reach Marines, familiar with the Zamboanga bros came from jumped this MNLF tactic, when the adoptive bodies-the orders a kite rose over the city's public of De Molay, Job's Daughters, market early in the siege. But Rainbow, Eastern Star and Ama- they found the toy unmanned. ranth. Tough and risky, yet the job Itwas the first of the many delivery had its rewards. waves of rice, noodles, canned They also met Masons amonglhe goods, bread and bottled water soldiers they helped. that had yet to come. "We sometimes met The bros turned the goods Brother Masons among the sol- over to the City Council as the "Pero diers," Bro. Taripe said. procedure had it. nagmamadali kasi lng lahat \ryV Eduardo Ulindang,

The Cable*ow | 2013 Speci*l lssr"re DDGM of Rro-D & ARMM, sent good planning afforded the Php 5o,ooo to his Zamboanga bros and sis to hold out for rz counterpart, VW Joseph Dy, days-the most critical period DDGM of R9 ARMM-C, intend- of the siege. ed for the evacuees. By Day 9, September t7, "We bought medicines, the fight appeared nearing its infant formulas and disposable end. diapers with the money and At around 4 p.m., the gov- brought them to the stadium," ernment announced overrun- said VW Dy. ning 7o percent of the MNLF Bro. Butch Gasco of Isa- positions in the city. Two hours gani Lodge No. 96, in Tarlac, later, soldiers took over the KGK gave 20 cases of canned sar- Building, the militants' com- dines that went to different mand post, in Sta. Catalina vil- school evacuation centers. lage. The incumbent Master The fall of the KGK Build- of Samboangan Lodge No. 3to, ing sawthe militants slipping out WM Stephen Kaw, whose fam- of the city in small groups, af- ily is into canning business, do* fording Zamboanga City Mayor nated boxes of canned goods. Climaco-Salazar to announce the The local Gerry's Grill return of normalcy on Day tt, donated 1,ooo food packs to September 19. the stadium evacuees. WV Dy Day 12, September 20, holds the Zamboanga City fran- was met by a morning fire raging chise. then in the slums of Rio Hondo. Here, the delivery bros Given to stilted houses on gathered and dined at dusk as the water, Rio Hondo was once a VW Dy listened to the day's re- resettlement village for the sea- port. The DDGM occasionally faring Badjaos who hadbeen dis- threw drinks on-the-house for placed by the insurgency war in the delivery bros before curfew Sulu in the r97os. set in. But the increasing influx In all, the Zamboanga of Muslim migrants over time bros made 3 turnovers to the had crowded the Badjaos out, City Council. But the trips were turning the once peaceful Rio not easy. "We had to stop and Hondo into a crime-ridden wa- look for sheiter whenever there terside village. was an exchange of gunfire," The bros recalled that a said Bro. Burnos. strong acid smell, like a bleach- But help had limits. Only ing solution, wafted in the wind

The Cabletow | 20"3 Spetial l,i"+ 21 (inset) Pockmarked KGK Building was the MNLF command center. At the rooftop, the .t " Zamboanga delivery bros demonstrate how they have captured the rebel command t? post-in "Marines ' their dreams. From left: vw Leon Commander" Tan, who is a bane to h .- Bro. Jerome "Army Diehard" Montejar (2nd from left). Looking on are Bro.,,Single War- t r f den,,JessBurnos(3rd)andBro.,,JumboWarden,,AldrineLee. and heat. They believed that a sha- later. In Rio Hondo, charred bu laboratorywas gutted in the fire. lumbers stuck out of the water Day tzwas also the last day where stilted houses had once that the Zamboanga Masons would stood. deliver food aid. Down Pilar Street, the Noteworttry, Cosmos Lodge Philippine National Police (PNP) No. 8 in Manila had sent Php offrce were yet riddled with bullet 1o,ooo for food. The bros used the holes and gaping mortar blasts- money to brry zo7 Jollibee food proof of the militants' fury at packs and rTcases ofbottledwater. Zamb o anga's defenders. They handed the goods to Touring the city, the bros Col. Natz Obligacion who ran the pointed here and there, telling military composite unit at Sta. Cat- pieces of stories about the siege. alinavillage. Here, a crack MNJLF sniper Broke and tired, lhe Zasn- took position who turned out to boanga bros finally shut dor,rm re- be a girl. There, a girl from that lief operations on Day 13, Septem- school was snatched by the mili- ber zr. tants and had never been seen Similarly, the government since then. capped the nearly z-weeldong But still, faith shone out bloody battles by arrnouncing the amid the ordeal. "Walang tum- filing of criminal charges against amang bala sa Fort Pilar maliban the Zamboanga radiers-Habier dito kahit nasa ground zero pa," Mahk, a tough and loyal Nur Misu- (No bullet hit Fort Pilar despite ari lieutenant, and z8 other MNLF being situated at ground zero ex- followers. cept for this one), said WV Leon Pocket house-to-house bat- Tan pointing to a bullet hole in a tles yet continued as government flower pot. troops swept over villages once held Now given to a parochial bythe MNLF, ferreting out militant school and a museum, yet Fort holdouts. Pilar remains at the heart of the On Day zo, Septemtrer 28, city's faith and culture. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin Damages were all over the declared the crisis over. A weeldong KGK Building, the former MNLF mop-up operations followed. command post. Before the siege, the Ruins ground floor was given to a bak- ery; the upper floors, to bedspac- Ruins were all that re- ing rents. mained of the siege four months Four months later, only

I fle L**!elOlA, I lll Ir :ili:r ai :i5r: 23 the ground floor remained liv- positioned themselves to pick on able; the upper floors, ruins and MNLF snipers. rubbles. The battle of the snipers Graffrti marked the was a significant but little-known walls-the MNLF in black, the story ofthe siege. government troops in red. A bat- But another little-known tle of paint ensued inside after and loathsome story happened government forces took over. right in the small dark rooms of A young sniper cop from the KGK Building itself.

l:r i9 # Sis. Ana Marie Ledesma poses for a souvenir #;'fr shot as she hands bottles of mineral water to a soldier. k&',, k x the PNP Regional Special Action What women the MNLF force (RSAF) stood watch over had found here when they seized T the building yet under investiga- the building, the RSAF police tion. told us, were raped. so 'he Not much From the rooftop, by the Muslim militants; rather, pointed to the triangle of Sta. by their assets-local drug ad- Barbara Mosque, KGK Build- dicts who served as spotters, in- ing and the Southern City Col- formants and guides. leges Building-the last where So were the women in the government sharpshooters had neighborhood boldly ravaged by

24 The(abl*tow | 2C13 Special lssue these drug fiends under the eyes The munbfs top Double-O- of their MNLF warlords. Seven is the husband of Zamboanga A suffocating mix of anger CityMayorClimaco-Salazar. and agony was felt hangng heavily Politics undergirded the over the cramp, dark and stinking siege,ofmurse,Butitwouldbecer- roorns. tainlyloathsome to discover if certain As we left the building, the hideors individuals mastermind- sonofthebuilding'sovmercalledus. ing the siege turned up someday- He led us to his father, S3-year old individuals who were prepared to Khung Guan Ktro. He introduced slaughterhundredsofinnocentlives himseHas a Mason-raised in Iloilo just for media exposure, or slippery in 1968. ambition. The bros were surprised. Regardless, the Zamboanga "KGK' claimed he was in bros were not willing to play patsies Singapore when the MNLF seized inanybody'shand. hisproperly. Recalling why he had jumped into a rislly project, Bro. iringan re- Unforgettable phed, " M oiinis ka kasi u: ala kang g i- nag aLDt habang maA nlngA ay ai." (You get you The Zarnboanga siege was will annoyed because variously described as a "crisis." But are doing nothing while serious trou- there were gaps in the run of events ble isbreaking out.) "All to make the touted "crisis" credible. I had in mind was to do everything i muld to help my fellow- "Misuari olwred a house here in Zamboanga. One of Habier Ma- men in allways especiallythe soldiers who were fiShti"g and dying for us," ux*s wives lived in one of the villages here in Zamboanga," said Bro. Rod* he said. young rigo Balbon who is also a mlumnist Unlike the bold and for one of the cit/s papers,*teZ.arrt- Bro. iringan, Bro. Burnos was cau- boanga DailyTimes. tious. He even warned the younger The coming and going of bro at times not to push his luck in new faces in wifey's home was alarm certain critical areas. enough that the MNLF had been slip- But he had deep and senti- ping in and stockpiling arms around mental reasons for supporting the the citysinceJanuary. City Mayor's plea for help. "I felt so But nobody did anyttring. usefirl to be irside the war zone. Not given Not even the county's spy master, everybody is the chance to ex- Ret. Gen. Trifonio Salazar, chief of tend aid and to be with the pmple the National Intelligence Coordinat- defending the city," Bro. Bumos said. ingfuenry(NICA). A true-blue Zamboangueflo,

T!'le (abl*itow I 2011 S**ciai lssilr 25 Bro. Burnos is also a member of the ery team asking for spare food. Iocal historical conservation soci- Quicldy, the bros would ety. hand out food packs sayng "Ang Bro. Jake Hubert Tan is yet damipa sir! Heto po! Sorry, hindi 2yearsintotheCraft. Butheadmit- po kayo nakita kanina." (There is ted that the siege had profoundly a lot here. Here is more. Soryr, we changedhim. didn't seeyou awhile ago.) Riding behind an open The soldiers thanked hug- truch bullets whizzed over the gingthem. heads of the delivery bros. Alarmed, "The facial reaction, of the they chorused "Baba ulo! Sa mixed emotions, ttrat you feel and loob na lang tayo!" (Head doum! see in ttre soldiers'faces is priceless. Iet's get inside the cab, instead!) It is something you can never for- But Bro. Burnos held them get," Bro. Iringan said. back saying,'Wag kayong mag- "The brethren boosted the alala! Pag nakita ng bala yung morale of the people defending the square and compass, klihis'yun." city," said WV Joseph Dy. "We do (Don't worry! When the bullet sees not actually publicize what we do. our square and compass, it will di- But for Zamboanga's Masons, we vert") are always readyto extend our cab- They survived the rz-day letow within our means and ever food delivery unscathed. ready to act in times like this." But something deeper Starved, the soldiers shot *Se struck Bro. Jake. mukha their spirits up when civilians ng mga military, makikita mo risked iife and limb just to deliver masaAa sila. Sabi nila, 'Thank themfood. y ou, sir. Hindi p a kami kumakain.' Many believed that the ges- Yung happines s na nakita ko, hindi ture had stoked certain stories that mabibili ng perl." (In the faces of wildly grew around the city. In the the military, you will see their hap- early days of the siege, dead MNLF piness. They said, 'Thank you, sir. militants were lined up at the bay- We have not eaten yet.'The trappi- side plaza-with heads chopped off ness I saw could never be bought theirbodies. with money.) In the succeeding days, few Bro. Iringan shared the prisoners were taken in than ex- same experience. They occasion- pected. Some of the militants were ally missed soldiers furtively hiding crisped-fried beyond recognition. behind houses and street corners. The government forces But one would leap out won. It was very clear for whom from cover and run after the deliv- theywere fighting for. o EC

?he eahletow i 2C1:) Special llsue hE"'l$ss]s$$$r;l.t::l:!ii:!1ii;!!ji!l;l:]:;:;;ii:ilij;1 ffi vw Joseph Dy, DDGM of R9 ARMM-C, (above) is proud of his derring-do delivery bros. on* betow) From left: Bro. Jake Hubert Tan, Jeffrey Russ Taripe, Bro. Jesus '!ess" Burnos, Bro. Robert"RJ" lringan,WB Ramon Ledesma, andvw LeonTan, PDGL. f .-

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I * 3 Rescue workers dig a victim out of the ru- ins of a collapsed market in Cebu on Octo- ber 15,2013. -.f dl .ffi' A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the Visayas at B: rz a.m. on October 15leaving 2z2people dead, ,, injrred, and structures damaged or destroyed 976 76,2c,0 !f including priceless heritage churches. I But { outdoor-trained Masons in Bohol hurdled past 'r:I; t over obstructions thrown by the quake to deliver relief sup- fll-- ffi plies to far-flung mountain tb/ ff{! villages cut off from the rest of ri- the world. iilF;- "+ -' The quake struck rz kilo- quake struck. Living in a z-story meters below the island of Bohol house largely made of wood, he with epicenter at 6 kilometers was confident that the structure southwest of Sagbayan tornm. would absorb the violent mo- Bohol reported the most tions. casualties numbering to 2og. Calmly, he asked his fam- Corpses were pulled out from ilyto leave the house. under the rubble of tilted or Only the family TV set, unecked houses. Some were bur- placed on top ofa stand, dropped ied under landslides of soil, boui- and was damaged. ders and trees. Others perished from se- vere injuries due to falling ob- "Masonry, as an otganization, jects or collapsing structures. must respond relevantly to Casualties were also re- the times." ported in the premiere Central Visayan province of Cebu. The city's fish market collapsed kill- ' But damages wdre wide- ing people. 4 spread in Tagbilaran, A building Four others were killed in the capital's seaport collapsed. when people, gathered at Cebu The second floor of the Tagbila- City's sports stadium, broke out ran air control tower caved in. into stampede with dozens in- jured. But destructions were not as massive as in the northern The bell tower of the Ba- portion of the island province. silica Minore del Sto Niflo, a pop- Power and communica- ular pilgrimage shrine in Cebu, tions were down. Asphalt and crumbled. concrete roads cracked into Bohol, grouped under slabs; the ground, yar,r.ning into District RZ-A along with Cebu, deep fractures. Some bridges hosts only one lodge, Dagohoy linking remote towns collapsed. No. 84 in Tagbilaran City. Seventeen toums around Tagbilaran sustained heary dam- Birthing ages-but not as worse as Mari- bojoc and Loon. WB Mark Noel Mende, a Here, the shoreline rose- civil engineer and Past Master pushing the beach So to 1oo me- of Dagohoy No. 84, was at his ters out to the sea. Fish flapped home in the provincial capital on the exposed bed as the water of Tagbilaran when the earth-

T$r*(abletow | 2C13 Spetial llsue 29 The 2-century-old historic lmmaculada Concepcion Church in Baclayon was shat- tered to ruins by the quake.

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i ilr ,+i u:uin. * x,y &..,.&, M "4 t Bros and Kaliwat ni Dagohoy volunteers presented bags 2 .. ., of relief supplies to the Antequera municipal officials. b @*r* .$ * ".!lf receded, allowing residents to was the most powerful in the collect them in buckets. past 23 years, The rising of the Loon and Maribojoc beaches was Relief attributed to the appearance of a new 5-km-long land slip - Shortly after the quake, that came after the birthing of WV Sansaluna "Sani" Pinagayao, a new fault line running from District Deputy Grand Master barangay Anonang in Ina- (DDGM) of R7-A, called WB banga town, to barangay New Mende asking on the conditions Anonang in Buenavista town. of the bros in Bohol. "Bohol is like a round Two bros were lightly in- cookie. You break the cookie jured, WB Mende reported. The in the middle in half. That's worst was a bro, a fireman, who the fault line," said WB had been hit by a brick on the Mende. face from a crumbling wall in his Now called the "North house. Bohol Fault," the rupture raised the ground from r to forming a new rock 3-meters "They often showed up with wall where there had been none before. a strong presence to keep the When the rupture local politicos from seizing cracked open, residents of and using the relief supplies Anonang village said, an ex- for election purposes. " plosion like a thunderclap broke out. Then, the ground split rumbling; the fracture, The rest of the So Masons widening. in the province were okay. White smoke, with sul- Yet, WV Pinagayao sent furic stench, escaped between cash and goods for the injured the fracture as the rock face brethren. begun to rise. Next, the DDGM informed This vicious force that WB Mende that z truckloads of gave birth to the new fault relief supplies, from the Toshiba line hit with a force of zg Corporation in Cebu export pro- atom bombs which had been cessing zorre, were coming his dropped in Hiroshima in way. 1945. \{M Pinagayao is the ad- The ensuing earthquake ministrator of the Mactan Export

The fabletow i 201 3 Srt+t.al lrrue 31 ' ProcessingZone. armor rocls would come crashing The DDGM recalled WB doum on the relief convoy." Mende sa),1n9 "Ang dami nito! A record of 3, or9 after- Kaunti lang ang needy sa mga shocks regularly jolted the Bohol- bro natin dito sa Bohol." (This anons in the next two weeks after is too much! There is only a few the powerful quake. needybros here in Bohol.) The frightening memories But VW Pinagayao went on of the quake's first strike were un- with the z relief trucks. "Masonry, forgettable-groping on walls and as an organization, must respond trees to stand up and run with diz- relevantly to the times." he ex- zy spells lasting for hours. plained. But the aftershocks often With big help coming, WB sent the survivors into traumatic Mende quickly rounded up and rush outto the open, crouching or readied the manpower-the Ifuli- huddling together on the ground wat ni Dagohoy (Descendants of crylng. Many were scared to re- Dagohoy), a community sports turntotheirshatteredhomes. club he had founded himself, Worst, the aftershocks rip- looking up to the province's prom- pled the ground up and down, not inent hero, Francisco Dagohoy. in the common sideway swing. Dagohoy led the longest The aftershocks had also resistance against the Spaniards dangerously loosened the earth for 85 years. and boulders on the mountain- When the trucks came, sides. the Kaliwats quickly unloaded Anumber of the province's the z,ooo relief bags laden with roads were carved out from the bread, canned goods and bottled mountains. water. Many of the province's Bikers roads were impassable. The relief supplies were In every town they went, split into z motor bancas and \4IB Mende and his group called transported for half a day to the on the local officials to help dis- tornms of Loon. Maribojoc andAn- tribute the relief supplies. tequera. They often showed up with "Manybridges were do\.nm," a strong presence to keep the lo- WB Mende explained why they cal politicos from seizing and us- picked "Also, the water route. with ing the relief supplies for election strong aftershocks occurring reg- pu{poses. ularly, it was hard to tell when the The nationwide barangay

32 The Cabletow j 20 t 3 Spccial tssue +\ fT , # w, )" J,,

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Employees of the donor company, Toshiba Corporation, join in the delivery by motor boats of the relief supplies to devastated areas. elections were scheduled on Octo- Strapping themselves with ber zB. relief backpacks, they jumped But the Commission on next onto mountain bikes and Elections reset the village polls pushed up the slopes. to December 10 in the calamity- WB Mende said the deliv- stricken province. ery routine would begin at B a.m. l,ocal officials were not al- until lunch break. ways helpful. It often fell on \AIB They would resume at 3 Mede and his Kaliwat group to p.m. bring the aid up to hard-to-reach The delivery lasted "hang- mountain villages. ga may nakikita pang kalsada" For this, he relied on the (untii roads remain visible), said runners, cyclists and mountain- WB Mende. eers in the club. And they were Bike delivery from doum Masons. and up to the mountain villages Masons who are members averaged at 45 minutes. of the Kaliwat ni Dagohoy are "There were times when Bros. Doni Piquero, Jason Lupe- our brethren just didn't want to na, Joey Lupena and Moises Mil- take a break anlrnore because of lanar. the number of the victims in need. All trained in the outdoors, But it was necessary. Otherwise, they devised a way to deliver aid they would collapse," WB Mende to pockets ofvillages shut offfrom said. the rest of the world. It took the bros a week to They put up base camps fan the relief supplies out, reliev- at a mountain's foot. Then, they ing thousands of Boholanos fam- squeezed relief bags into back- ished and unnerved by the quake. packs. rEC

The C*bletow , )i) 1 I ri,rc il l')ir? 33 \rta ** * ..

Corpses laid openly and uncollected for days all over Tacloban after the Yolanda storm surge on November B, 2013.

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b" : 't" ; Like most Filipinos, VVV Edgar Chua, PDDGM was p used to many typhoons that he had seen in his lifetime. He was snugged down and all alone for a long cold morn- $ ing in his r-story house, in San Jose_village in Tacloban fia a* City, when Yolanda had began lashing three hours earlier. He was barely over with his breakfast when water r came under the door at 7 a.m. After a few minutes, the door flung open and water was lapping at his knees. ,ffif He hadn't- decided yet Makabugwas No. 47, Tacloban what household item to save No. zzr and Santiago L. Chua first when the furniture began No.336. floating and toppling down in the fast-rising water. Storm surge Frantic, he clambered up on anything he could hold on. - Internationally named He could not even remember "Haiyan," super typhoon Yolan- anymore howhe had got himself da slammed into eastern Samar up at the house's rafters. at 4:3o in the morning, 3 hours "I am not a religious earlier than expected. Winds, person mumbled the but I all roaring up to 3r5 kilometers an prayers I could think of, fully or hour, ripped across Leyte, Panay partially, at that time," he said. and other islands in the center Trapped, he stayed of the country before reaching perched between the roof and South China Sea z4 hours after. the beam until the water reced- Power and communica- ed after an hour. tions were knocked out. Hous- The fear, panic and sur- es were destroyed. Trees were - vival that swooped down over felled. Electric posts were bent VW Chua al7 a.m. of November over. Crops were wiped out. 8, zot3, similarly gripped hun- dreds of bros and their families scattered over the city-all in the "Nobody had foreseen the space ofjust few minutes. Described as the strong- deadly storm surge that est storm ever to hit man on Yolanda raised from the sea record, super typhoon Yolanda and hurled over the city." plowed Central Philippines on November 8, zot3, leaving over 6,ooo people dead while wreak- Before the storm, grave ing the most death and destruc- concerns were raised over the tion in Tacloban City, capital of devastating impact of Yolanda's Leyte province. powerful wind. Alarmed, about San Jose village, a land 2oo,ooo people took shelter strip between two rivers facing early in evacuation centers in 37 Le1.te Gulf, was the most devas- provinces nationwide. tated. But nobody had foreseen Tacloban, a city of some the deadly storm surge that 22o,ooo people, hosts 3lodges- Yolanda raised from the sea and

TheCabletow | 2Jl 3 5peria! trrue 35. "hurled over the city. When his turn came, he slipped Nor had Tacloban pre- his foot and splashed into the pared enough for Yolanda's furi- water. ous winds. The surging water Trees whipped hard and crashed a concrete divider wall cracked. House, church and inside the house. building roof sheets flapped and Dazed, his mind drifted flew as howling winds battered to the thought of dying as he Tacloban early on November B. tried keeping himself above the Hence, a number of residents water. Luckily, 4 men from a had taken shelter in the gym of nearby factory, groping between one of Tacloban's better second- houses, were carried by the wave ary schools. But the roof just to his home. suddenly caved in. Everybody Calling out and seeing fled everlrwhere. WM Perez struggling to stay WM Ralph Perez, Master afloat, they helped the bro up of Santiago L. Chua Commemo- to the ceiling while grabbing on rative Lodge No 336-or the rest electric wires. of Tacloban City either-was not By then, all the doors and yet aware of this early morning windows of the house were un- tragedy. derwater. He was even hopeful that Quickly, the men crept up the storm would be over in the to the ceiling, ripped and tore afternoon to allow the holding of up the roof sheets from under, a scheduled Passing. allowing everyone to escape WM Perez, his wife and z above. kids were sitting before break- On the roof, \MM Perez fast when water ran into the waffled at the sight before him. house. Water was everywhere. Looking He had hardly bundled out hundreds of meters around his children when the furniture him, he saw that only his family started floating. Until the re- had climbed up to safety in the frigerator suddenly listed on its neighborhood. side, hitting his wife and dislo-- cating her shoulder. Tsunami-like The swirling water was rising fast. Safety had also pressed Helping himself a up hard into the minds of the many chair, he pushed his wife and victims early. They sought ref- kids ceiling trapdoor. up the uge from the gusty winds under

TheCabletew | 2013 Specia! lssue --v6]l1.

sturdy roofs or behind concrete But not until the wind- walls. But they were defenseless stirred waves, crashing violent- from the 5, sometimes 6-meter- ly against the rocks during the high wall of water like tsunami, storm, gradually ceased. The that had leapt from the sea. water receded 1oo or so meters Survivors said that waters away from the shore. from the two bays flanking the city-Cancabato and Tacloban Bays-rose up, joined together "The scene was incredibly and rolled 2 to 3 kilometers in- surreal all over." land. Coming from the Pacific in the east, Yolanda whipped uP After a minute, it roared Tacloban Bay and swiped the back in knee-high foamy wa- waters of Cancabato Bay next in ter-trailed by massive waves the west as it headed to the city. "as high as coconut trees" that Hence, some survivors swallowed houses whole and recalled two tsunami-like waves swept up cars and people along coming from opposite direc- its path. tions.

fhe (abietow }fu 1 Sperrai lisrr: 37 Situated at a piece of land Heroic sticking out of San Jose coast, Daniel Romualdez Airport, the Survivors recalled frantic cries city's air terminal, was among for help all over as the water the first to come under the mas- came in three successive waves- sive waves. personnel, Airport knee-high, overhead, and s-me- and their families who had tak- ter-high. en shelter in the building, were tossed away by the rushing wa- ter that hollowed the ceil- out "Grief came right ings and tore the roof off. after the storm. Some of them were found But not all tangled up at the airport's fence were mourning." hours later-dead. The waves even swamped the airport's 6-story-high con- But it was even more trol tower. frightening to hear the cries die The 12-man Philippine down while cringing in dark Air Force (PAF) rescue team, ceilings, removed from it all, stationed at the air terminal, waiting for the water to subside. was decimated. The silence meant the neighbors Down the road, the waves were either swept away or just swamped a church where people dead. had holed up inside. Their piled- People trapped inside up bodies littered the muddy cars and houses shared the floor later. same uncertain fate of peo- People that city officials pie swept up by the waves that had herded in the Astrodome, had surged through the streets. Tacloban's domed sports arena, They grabbed on floating de- broke out into stampede when bris, screaming for help as they 15-foot-high water crashed waved their hands above the wa- through the doors and win- ter. dows. Many were drowned just Some were lucky to sur- as many were trampled, shoved vive. But many did not. off, or simply left to die, in the UB in the second floor of frantic rush for higher seats. his house, VVV Vic Atillo, DGL The surge also slammed froze seeing people bobbing up into the walls of the Tacloban and down in the high rushing City Jail. Sixty inmates bolted water. out. Living next to a meat pro-

3B The(abletow | 2i)13 Special lssue cessing plant, he saw next a fam- either weakening or killing them ily which had been swept into on the spot. the compound struggling in the In all, VW Atillo and his water. family hoisted zo people up to The rr-year old daughter the house. was holding on to the plant's A hero no doubt, yet he roof by.her fingertips a-few me- was saddened by the people he ters away. had missed saving. Quickly, VW Atillo smashed a window of his house Surreal closest to the plant. Next, he laid down two When the water subsided wooden planks side by side with an hour later, it left the city in a one end on the window sill; the horrid landscape. other, on the ledge of the plant's Downtown Tacloban was concrete wall. clogged with thrash and debris He crossed the makeshift of all kinds. Vehicles, tossed up ramp, grabbed the girl by the by the waves, were piled even hand, and pulled her up to the z-cars-high. Ships were flung on wall. the shore. Next, he swiped the Around the city, many mother, tightly hugging a man- homes were roofless. Some rock- go tree, off the water. built houses were shattered into Sadly, the father and el- rubbles. Wooden shacks, lining der daughter were swept away both sides of the road down to by the turning water before he the airport, were smashed into had got to them. heaps of splinters. But still, he and his family But there were bodies kept on rescuing people drifted everyr,rrhe.re. Corpses hung from near their home by occasionally walls and trees. Bodies lied on throwing ropes-but largely by roads amid corrugated iron grabbing them by the hand. sheets and upturned shipping "We grabbed anyone containers. Arms and legs stuck nearby," he said. "But the debris out under the wreckages. Peo- killed many victims." ple stepped on bodies as they Big debris, like float- climbed over, or tiptoed around, ing cars and refrigerators, hit, the debris. crashed and knocked people The length of the street out. Small debris, like lumber down the Sto. Niilo Shrine, for splinters, slashed the victims, instance, was littered with bod-

The eabletow; 7013 Speri:l isiuc 39. Air Force soldiers keep the crowd in order as sur- vivors scramble to catch a plane out of Tacloban.

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A number of corpses dug out from the' * rubble showfamilies holding or lying close togethrr when the stor, ,urgr rtrurk. ies in various grotesque poses. ing infants and little bags and Men walked in strides bundles of possessions-even here and there carrying dead rain-soaked santos or religious children in their arms. images-were fleeing inland At first glance, it looked to take shelter in any standing like Tacloban was devastated by structure with a roof. a massive earthquake {ollowed ,. - "Maraming nag-iiya- by huge tidal waves. kan," (Many were weeping.) The scene was incredibly he said. "Hinihilera ang mgl surreal all over. patay sa kalsada, Magkatabi WB Edgar Gasco, a medi- ang mga tao at baboy." (They cal doctor living in San Jose vil- were lining up the dead on the lage, used to teach anatomy at street. People and pigs laid side a local medical school. He was by side.) taking breakfast with his family Grief came right after the when the water came. storm. But not all were mourn- But as the water climbed ing. up the second floor ofthe house, , "'Yttng iba hindi na umii- they crept up the ceiling trap- yak: Manhid na. Titignan lang door, ripped the roof, and es- 'yung mukha ng kamag-anak. caped. Mga bata ang umiiyak." (Others When the water receded, didn't weep anymore. They were he waded through a knee-deep already callous. They would just mud inside his house and went stare at the face of their dead out, under a still overcast sky, to kin. It was the children who survey the damages. were weeping.) he said. Watching the unfold- It was impossible for a ing scenes around him, he only 3-hour storm to harden people managed to murmur to himself, this fast. There was something "Ano baito? Parang panag-inip else. Iang lahatng ito." (What is this? "'Yrtng mga mata nila All of this is just like a dream.) parang 'dazed' ba. Hindi nila "Lakaran nang lakaran alam'Aung nangA aA ari. " (Their ang mgr teo," (People were eyes were like 'dazed.' They walking to and fro.) he said. didn't know what was happen- People wore glum or va- ing.) he said. cant looks. They went out look- ing for family members who had Grief been swept away from home by the storm surge. Others, carry- A disaster with apoca-

TheCabletow | 2Cl3 5pecial lssue 41 lyptic scale and scene, like the ing grasp of her two children Tacloban storm surge, certain- who drowned and died. ly shook hard the survivors' "I did all that I could," nerves. she said. "But I let them go." But the pain of, even self- Cooper helped a man imposed guilt for, losing loved in the same neighborhood to ones-before one's eyes or in place a call to her mother in Ma- one's grip-came down so hard nila through the CNN satellite that the mind simply locked be- phone. When he spoke to her, fore it gets dangerously over- the man broke dor,rm like a child. loaded. "Ma! Mama! A Wala na couple of sila! Bakit these heart- ba nangAa- wrenching yari sa akin stories went ito?" (Ma! public. Mama! They The are gone! I Philippine don't know Daily In- why this is * quirer re- happ ening ported of a to me.) he high school wailed. teacher, Ber- He first nadette Te- tried to ne8ra, 44, rescue his who tightly young- held onto est daugh- her daughter ter. But she as the water A devastated downtown Tacloban. fainted and swept. drowned be- "Ma, just let go. Save fore he could reach her. yourself," the girl said until she Next, he swam for his was gashed by a lumber splinter. wife. Bu_t he missed grabbing The daughter's grip loosened her. She was carried awaybythe and she was carried away by the current. current. For all the pain, he ad- Anderson Cooper of CNN mitted of wishing to take his interviewed a woman named Ja- own life. But he still has one net who blamed herself for los* child, his oldest daughter, who

42 TFrr* (ahE*tow i 2*13 lpecial lrsue survived and needed him. floor, killed in the mob attack. All over Tacloban, many Soon, looting spread bodies unearthed from the across other shopping malls, wreckages showed parents and grocery stores, and food chains kids holding, hugging or l),rng in the city. close together. Even the schooled, white- They remained -a family collared, middle class joined in to the very last moment. the plunder as they raced to grab what.was little left of the city's dwindling supplies. Numbed WM Ralph Perez went out to Tacloban had never seen a tsunami before. Or even a tragedy this massive. Numbed by so many deaths and destruction, the survivors were easily manip- ulated by the local thugs. The day after, on No- vember 9, a mob of men and women attacked the local Robinson's mall. Rolling alu- minum doors were ripped. Window glasses were shat- tered. Stores-from classy RTWs to laptops-were loot- ed. Big, flat, plasma-screened A mother holds onto her baby and Marian im- TVs wafted over the heads of age os they climbed to the roof to escape the the crashing mob and into a risi ng water./D ave Ma rti n ez Pajero waiting at the street. pick a powdered milk for his Inside, gunshots rang out son. But he arrived just as the everyr,vhere. Men frantically ran local Mercury Drug Store was here and there, grabbing shoes, being ransacked by the mob. sports equipments and any mer- He made his waybetween chandize up on the shelf. It was the looters busily swiping the like war zore. shelves clean of merchandise. In the Handyman hard- He reached the pharmacy coun- ware store, more than two bod- ter where the store's women ies laid dead and bloody on the staff had collected themselves

Yi're Cabletow | 2013 5pecial lssue 43" together behind crlnng. can of sardines.) The looters didn't spare Understandably, food their cell phones, money and and water were running out all personal belongings. over the city. Softly, WM Perez asked But if looters were just permission if he could get a can running away with the food, it of milk. was, perhaps, forgivable. But One of the staff replied, motorcycles and air-condition- "Sige, kumuha ka na diyan." ing units were by no means ba- (Go ahead and take it some- sic necessities-and they were where there.) also coming out of the stores. But the shelf was already Depravity rode on des- empty. peration. As lawand order crum- On his way out, he met a bled, victims-turned-profiteers pan hugging a basket of canned were yet strangling the city. powdered milk. He asked if he Bro. Dave Sy, a copra could have a piece. buyer, was stunned by the econ- omy taking shape out in the streets. Looters put their plun- "Numbed by so many deaths dered goods up for sale at the and destruction, the survi- sidewalks-which could be had only by bidding. vors were easily manipulated Hence, prices skyrocket- by the local thugs." ed drastically. Once, an auction for 5 gallons of mineral water, Bro. Sy "Maghati tayo na dito,"(Let's said, began at Php 1,ooo. It was split this.) the looter offered. sold for Php r,7oo. "Hindi," (No.) WM Perez A liter of bottled water replied. "Tatlong lata lang went for Php 5oo. kailangan ko." (I need only A 5oo mg. amoxicillin three cans.) capsule fetched Php z5o. WB Gasco shuddered at Tacloban was drifting the news widespread of looting into chaqs. breaking out in the : city. - Bro. Lito "Boy" Asturias Until neighbor came a described the situation in the and said, "Alem ko na hindi ka blackest terms, "For five days, naman naglu-looting. Kaya there was no law and order. heto ang sardinas." (I know you There was no government. The are not into looting. So, here is a worst part was the looting. Peo-

44 Th* (ahlefeiw | 20'13 Special l:sue ,.jfiffi Looters forcibly lifted the aluminum doors and ransacked a grocery store./AP 'ple became like animals. People night. were killing people for food. It Without power, night- was like the end of the world." time in devastated Tacloban had But there was something spun unreported stories of rob- worse for Bro. Asturias than the beries, murders and rapes. collapse of civilization around Daytime was just as him, "With my clothes gone, I worse. Four days into the trage- have to borrow the underwear dy and no government help had of my wife." come yet. Petrol-to fuel vehicles Exodus that could move people and re- Iief supplies around-was just as The city's downhill slide scarce as food and water. was metaphorically marked by Banks-to issue money the blast of stench from decom- that could rev up the damaged posing bodies lyrng uncollected economy-were closed. Looters ail over Tacloban on November were attacking the ATMs. 11. Stores-which could keep Fire fighters, tasked to the supply of food and basic ne- pick up the dead, were over- cessities coming-were either whelmed by the sheer number shut down or destroyed after the of corpses. widespread looting. Of the 2oo men making St. Paul's Hospital, the up the city's police force, only zo city's only working hospital, was showed up for duty. already out of medicines and A bro shot a looter dead supplies. Looters had emptied inside his car service shop while the city's drug stores of life-sav- the partner escaped. It was re- ing supplies. ported in primetime news. The city, which had gone Before the incident, the to the mob, was going down. bro had already walked into the So, when the U.S. Ma- police station and asked for se- rines fixed Tacloban airport up curity. and running on November rz, But the police chief could city officials themselves urged not spare him any man. the residents to flee elsewhere. Worse, residents, particu- The exodus began. larly in better-off subdivisions, Thousands of people were wakened up by-some- queued up night and day to times staring up at-thieves who board the C-r3o cargo planes of had broken into their homes at the Philippine Air Force (PAF)

46 The (abletors | 2il13 Speclal lssue and fly out to Cebu or Manila. vulnerable to thieves, was inde- Tacloban was no longer safe for fensible. children. Reading the hard life People shoved, begged, kicking in after the storm surge, threatened or patiently waited he was firmly decided to leave for their names to be called. Kids, Tacloban. elderlies and the sick topped the - After the water receded air force's priori- on November 8, ties. he walked out to People check on his sis- literally died in ter living sepa- the lines that re- t': rately intihe city. mained unbro- With the streets ken under rain or clogged with de- shine. Their bod. bris and the dead, ies were wrapped walking was the in blankets and only way to get laid at the termi- . around the city. nal's corridor for Thirsty, he claimants. stopped at the A room, house of a former which was as- company driver signed to a nurs- he had worked ery, had seen with. He asked births daily. for a glass of wa- ter. Pick-up The for- mer driver re- "It was like fused saying. the fall of Saigon "Ano n0 man- in t975," said VW gayayari bukas? Nicolas "Boben" Sa makalaua? Rios when he saw Ano na iinumin the long queues at the airport. namin?"(What will happen to- With his family and a sin- morrow? On the next day? What gle-mom sister under his care, will my family drink?) the duty to take his charges to VW Rios finally jumped safety had weighed heavily on into action when his sister called him. Collecting them together on the soldiers for protection. under a storm-damaged house, Thieves had broken into her

fhe Cabletoy{ j 20i3 special }ssue 47, 'home. of decomposing corpses was in- Going to City Hall, where tolerable to his kids. cellular signals emanated, he In the port town of Mat- made a distress call to WB Al- nog in Sorsogon-the ferry ter- bert Villahermosa, mayor of the minal servicing the Visayan town of Hilongos in Leyte. islands-he saw kilometers of The bro sent for a truck trucks queued up at the road- and a police car escort that side. They had been stranded picked up WV Rios, his family, there since Yolanda battered the sister and z others. central Philippines. WB Villahermosa put them up in the house of VW Rey Francisco, PDGL. "The city's downhill slide Next, the Hilongos breth- was metaphorically marked qen sent out text messages to by the surrounding districts inquiring blast of stench from about any help available to ca- decomposingbodies ly- lamity-stricken bros. ing uncollected all over Bros in adjacent Cebu Tacloban on November 11." province picked up the text. Quickly, they arranged for the transfer of VW Rios and his par- Bro. Sy deposited his ty to Cebu City. family in his in-laws. Then, he came to Manila on November 14 Relief to work out the details of a re- lief supply delivery for Tacloban The shock and awe that with his friend, WB Alex Canon- came with super typhoon Yolan- igo. da had given scoundrels a chance WV Jun Vidanes, a mem- to make a killing out of the ensu- ber of the Masonic club "Pagong ing widespread grief and chaos. Ako Kuyang Pilipinas," lent the But as the adrenaline of trucks. the storm and its aftermath fad- Bro. Sy saw Bro Joey Sik- ed, people picked up the piec-es sik next, a newly-raised Mason and bounced back to take charge of San Pedro Lodge No. z9z in with firm and right-minded re- Laguna, to buy hundreds ofbot- solve. tled water. Bro. Dave Sy left Tacloban "Hindi aabot ang pera via Samar on November rt, three ko," (My money is not enough.) days after the storm. The stench Bro. Sy cautioned Bro. Siksik

48 Tlre Cabletow ] 2i)'13 Speciai lssue when he got the bill. to Tacloban with food, rice and Taking whatever money water.) said Bro. Sy. was on Bro. Sy's hand, Bro. Sik- Days later, z trucks lad- sik yet gave away 243 bottles of en with medicine and supplies 5-gallon water free on top of the from WB Canonigo arrived at purchased item. Tacloban. Hardly had Bro. Sy caught . - They were handed to WB his breath when another good Earl Viernes, currently the Sec- news came. retary of Santiago L. Chua Com- "Dalawang arau) lang, memorative Lodge No. 336. nopuno na Aung container ng WB Viernes is the medi- relief through the help of WB cal director of Bethany Hospital Alex Canonigo," (In just two in Tacloban City, owned by the days, the containervanwas filled United Church of Christ in the with relief supplies through the Philippines. help of WB Alex Canonigo.) said Bro. Sy. ganizing A third surprise finalIy capped Bro. Sy's Manilatrip.WB Not all of Tacloban had Canonigo had lined up 2 more buckled down under the ordeal. trucks of medicine for Tacloban. A number yet stood firm and But the medicine trucks braved the nightmare that had were to follow later. descended on the city. Arriving at Manila on No- They were just ordinary vember 14, Bro. Sy returned to men. Subdivision residents, for Tacloban two days after. instance, put up security check- Coming to Bicol, Bro. Sy points and screened arriving ve- was helped by local bros namely hicles. VW Edwin Primo and WV Tody Even teenage boys joined Honey. They saw to it that the the nightly patrols against truck would get past all obstruc- thieves. tions to Matnog. Neighbors helped neigh- Bro. Sy left Matnog as bors. smoothly as he boarded the ear* They shared food and wa* liest ferry to Leyte. ter that came by even in the most "One LDeek tapos ko lu- devastated neighborhoods. They muwas, buma.lik na ako dito looked after orphans and elder- so Tacloban uith food, rice lies whose family members had (One and wqter," week after I perished in the storm surge un- left Tacloban, I returned here til relatives come to claim them.

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This popularly graphic picture of a man carrying his dead child captures the shock and numbness of the Tacloban victims after the calamity. lnquirer/ Nino Jesus Orbeta -&" tr4ia tt* I .t q ,1{ lr

M-:t Tacloban bros who shared their stories. Front row, seated: (from left) Bro. Dave Sy;WB Edgar Gasco;VW Edword Chuo, JGL;and his older brother,VW Edgar Chua;Second row, ; standing: (storting third from teft) WM Ralph Perez;VW Nicolas Rios;VW Vic Atillo; and I Bro. Lito "Boy" Asturias. ; rr,.:,,sil.ffij,:;',d r* a1 i 1i I pool has first swirled in the woters before it receded out to the sea. Then, it returns in gigantic waves i' The Grand Master's Party arrives at 2:30 pm at the Daniel Romualdez Airport on No- # vember 24, 201 3. From left: VW Benny Tan, MW Juanito Espino Jr., VW John Teng, VW Cristito Perez and VW Emmanuel Deloso (with floppy hat). / Photo by Bro. Jojo Atienza

Jittery neighbors rushed For the other, staying mothers agonizing in childbirth cool was characteristic of him as among them to working clinics an educator. or hospitals. WV Chua finally managed Not all in Tacloban was to round the bros up 3 days af- lost. Sane and decent people ter the storm. An emergency cell were the final shred holding up site was put up in the City Hall. the city together. "Mahirap ang commu- Far from jittery, VW Ed- nications noon. Pupunta ka pa ward Chua, Junior Grand Lec- sa tabi ng City Hall para mag- turer for the Visayas, had re- text. At saka mahirap din ang mained calm since Yolanda hit transpo. Noong first 4 days, Tacloban. For one, it dampened talagang maglalakad ka lang," him to see a hundred computers and classrooms of their family- owned school, the Asian Devel- opment Foundation College, ru- ined by the waters.

AV-22 Osprey US military aircraft revs up at the runway ofTacloban Airport as it readies for another round of relief mission flight. / Photo by Bro. Jojo Atienzo r,; *{HT

The(abletour J 2013 rpe.iai l$sue (Communication was difficult and shops, were not spared by then. You had to go beside City thieves and looters. Hall to text. Transport was also difficult. In the first 4 days, you really had to walk.) he said. "Sane and decent people To speed up things, he or- were the final shred holding ganized the bros into cells. Any up the city together." bro he had got into contact with carried messages to and fro 5 Masons in his vicinity. Bro. Dexter Montecastro, With WV Gregorio Do- for instance, lost his processed lina, DDGM R8-B (Le1.te), the meat stocks intended for De- Tacloban bros took stock of the cember sales to looters. situation when they had sat Thieves broke into the down together. All the bros suf- car repair shop of Bro. Ailan Lee fered damages. There was only r and ran away with his tools and casualty in the Masonic family- welding equipments. the son of Bro. Allan Lee who ' Bro. Lito Asturias, the died in the storm surge. funnyman among the Tacloban Bros, who owned stores

b MW Juanito Espino, Jr. presides over the crucial meeting with theTacloban bros. / Photo by Bro. Jojo Atienza

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MW Juanito Espino, Jr. occosionally works on the phone during the meeting to get things done faster. / Photo by Bro. Jojo Atienza

\ -l- \r bros, saw the tiles fractured Master, came to Tacloban him- and the pipes of his ice plant self with WV Benito Tan, chair- burst and broke when the water man of the GLP Committee on rushed in. Charity. Ten of his rz ice delivery They met at a damaged trucks were swept away by the barbecue restaurant downtown. surge. It -used to be the fellowship To get organized, they hangout of the Tacloban bros. put up a relief committee that Sitting before the bros, would regularly meet. "What MW Espino threw the most we will receive, we will properly awaited question, "Ano ba ang record and acknowledge," said kailangan ninyo dito?" (What VW Chua. do you need here?) Also, the committee A litany of woes and served as a monitoring desk for wants soon spilled before the all the Tacloban bros. It looked Grand Master. out for Masons under medical It was a very simple and maintenance, kept track of bros short fellowship. But it was, by in varying degrees of destitu- all the means, the most mean- tion, and tallied who's leaving ingful and the richest. and who's staying in the city. Significantly, half of the Real bros in Tacloban evacuated else- where. power lines and im- "Noong u.teek, hira- Dor,vned first passable had cut Tacloban off mankami dito talaga ng pera," roads world. The sense (In the first week, we really bor- from the rest of the had emboldened the rowed money from each other of isolation scoundrels to plunder the city and here.) saidVW Chua. All banks were closed. wreakanarchy. But as help began to triclde There was little to buy. But a mlewas dispelledandordeq money in hand could afford the in. mob bros to get highly-priced but ba- restored. dar.nmed the sic goods in the first crazy week Hope on VW Chua, JGL, after the storm. Tacloban bros when signal his cellular Help trickled in small had caught in phone. sis from packages. But two weeks after, Calls from bros and the bigger relief finally arrived. all overbegan coming. On November 24, MW Sis. Comelia, the better-haH of MW Rizal Aportadera, kept in- Juanito G. Espino, Jr., the Grand

ThoCahletnw | 3013 Special lssue 57 Above: A busy traffic foreign air- of Below: VW Edward Chua, JGL for the crafts delivering relief supplies delayed Visayas, gives MW Juonito G. Espino, Jr. the resumption of commercial flight and his party a rundown of the situa- to Tacloban Airport on November ?-4, tion as he shows them around the city. 201 i.

IIIEf.-I-r Seeing the ruins allover him at the Tacloban Airport, MW Juan- ito G. Espino, Jr. firmly resolved to plow all the help possible to the brethren in the Visayas dev- astated by super typhoon Yolon- da on November 24,2013. ' quiring about the health of the bros enforcement jobs. and the sufficiency of the aid com- Convicts, who had broken lng. out of jail during the storm surge, She is a nurse; the Past were out prowling-maybe for re- Grand Master, a medical doctor. venge, even. Impressively, the adoptive bodies- Three bros and their fami- the DeMolays, Jobbies, Rainbow, Iies, at the least, were temporarily Eastern Star and Amaranth-were housedinCebu. the first to dispatch help to Tacloban. Abro in need of immediate "Na-touch kami. Mga bro medical care was brouglrt to Manila. of srs na mismo ang lumalapit sa I€aning that Tacloban emin," (We were touched. The bros drugstores were rarlsacked, MW and sis themselves were offering us Espino asked for a list of medicines help.) VW Chua said. certain bros needed for regular Soon,bros from Ozamis and maintenance. Davao sent help over to Tacloban. For bros relying on tubes or So, didthebros inthe U.S. life-saving electricity-run medical "Tulong-tulong talaga equipments, he lent them generator dirq" (Masons really did help one sets. another here.) said VW Chu a. " Seka Except for a few blocks in bigayan. Yung fitlong ibibigay doumtown, most of Tacloban City munt sa mes nangangailangan." still remained powerless at the onset (Also, there was generosity. Aid ryas ofzor4. given first to the most needybefore For the rest, MW Espino everyone else.) gave away comrgated iron sheets Bro. Sy agreed, "I-a"hat for repairs of the houses' roofs. tinamaan. Pero iispin pa in baka LPG stoves, canvass tents, maaroon pang mos nangan- and a couple of solar-poweredlights gailangan. Walang greedy. Mara- were also handedto thebros. ming nagpahay a." (Everybody was It was undoubtedly the first affected. But everybody would think time that the GLP helped its mem- first of others in worse condition. bers this extensively-and certainly, Nobody was greedy. Everybody was meaningfrilly. open-handed.) Tle effectcame deep. But seeing the Grand Mas- "For the first time," said VW ter himself came dor.tm to Tacloban Chua, "we felt Brotherly Love and was, perhaps, a first in the GLP. Relief. Our tenets are real. Masons MW Espino offered reloca- are reallyconcerned." tion to a]l homeless bros-even to In adversity, there rose up bros at risk for their judicial or law- the Fraternity. o EC

60 WB Gabriel Raymundo (left) and WB Kit Silva (right)

Thq other Leyte Ormoc: Roofless but not hopeless

Ormoc City in Leyte suffered the brunt of super typhoon Yolanda's 36o-km per hour wind. But spared from the deadly 5-meter-high storm surge that swallowed Tacloban ro5 km to the east, Leyte province's western port city was better offby all counts. "Walang tubig. Puro hangin lang," (There was no water. It was all wind.) said WB Kit Silva, PM, of Ormoc Lodge No. 234. Howling winds tore roof sheets off houses, buildings and schoolhouses. Iron rafters and trusses were all that had remained of the city's public market and bus terminal. But a few days after Yolanda, Ormoc was back in business. The city hosts one Masonic lodge, Ormoc Lodge No. 234. "Halos lahat ng bahay ng bro dito sira ang roofins, " (Nearly all the houses of the brethren here had had damaged roofing.) said WB Gabriel Raymundo. "Pero lahat kami apektado." (But we were all affected.) WB Silva heads the city's civil registry office. WB Raymundo runs Ormoc's public market. There are 24 members in the city. A seaside house that the bros used to store lodge proper- ties, records and equipments was washed away by the high crash-

61 ing waves. Only the floor tiles out the aid to the Yolanda vic- remained. tims. Worse, it carried the Ty* Two foreign nationals-a ler's Book, Lodge Charter, rods Korean and a Singaporean-who and other ornaments to the sea. were into solar energy project in "We cannot labor nowbe* Ormoc had shipped 4 container cause we don't have the imple- vans of relief goods. ments," said WB Silva. They asked the Ormoc No Mason or family Masons to point out the devas- member was injured. But one tated areas in and around the bro, who is into deep-sea fishing city. Done, yet the bros were business, suffered se:ious loss- short of manpower to deliver es. them. One of his vessels sunk So, the bros went to the off Ormoc City, taking all its zo local ABS-CBN station, staffed crew members down to the bot- with disaster volunteers, for tom. the repacking and distribution. Soon, more than a thousand re- Help lief bags filled with rice, canned goods and biscuits were rushed Help from various lodges to the villages around Ormoc. came, said WB Silva. Noteworthy, the Cebu 1991 brethren, through VW Sansalu- na Pinagayao, DDGM of R7-A, WB Silva said that he was the earliest to respond. deeply sympathized with the Ormoc is about 3 hours Tacloban bros especially that a across the sea from Cebu City similar tragedy had struck Or- by fast craft; 5 hours by regular moc 22 years ago. boat. On the morning of No- With this proximity, Or- vember S, LggL, brown muddy moc served as the jump-offpoint water from a nearby mountain to all help going to Tacloban. rampaged down Ormoc City- Moreover, commercial wedged -between two rivers- banks opened after Yolanda hit carrying logs, tearing away trees Leyte*hence, allowing aid to and houses, and swallowing eve- pour in fast. rything in its path. Situated at the middle of People climbed up trees the relief traffic, the Ormoc bros and house roofs. Farther down were called to help in fanning to the city, water suddenly

62 I Llf i,;:ljl{11{rl.t .;i.l l .i :ri i rr,,; |: t ..,i ,{, rushed up to the knees. But in Some S,1o1 people died a few minutes, roiling water with many yet missing. reached up to the neck. The flashflood came amid Hope typhoon "Uring." But it was not the storm rain that had brought Traces of the Ormoc trag- the devastation. edy showed in Tacloban. Massive "Drizzle lang noon. Tct- devastation cut Leyte's bustling "u)a- pos biglang nagkaroon ng commercial city in the east from ter sprout" o buhatui. Hindi na- the rest of the world-but not to- man tumama s0 city, Yung ulan tally so, said WB Silva. nasa bundok lang. Tapos heto Survivors, who could not na ang tubig. Mabilis tltme.me," get on planes, fled Tacloban by It was just a drizzle then. Sud- way of the Ormoc seaport. denly there appeared a water Tacloban traders flocked sprout up in the mountain. It to Ormoc to buy goods regularly didn't hit the city. The rain was coming from Cebu. all in the mountains. Then, here ' "Dito ang takbuhan. Ubu- came the water. It hit fast.) WB san ng tinda dito," (They all ran Silva recalled. here. Merchandises were sold Volumes of water were out here.) said WB Rayrnundo. stored upstream. Until the de- "Tsinelas ang pincrkamr- bris damming the rainwater bili noon dito," (Slip-ons were broke and cascaded down to the the hottest items here.) he said city. gesturing his whole arm in a "Biglang bumigay na swiping motion. ang tulay. Hindi na-contain Similarly, Ormoc is now ng ilog Aung uolume ng tubig. the jump-off point for all inter- Wala pzng 3o minutes," (The national relief organizations. The bridge suddenly gave out. The city is crawling with foreign na- contain the voi- river couldn't tionals and 4X4 pickups painted ume of water anymore. It wasn't with various acronymed help even So minutes.) he said. groups. Scenes, more ghastly Tacloban was not totally than Tacloban in Yolanda's af- lost. It was the same with Ormoc. termath, dotted the landscape- A tarpaulin hanging from stiff mud-caked corpses in gro- a house properly said it all: "Or- tesque poses littered the streets. moc is roofless but not hopeless." Bodies were even turning up rEC months later in the drainages.

63 Roxas City in Capiz was Some of the Roxas bros not as heavily damaged as are into agri- and aquaculture Tacloban. But the city yet suf- businesses. fered the fury of super typhoon WM Santos said he lost Yolanda to adversely affect the 3o,ooo heads in his poultry lives of the 3o brethren resid- farm. About 15 hectares of his ing in this seafood capital of the fish pond was damaged. The Philippines. earth dikes were damaged, al- Roadside scenes lead- lowing the catch up for harvest ing to the city showed uprooted to escape. trees and roofless homes. An Bro. Roxas " Boy" Azarra- electric transmission tower, ga, Makawiwili Senior Warden, twisted like tinfoil, dangerously couldn't agree more. "Maseme hang from a hillside, held bick man ang loob namin pero da- by tangling cable wires. plt tanggapin." (Our senti- "We are still trying to ments may be revolting but we recover from our losses in the have to accept it.) 2006 typhoon Frank," said WM Only 6 of his ro-hectare Erwin Anthony Santos, Master fishpond is operational, so far. of Makawiwili No. 55. "Then, The earth dikes, holding the fish Yoloanda came." in place, crumbled during the Makawiwili No. 55 is the onslaught of Yolanda. only lodge in Roxas City. Also, 3 houses oflight ma- Wrecked houses topped terials he had constructed along the damage report conducted the pond were washed out. Only among the z8 active bros in the toilet bowl remained. the city after Yolanda hit. The When Yolanda struck businesses they ran were either Roxas City, the river rose and wind- or water-damaged, or flooded the nearby neighbor- both. hoods.

64 ?*re (abictraw I 2C13 Sperlal lssue WB Hiram Chu, Immedi- was moderately devastated. ate Past Master, said that flood- Commercial banks were open. waters had damaged a couple of Cellphone signals were working. the stocks in their family-owned A former bank manager, VIV motorcycle store in downtown Denate was glad that he had the Roxas. familiar means at hand to speed up help deliveries where roads, Banks choked up with debris, were im- passable. Right after Yolanda, WV From the district funds, Dante Denate, District Deputy he drew up Php 2o,ooo for do- Grand Master (DDGM) of R6-A, nation to the bros of Makawiwili took stock of the situation and No. 55, dispatching the money set down to work. through the bank. R6-A covers the entire Until MW Juanito G. Panay Island, including the Espino, Jr, the Grand Master, provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, An- called and sent him Php 25o,ooo tique and Aklan. financial aid. Unlike Tacloban, Panay This Grand Lodge dona- [iI t - A \l \\f1\,. d . llt\ llll, t ,a I t_ \

Oulreuch Frogrorn ,:,, i @

t IJ t I VW Donte A. Denote, DDGM of R6-A (third from left), along with the offrcers of Kalontiao 1 ? Lodge No. 1 87 under WB Hubert S. Sio, handed out gifts to some 190 families at the St. t Vincent De Paul Chapel, at Villa Claro, Brgy. Sto. Nino Sur in Arevalo, lloilo City, in the oftermath of super typhoon Yolanda on December 1, 2013. tion went to 36 calamity-strick- bilities. They also need help the en bros in various provinces, most," said WB Santos. each receiving Php g,72o,ooo. They agreed to channel He handed the money to the all extra donations to the repair Masters of the lodge in individ- of the lodge hall which Yolan- ual checks. da had substantially damaged. Moreover, extra dona- Winds tore the roof off; the ceil- tions came from a local text mes- ings, collapsed. saging group where WV Denate The roof and ceiling re- is a member. pairs cost Php 9o,ooo. Right after Yolanda, WV Before the storm, WB Denate quickly sent out calls for Santos said, the lodge fund help. The texting group raised stood at Php 22o,ooo. But all Php r5o,ooo. the on-going constructions had Part of the money went reduced the lodge's money to to the purchase of 5o boxes Php 7o,ooo. of canned sardines worth Php So, they shifted the Php 6z,5oo. WV Denate and his tex- 2o,ooo district donation to ting friends donated the goods lodge repairs. to the provincial government. Coming ready for the rainy days, by stocking up on Comrniseration lodge funds, was one thing. But brotherly relief was another. The Makawiwili Uuron, "Nakagagaaan ba ng acknowledged the receipt of Php loob 'yung elders namin sosa- 24y,ooo from the GLP. It was bihin nila' kay a natin tumey o"' distributed to z6 bros at about (It lightens up the load to hear 'we Php ro,ooo per head. the elders say can rise up.') "We went to the bank and said WM Santos. withdrew the money," recalled For all the money in the WB Santos. "But we held a meet- world, he said, nothing was as ing to decide on what to do with valuable as commiseration in all the money. We agreed to pool times of loss. it all together and split them "Kahit tapik lang sa ba- irto 'kayan Php 9,ooo each." likat na natin'Aan' ... A number of the dona- iba talaga UUfl," (Even just a 'we tions went to the farm, pond and pat on the shoulder saying store hands. can do it' ... that's really differ- "Like family members, ent.) he said. o EC they come under our responsi-

66 Tl"re Cabletow | ?fi 13 Spee ial lssue Agricultural equipments were turned over to the farmers of Sebaste, Antique. ln photo areVW Rudy Ong of Labong Lodge No. 59, Hamtik Ldoge No.76 WM J.T. Gabin, JW Bro. Noel Dimapiles, VW Clyde Valente and Sebaste Mayor Jose Varana,

Three months after the across the Province of Capiz. strongest cyclone in the planet hit The typhoon next jumped Antique, the devastated province across the highlands of West- still reels from the debilitating ern Panay and slammed into the effects of super typhoon Yolan- Northern Antique, centering on da (internationally codenamed the coastal tor,rms of Culasi and "Haiyan"). Sebaste that included several is- Yolanda made its first land barrios. Dozens of lives were landfall along the eastern side lost. Many missing persons have of Panay Island and ravaged the not been found to this day. towns of Concepcion and Estan- The ffihoon left not only cia in Iloilo. Then it crossed the ruined houses and uprooted trees Panay landmass, wreaking havoc but also a large amount of loss on

Yhp{"*bNotorv, '.i. r., .. l11t:L 67 Agricultural equipments were turned over to the farmers of Culasi, Antique. tn photo are VW Rudy Ong of Labong Lodge No. 59, Hamtik Lodge No. 76 WM J. T. Gabin, JW Bro. Noel Dimapiles,VW ClydeValente and Culasi Mayor Joel Lomugdang.

Antique's agricultural and fish- with the affected residents, es- ery sectors. According to the fi- pecially with the farmers, it was nal report of the Provincial Agri- admirable that they did not wish culture Office and the Bureau of entirely to rely on the food and Agricultural Statistics (BAS), the cash aid people give them. They estimated total cost of damages needed tools or farm equipments on the province's agricultural and in order to enable them to operate fishery sectors were, at least, Php their damaged farms once again. r55 million. They wanted to rebuild their lives The destruction of Yolan- themselves in dignity and hard da in Iloilo and Capiz became work. Again, their pleas were not daily news coverage by local and heard in an organized manner. national media. Relief goods A dozen members of flowed into Northern Iloilo and Hamtik Lodge No. 76, residing Capiz by the container loads. But in Nor[hern Antique, listened to the plight of these two devastated the farmers and fishermen and Antique toums was virtually ig- began knocking on doors. As the nored by the media. Still, thanks pleas began to lose their urgency, to the cell phone. Relief goods the Brethren became more driv- from individual Antiquefios all en. Finally the brethren turned over the world began arriving by to the internet. All social media the end of November. On their were used. or,rm, the affected residents start- In mid-December, a ed the long and painful process of Manila-based organization, rebuilding their lives. the Screen Imaging and Digital Based on consultations Graphic Association of the Phil-

68 fheC*b3etow I ;C!11 5pec;al ls5ur ippines (SIDGAP); established vest and post harvest machiner- contact with Hamtik Lodge No. ies amounting to Php 99,4oo.oo. 76. They informed the brethren The SIGDAP party was treated that SIDGAP had chosenAntique to a small thanksgiving program, province as beneficiary of their sumptuous lunch, and given with donations. souvenir tokens of beautifully The SIDGAP president crafted placemats made of abaca is a Mason, VVV Rudy L. Ong of fiber by the beneficiary farmers. Labong Lodge No. 59. The Su- Next stop was Culasiwhere preme Ruler of the Universe in- the parby was welcomed by May- deed works in mysterious ways! or Joel Lomugdang with his son, VW Rudy Lim Ong ap- a Mason, Bro. Jeffrey Lomugda- pointed Hamtik Lodge No. 76 as ng. They turned pre-harvest and its project coordinator. Through post-harvest machineries over No. 76, SIGDAP identified the to the farmers' coops amounting farmers cooperatives and asso- to Php 189,ooo.oo. A short pro- ciations in Sebaste and Culasi gram was held in their honor by towns in dire need of farm ma- the,happy, grateful farmers. chinery and equipments. All in all, the amount of These farmers' coops are donations for the 2 towns totaled Sitio Viejo Farmers Association to Php z88,4oo.oo. (in Sebaste); Madja-as Irrigators The pictures attached to Association (in Culasi, Antique); this report narrate the whole sto- and Bungsyadan Irrigators Asso- ry. Indeed, Masons led by their ciation (also in Culasi). inspiring values of brotherly love On February 7, 2oL4, the and relief. "To relieve the dis- SIGDAP parry led by VW Rudy tressed, is a duty incumbent on Ong and Secretary John Car- all men, but particularlywith Ma- rera travelled to Antique via Ak- sons, who are linked together by lan. They were met at the Kalibo an indestructible chain of sincere airport by Hamtik Lodge Junior affection," so the Lecture says. Warden Bro. Noel Dimapiles and Relief flows from brother- VW Clyde Valente. They were ly love, as free, pure, and refresh- brought straight to Sebaste. ing as the mountain air. It dries Mayor Jose Christopher up the gushing fountains of grief, Varona, and the brethren from banisheswantfromtheabodeofa No. 76, were at hand to greet distressed brother, and pours the them at the municipal hall. They oil ofjoy into the wounded hearts proceeded next to the farmers' of the widows and orphans. So Mote It Be. coops and turned over pre-har- 'rol

Yh* Cabletow | 2*13 Sperial l:su* 69 ffiesssi ;, *e; s*t&&.: ",: ffiffi'-''x6*f && l$Bi il .,* ";,t;41, lrf. 3 "ri .i q

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VW Sansaluna "Sani" Pinagayao DDGM, R7-A If there was a right Mason The bell tower of the Basil- at the right place at the time, that ica Minore de Sto. Niflo crashed was WV Sansaluna "Sani" Pina- to ground in a cloud of dust. gayao, Distirct Deputy Grand A concrete awning of a Master of R7-A. business building dropped on the Running the district from cars parked below it. Another, in his base in Cebu, WV Pinagayao a-town outside the city, fell and enjoyed a strategic perch overthe trapped 2 women passengers in- heart of the Visayas region. side a van. And when the calamities The city's fish market started coming, he responded- collapsed crushing 4 people to and responded well and fast-so death. A stampede broke out in that no disaster-stricken bro had the city's stadium killing a child ever felt forgotten or abandoned. and 3 others. District RZ-A covers Cebu, Ne- Building plasters littered gros Oriental and Bohol prov- the dourntown avenue. Employ- inces. ees and commuters milled in the middle of the street for safety, Quake away from the sidewalks. Luckily, no Cebuano bro Since he had dispatched was hurt. a district aid to the Zamboanga With weakened knees, bros in September, VVV Pina- he called next WB Mark NoeI gayao had no hint that the next Mende, PM, Dagohoy Lodge No. calamities were to strike closer to 84, in Tagbilaran in Bohol for a home. head count. VW Pinagayao is the ad- Bohol was the epicenter of quake. ministrator of the Mactan Export the deadly Processing Zone (MEPZ) under He was much relieved to bros the Department of Trade and In- learn that only z Boholano were lightly injured. He sent dustry @TI). cash for hospitalization and So, not for nothing why he them goodies. jumped checking who Cebuano bags of Yet, the temblor's massive bro had been hurt by the 7.2 mag- nitude earthquake that rocked devastation of Bohol was too big Even companies in the the Visayas hard on October 15. to ignore. people rushed MEPZwere eager to help. In Cebu, "In out of buildings and houses situations like this, dazed and groping on walls and Masonry, as an organization, trees. must respond relevantly to the

Th* (abiotow | 201 3 Special lssuc 71 .UA*ry9?. *ry.r*: .- Cebu suffered its share of calamity devastations like the Sto. Nifio Basilico Minore in the October l5 quake (above) and the storm wreckages in Daanbantayan town after super typhoon Yola n d a (be I ow).

ja-- "-;i--'- Fu'-. - times" VW Pinagayao said. Tasked to clear the roads So, he called WB Mende of the storm's debris for relief again, informing him that the em- deliveries, he and his crew began ployees of Toshiba Philippines, work at 9 a.m. outside of Cebu counted as "Friends of Masons," City. were to come to Bohol bringing z They reached the toum trucHoads of relief supplies. of Daanbantayan, Cebu island's Also, the Philippine Ma- northernmost fringe, at ro p.m. sonic Association of America VW Pinagayao was in sent Php 42,ooo over to the De South Korea when Yolanda Molay Lapu-lapu Lodge Chapter. struck. But he watched all the The Lapu-lapu De Mo- Philippine newscasts while lays, in turn, used the money to abroad, readying himself for a purchase relief supplies and dis- big job waiting at home. tributed them to the residents Returningto Cebu, he rang of Batasan Island under the up a host of numbers to gather all Tubigon municipality. the information he could muster. Another set of r,16o food ' "You must gather all the bags were also given away to the information first before you can Tubigon villages of Cahayag, Bu- act," he explained. songon and Talenceras. But it was also home that he had always helped first before Yolanda other places. Northern Cebu was the Like most Filipinos, WV most devastated by Yolanda. Six Madrijelos, Ban- Pinagayao had thought that the tor.rms-Sta. Fe, calamities were over, with the tayan, Bogo, Medellin and Daan- Bohol quake capping the year's bantayan-were cut off from the string ofdisasters. rest of the world. Until super typhoon RZ-A District Council Yolanda-internationally code- sprang up to action. named "Haiyan"- massed up Food packs for r,3oo fam- Medellin where and barreled through the Visayas ilies were sent to percent of the houses were ei- on November B. 9o Even Cebu suffered Yolan- ther partially or totally damaged. 15o da's fury. Relief supplies for VW Jun Leonor, PDDGM, families were dispatched to Bogo is an engineer for Cebu's Public which had lost water supply since Works and Highways Provincial the storm hit. Nearly a week Office. afterYolan-

TheCabletow I JCI 3 Speria' lsru0 73 da, MW Juanito G. Espino, Jr., gayao had set his eyes on the Grand Master, handed VW Pina- clock-or help would come too gayao Php roo,ooo for Cebu's late for the Tacloban bros. Yolanda victims. Until the bros in Cebu \ryV Pinagayao immedi- picked up a text message issuing ately parted with the money for from Leyte. A Tacloban bro with z bros in northern Cebu whose a company of B wanted to evacu- houses had been rvrecked bv the ate to Cebu. storm. VW Pinagayao and his council quickly replied. They Shelter asked the Leyte bros to send over to Cebu all Masons in dire need With banks and commu- of help. nications running, it was easy to "We sent out word to all pass help from hand to hand. brethren in need of help to come From Cebu City, VW Pina- here to Cebu. If they could not gayao deposited Php zoo,ooo, contact them, we would extricate given by MW Espino, to the lodge them if necessay," VW PIna- account of Ormoc No. 234. gayao said. "I(ung sino makita, Also, he sent a container dalhin na dito." (Anybody who van of relief supplies plus Bo9 can be found, just bring him food bags to Ormoc Lodge Mas- here.) ter, WM Rafael Lucero. The Cebu brethren met But these facilities were the Taclobanbro, who left Ormoc unavailable in Tacloban. It was with his famrly, at the pier. They a problem which had stalled VW brought them all to a local hotel. Pinagayao early in the calamity. "Doon namin nakita sa yung " Madaling mag-mobilize hotel iba pang bro galing ng tulong. Pero mahirap mag- sa Taclobon," (We saw in the transport. Agauan noon sc hotel the other bros and their shipment," (It was easy to mo- families who had come from bilize help. But it was difficult to Tacloban.) he said. transport. Everybody competed After consultation with for shipment.) recalled VW Pina- the Tac-loban bros, the District gayao. Council put a new plan into ef- The storm surge wrecked fect. the Tacloban seaport. The airport Three days later, they was to operate yet for another z moved the Tacloban bros and weeks. their families to an apartment in All this time, WV Pina- Cebu City.

74 TheCableXow | ?013 Special issue It was cheaper, of course. supplies. But it gave off a more homey When Yolanda struck, feeling, allowing more freedom, they flew mercy missions again helpful to emotional recovery. from darnm to dusk daily, air- dropping relief in hard-to-reach Hub places. - "There were many unsung When traffic to Tacloban heroes behind the Masonic relief had slightly eased up, the Cebu operations," he said. Masons finally got their relief go- But seemingly, the efforts ing. Mactan Lodge No. 3o, for of bold- and kind-hearted bros instance, finally dispatched its tied together when WV Pina- relief supplies of canned goods, gayao came to the scene. As an rice and water. economic zone administrator, Even VW Pinagayao him- the investors' safety topped all self came to Tacloban and talked his concerns. with the bros asking, "Ano pu- In MEPZ, he began an uede naming gauin? Ano pu- emergency response competition uede naming itulong?" (What among companies with fire, res- can we do for you? What can we cue and first aid teams now run- help?) ning on its fourth year. It was easy to conclude He even brought this safe- that Masonic charity had driv- ty and quick-response mentality en VW Pinagayao by all means to the district. Early in his term, to help. Even with a large body he implemented a blood data- built, yet he walked and talked bank among its members. Blood like a gentle giant-soft-spoken types of Cebuano bros were listed and mild-mannered. down to speed up the acquisition "AIl this help had never of matching blood types in case materialized if not for the kind- of emergencies. heartedness of the brethren of Forward-looking, his Cebu," he said. knack for sliding solutions dis- Besides the material aid, creetly and smoothly into place he said that certain Cebu Masons had readied R7-Afortough times were actually deep into the relief ahead. works. So, when the deadly ca- lamities came, Cebu silently When the 7.2 magnitude quake shook the Visayas, two pilot bros emerged as the hub of Masonic from Maktan No. 3o flew air relief intheVisayas. o EC force choppers to deliver relief

The Cabietow j 201 3 !pe.rat IsrLr+ 75 For two weeks, typhoon- The ocular inspection was to devastated Tacloban was just happen for another ro days when another calamity for WV Benito commercial flights resumed in Tan, PJGD, chairman of the GLP this Eastern Visayan city. Committee on Charity. On November 24, he Not until he stepped on boarded the plane in Manila and saw Tacloban for himself \ rith MW Juanito G. Espino, Jr., that the city had dramatically Grand Master. But their flight turned into a deep, personal, was diverted to Cebu due to heavy commitment for him to embrace. traffic of U.S. military aircrafts in "The first thing I saw was Tacloban airport conducting re- the dilapidated and sorry situ- lief operations. ation of the airport and the cars They arrived at Tacloban on the roadsides in topsy-tuny at 2:go p.m.-zl/z hours late. piles," he said. The flight disruption was WV Tan knows a disas- only a precursor of the unusual ter when he sees one. Currently, experiences he would meet in the he is the Director of the Philip- city. pine National Red Cross (PNRC) Pasay City Chapter. Roller-coaster But his early coldness was partly traceable to the late and Some zo bros met him slow response of the GLP itself. and MW Espino at a water-dam- After the strongest typhoon ever aged barbecue restaurant. They to hit man on record slammed all waited to share lunch with into Tacloban on November B, them-a whole fried chicken. it took the GLP nearly a week to The single-course lunch call for a meeting. vanished to z dozen bros in a Only on November 14 was minute, leaving only a strip and the Yolanda Relief Operations the sauce. launched.

Theeabletow | )*'i 3 5p*rial Issue "Seeing the situation," VW Tan brethren?"' said, "I brought out our emer- In the whole afternoon, gency supply of Chinese canned WV Tan rode on a roller-coaster goods." of thoughts and emotions until When served, one bro who dusk came. sampled a meat loaf remarked, As he boarded the vehicle "Kuya Ben, in the last,twenty thatwould take them to Ormoc, days, I tried all the means to cook a mother and child came begging sardines and noodles in different beside him. ways because sardines and noo- "I handed food to the dles are all what we have. Today mother but I could not look at is a real lunch for us, having real her eyes because I might break food." do\Amr" he said. VW Tan said he would But the child kept staring have waffled before the bros had at him all this time. Again, he he not occasionally veered the evaded the eyes ofthe boy. conversations to business. "I turned around. I don't But even business matters knornr why. But there was some- were rueful. thing in the eyes of that boy that "I learned that a relative hit me so hard," he said. "That of a brother had passed away encounter with the mother and because there was no insulin child was the motivation that available. They even tried herbal hardened my resolve." medicine but to no avail," WV Tan said. "There are doctors but Game plan no medicine there." As helisted down the woes But there was another and wants of the bros, his eyes unusual thing about the Visayas intermittently switched between trip. the Mormon Church across the From Manila. MW Espino restaurant and the Iglesia ni tightly held onto a bulky plastic Cristo Church nearby. bag in his hand. There was Php "They were very organ- Too,ooo cash in it. ized with tents for their members In every district stop, the only. They cared for their mem- Grand Master would pull a hun- bers first before other denomina- dred or Php zoo,ooo. He would tions. It hit me what Freemasons hand the money over to the are doing for their brethren," VW District Deputy Grand Master Tan observed. "I asked myself (DDGM) for the relief of the ca- 'What have we done for our own lamity-stricken bros in the area.

The Cabietoir/ | 2013 \per ial :r,.:e 77 "The Grand Master bor- Posts were also put up in Bicol rowed the money from his wife. for bros who had taken the land He just wanted to move things route-in Bulusan, Sorsogon; fast," WV Tan said. "It was an ad- in Legazpi, Albay; and in Naga, vance to be reimbursed from the Camarines Sur. Grand Lodge." Theywere mannedbyWB But the Grand Master's Noel Rosal, Bro. Eugene Cua and handouts were just temporary. Bro. Jerome Lee-al1 from May- Back in Manila, WV Tan on Lodge No. 6r. buckled dorrrn to work. VW Beda Quiambao was "The Charity Committee assigned in the Metro Manila didn't have a disaster program. post. At the last minute, I worked overnight on the flowcharts and Delivery taskings," said VW Tan. Yolanda had actually With the assistance posts changed the usual Masonic char- already set up outside of Leyte, game plan. ity Handing checks VW Tan worked next on how to over was not enough an)rrnore. bring the aid right into Tacloban. Some things counted more im- Quickly, he collected all portantlythan money this time. the relief supplies he could pos- An on-site base was set sible get in a week-rice, canned up Tacloban headed in by .VW goods and clothes. Timewas cru- Edward Chua, Junior Grand lec- cial. turer for the Visayas. WB Anson Dy and the posts Next, were set up bros of Labong Lodge No. leading 59 to Manila to intercept took turns packing all the relief fleeing but distressed bros and supplies at the ground floor of their families-in Ormoc, Leyte the Grand Lodge. under WV Roger Uy; and in Cebu VW Edwin P. Costes, City, Cebu under VW Sansaluna DDGM NCR-D, lent to the GLP Pinagayao. his ro-wheeler truck for trans- Bros, who wished to be re- port of the relief supplies to located, could call on these posts. Tacloban. Once their identities were Con- The Charity Committee firmed, they were to be admitted was up and ready to go. But VW for temporary shelter. Financial Tan was not taking chances. aid was given for longer stays, or Around November 11, for transportation fare if they had a Red Cross relief convoy was other choice of relocation site. stopped by the New People's

The Cabletovr I 20'13 Special issue Army (NPA) as it approached powerhomemedicalequipments Matnog in Sorsogon, the ferry of ailing bros, were already sold jump-offto the Visayas. out in the market. The armed men wanted For this, VW Tan called to divert the Red Cross trucks to on YW John T. Teng of Laong their territory. But the Red Cross Laan Lodge No. rB5. The latter personnel stood pat to protect sourced out the gensets from the the relief supplies marked for importers themselves. Tacloban. "The gensets were only A deal was reached. A lent to the Tacloban brethren," portion of the relief was handed said VW Tan. "Once power re- to the NPAS. The convoy was sumes in their areas, the gensets okayed to safely proceed. are to be returned to the GLP." So, VW Tan asked RW Even tarpaulins were hard Tomas Rentoy III, Senior Grand to find afterYolanda. Warden, for police escort. Along with battery- Two cops went with the charged solar lights, these GLP relief truck to Tacloban at equipments and materials were the end of November. shipped next to Tacloban. But not all the help was loaded into the GLP truck. Some Lesson came later. In Tacloban, a bro in the From basic needs like medical profession handed VW canned goods and rice, the Char- Tan a list of "maintenance" med- ity Committee slowly upped its icines not locally available. The services to intermediate level. drugstores were ransacked by MW Espino, for instance, looters. had issued iron roof sheets to Poring over the list, WV the Tacloban bros to repair their Tan found out that they were homes and return to their former medicines requiring doctors' lives disrupted by the monster prescriptions. storm. job He passed the of gath- A total of Php 17 million ering the medicines to WB Adria- cash donations were collected, tico "Akok" Tee of Biak Na Bato distinctly set aside as a super ty- Lodge No. 7. When collected, phoon Yolanda fund. they were shipped to Tacloban With available fund, more fast via the DLTB Bus. programs can be drawn up to Also, a number of equip- hasten the recovery of the calam- ments, Iike generator sets to ity-stricken bros.

T*re Cabletori, | 2013 Special lsiue 79 it!ffit .Jr#; 'r ffi # :ril ,rrlrt&llff For this, MW Espino issued a of TGAOU. In times of tragedy, Damage Assessment Form for all everyone is on the level," he said. : the Visayan bros wanting to avail "Tragedy is the greatest leveler." of GLP help. But suriender is not the attitude Nearly six months after we must wear when disasters "/ Yolanda, VW Tan soberly looked come regardless how powerful. back, not so much at the horrors "We need somebody to nurse us. but, at the Masonic lessons the Otherwise, we perish. That is the calamity had brought. lesson TGAOU teaches us, to as- li I of us are at the mercy sist each other," he said. o EC .F ir*- L ili* s ;, "c_r

VW Edward Chua, Junior Grand Lecturer for the Visayas, is the Charity Committee's point man in Tacloban. Their famity- owned school, the Asian Development Foundation Cottege, served as the drop-off and warehouse of Masonic relief sup- plies and coordinating center in Tacloban. Donations for the relief fund of the brethren in the Visayas, who had been devastated by super ty- phoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013, nearly reached Php 16.5 mil- lion atthe end of March. "The outpouring of fratemal relief in and out of the GLP grand jurisdiction feels uplifting to the spir- it," said MW Juanito G. Espino, Jr., GrandMaster. He said that he particularly set the donations as a distinct flrnd for the alleviation of thebrethren devas- tated by the monster tlphoon. "Our brethrenhave gotten overthe imme- diate needs. lJow they will need help in reconstructing their lives which takes longerto accomplish," he said. \s"f Visayan brethren affected by e ".. Yolanda can get a Damage Assess- *****.*"'u.#-)r Ytc *f,.. ment Form from the Committee on -,k .r,.;i Chari$/ office at the GLP Hostei to apply for a financial aid. VW Benito Tan, PJGD, chairman of the GLP Prepared T. Committee on Charity, is the workhorse by Ms. Cecilia uehind the collection and delivery of relief Amancio GLP Cashier, the list of do- supplies to the typhoon-devastated bros in nors to the fund is presented in the Tacloban. nextpage.

8',| Donations for Yolanda Relief Fund As of March 24,2014

Masonic Service Association 01/30/14 152302 6,020,000.00 of North America 11/21/13 151338 Grand Lodqe ofJapan 1,075,000.00

03/10/14 1 s2B1 5 United Grand Lodge of Queensland 729,192.04 11/2s/13 151379 Masonic District RX-A & X-B 489,642.60

01/16/14 1 52081 Philcan Lodge No. 137 449,976.51 12/04/13 151530 Masonic District NCR -D 400,000.00 Bro. Stan Boyask 11/28/13 151446 360,000.00 Thru MW Peter Lim Lo Suy

12/13/13 1 51 655 Filcan Cabletow Masons 280,427.00 Dist. GL of Hong & the Far East 11/22/13 1 51 363 276,888.00 GL of Enqland Gardena Moneta Lodge 12/23/13 151807 215,000.00 No.372, USA GeneralGrand Chapter 01/08/14 151926 215,000.00 Order of the Eastern Star 02/14/14 152485 Glacier Lodge No. 10 215,000.00 12/21/13 151795 Eden Lodge No. 1530 E.C. 190,000.00 Dist Grand Lodge of North lsland, 12/21/13 151793 180,000.00 NewZealand 11/20/13 151315 Grand Lodge of Scotland Lodges 179,215.00 District Grand Chapter of Far East (P34,000.00) District Grand Lodge of Far East . (P42,680.00) Lodge Perla Del Oriente No. 1034 S.C. (P51,035.00)

Lodge Han Yang (P51,500.00)

01/13/14 151994 Albany Masonic Association lnc. 139,61 1.00

82 The {abletow | }013 Special ls:ue 12/04/13 151521 Dist. Deputy Grand Lodge of Mark 138,800.00 Master Mason of Hong Kong

11/22/13 1 51 3s6 Dr. Sun Yat Sen Mem. Lodge 398 132,000.00

11/1sl13 151198 Masonic District Rlll-F r 20,000.00

12/09113 1 51 583 Torbnto West Filipino Masons 110,613.20

11/26/13 1 51400 Masonic District RIll-G 109,200.00 11/12/',t3 151122 Bro. Jun Ramos 108,925.00 & Masons from Chicaqo 12/18/14 151729 Most Worshipul Prince Hall 107,500.00 Grand Lodge of Washington 12/23/13 151810 A Disaster Relief Fund from USA 107,s00.00

01/20114 152132 Alpha District (Calgary) 104,000.00

11/13/13 151139 VW Sixto Esquivias, lV 100,000.00

11/26/13 1 51 393 VW MichaelJ. David 100,000.00

11/1s/13 151212 VWJoven K.Chua r 00,000.00

11/18/'t3 1 51 238 Batangas Masoni< Association 100,000.00 12/18/13 151724 Filipino Freemason Auckland 96,021.00 NewZealand

02/26/14 152626 Solidarity Lodge No. 1 457 94,600.00 11/15/13 151216 Leonard Wood Lodge No. 105 78,500.00 11/13/13 151146 Mabini Lodqe No.39 75,000.00 11118/13 't51249 Norberto Amoranto 65,000.00 Mem. Lodqe No.358 12/04/13 151516 Gonzaga Lodge No.66 65,000.00

01/15114 1 52033 La Trinidad Lodge No. 344 62,000.00

11/25/13 I 51 370 Masonic District Rlll - D 60,000.00 11/13/13 151152 lsagani Lodge No.96 56,000.00

11/22/13 151362 Dist. GL of the Far East GL of SC 55,888.00

12104/13 1 51 520 Lodge St. John No. 618 S.C. 54,280.00

03/18/14 1 53046 Orient of Socsksargen 53,000.00 12/18/13 151725 VW Barry Rushton 51,989.00 12/16/13 151692 Central Luzon Multi-District 51,500.00 Convention

The Cabletow 2Lr ! 3 lpeciailssrrr 83 12/10113 151608 Mu lti-District Convention 51,1 50.50 of Northern Luzon

12/03/13 1 51 506 Park Lodge No. 516 G.L. 50,324.00 of NewYork (for Bohol)

11/14/13 1 51 183 West to East Charity Organization 50,000.00

11/12/13 1 51 109 VW Nelson Yau 50,000.00 12/02/13 151474 VW Manuel C. Espiritu, Jr. 50,000.00 12/02/13 151475 VW Eulalio Lorenzo 50,000.00

11/26/13 1 51 407 VW DomingoTeng 50,000.00

11113/13 1 51147 Sanchez Mira Lodge No.233 50,000.00

12/02/13 1 51 473 MW Juanito G. Espino, Jr. 50,000.00

11/11/13 1 51 100 Masonic District RVI-A 50,000.00 11/27 /13 151421 Grand & Glorious Order of the 50,000.00 Knights of the Creeping Serpents 11 /11/13 151101 Galaxi Petroleum 50,000.00 c/o Bro. Toto Contrevida 11/13/13 151153 Alfonso Lee Sin 50,000.00 MemorialLodge No. 158 12/17 /14 151714 Hiram Lodge No.88 50,000.00 11/22/13 151365 Pinoy Masons of WA 47,038.00 12/04/13 151522 MW MichaelZetser, PGM 46,985.50 (Grand Lodge of Japan) 11/19/13 151274 Gen. Artemio Ricarte 45,000.00 Lodge No.322 02/07 /14 152405 Angalo Lodge No.63 43,786.00 12/13/13 151658 Mac Arthur Lodge No. 183 43,000.00 02/14/14 152484 Mt. Juneau-Gastineaux 43,000.00 Lodge No.21 11/29/13 151462 Kaduh Lodge No.278 42,500.00 01/13/14 151993 TheBelmont-Albion 41,760.00 Lodie No.137 CitrtZ 12/10/13 151632 Order of the Secret Monitor 40,000.00 12/04/13 151526 Grand Order of the Blue Rabbit 40,000.00 01/03/14 151859 lsaac Puno Lodge no.401 40,000.00 12/0s/13 151534 Dr. Jose P. Rizal Lodqe No. 270 40,000.00

84 Theeabletow | )01 3 Special lssue 11/1s/13 r 51 208 Bulacan Lodge No.4O0 40,000.00 12/03/13 151493 Carmen Valley Lodge No. 250 36,667.00 & Mindanao Bodies A.&A.S.R. 12102/13 15"1470 Capitol City Lodge No. 174 35,000.00

12/O3l't3 1 51 507 Gramercy Lodge G.L.of NewYork 33,258.00 11/12/13 151373 Quezon CityTrowelClub 31,500.00 11/14/13 151170 VW SilvinoTejada - M'DRIl-D 30,000.00 11t18/13 "t51240 VW Joseph Tan 30,000.00 11125/13 151375 Montalban Masonic Lodge No.376 30,000.00 12/16/13 151699 VWVicVallejo 30,000.00 12/21113 151798 Mayon Lodge No.61 30,000.00 01115/14 152054 St. John The Baptist Lodge No. 352 30,000.00 12/21/14 151791 The Grand Lodge of Alberta 29,238.30 AF &AM 11/22/13 151364 Foochow Lodge No.1912EC & Ca- 28,i 30.00 thay Lodge No.4737 EC 11118/13 151236 Masonic District RIV-D 28,000.00 01/02/14 15't828 Mount Matutum Lodge No.156 27,000.00 11/14/"t3 151184 Macario Ramos 25,000.00 Memorial Lodge No.355 12/03113 151490 Capitol Masonic Corporation 25,000.00

12/09/13 1 51 586 Mississauga Lodge No. 524 23,435.00

11/18/13 1 51 250 Alberta Filipino 23,408.00 Masonic ConferralTeam 11/18113 151232 Phil Masonic Association 21,500.00 of America lnc.

12/03/13 1 51 505 Jose Rizal Lodge No.l 172 21,500.00 G.L. of NewYork (for Bohol) 02/01/14 152318 Mt. Diwata Lodge No.235 21,500.00

03/19/14 1 53087 Okinawa Lodge No. 118 21,500.00 11/20113 151318 Mr. & Mrs. David Mcguire 20,112.00 11/12/13 151123 VW Rene F. Henson 20,000.00 11/12/13 151121 Tuguegarao Lodge No. 408 20,000.00 12/0s/13 I 51 533 Tagaytay Lodge No.165 20,000.00

11/21/13 1 51 343 Pinaglabanan Lodge No. 374 20,000.00

The Cabletow I 2t I I Specrar l!!u€ 85 12/03/13 151489 Pangasinan Lodge No.56 20,000.00 12/06/13 151554 Order of the Amaranth 20,000.00 Nueva Ecija Court No.31 11/14/13 1 5117 5 Kasilawan Lodge No.77 20,000.00 11/1s/13 151209 Hagonoy Lodge No.369 20,000.00 12/04/13 151529 Gualberto C Agatep, Sr. 20,000.00 Memorial Lodge No.341 12/06/13 151552 Grand Court of the Philippines 20,000.00 Order of the Amaranth 11/20/13 151310 Cagayan Valley Lodge No. 133 20,000.00 01/23/14 152186 Butuan Lodge No.299 20,000.00 12/18/13 151731 Maharlika Shrine Club 20,000.00 02/13/14 152477 Timberland Lodge No. 21 9 20,000.00 12/09/13 151584 Remembrance Lodge No. 586 18,748.00 12/17 /13 151700 Pintong Bato Lodge No.51 18,500.00

01/15/14 1 52058 Casino Travelers 18,500.00

12/19/13 151752 The Grand Guardian 17,200.00 Council of California

11/14/20 1 51 187 FRANK REED HORTON 17,000.00 Memorial Lodge No.379 11/1s/13 1 5121 5 Laoag Lodge No.71 16,800.00 11/1s/13 151211 MasonicTaiChi Club 15,000.00 11/13/13 151140 Masonic District NCR-G 15,000.00 c/o Lodge 286 11/1s/13 151214 Maharlika Lodge No.180 't5,000.00 11/21/13 151329 Jacobo Zobel Mem. Lodge No.202 15,000.00 12/14/13 151690 Jose Abad Santos 15,000.00 MemorialLodge No.333 12/06/13 151553 Order of the Amaranth 12,000.00 llang,llang Court No. 20 12/10/13 151596 Pampariga Masonic Lodge No.48 12,000.00

12/23/13 1 51 809 Bro. Christopher Langly 1 1,51 5.93 12/13/13 1516s2 Lodge of Menorca No.60 I 1,352.00 Province of Baleares

02/06/14 152384 Apo Kahoy Lodge No. 166 1 i,000.00

86 The Cabletou, i 2C I I 5nr(ial ,(sue 02/01/14 1s2563 Traveller's Square & Compass 10,500.00 Golfers Club lnc. 11/14/13 151178 VW Rolando Ubaldo 10,000.00

11/12/13 151 1 10 VW Mario A. Ancheta 10,000.00

11/28/13 1 51 441 VW Andres Pangilinan, Jr., DDGM 10,000.00 11/13/13 151138 Muntinlupa City Lodqe UD 10,000.00 11/14/13 r51161 Marikina Lodge No. 119 10,000.00

11 /21 /13 151326 Marcelo H. Del Pilar Lodge No.272 10,000.00 11/19/13 151258 Mandaluyonq City Lodqe No.277 10,000.00 11/18/13 151254 Mabini-Kalaw Lodge No. 195 10,000.00

12/02/13 1 51485 Juan Sumulong 10,000.00 MemorialLodqe No.169 11/14113 151171 Itawes Lodge No. 215 10,000.00 11114113 151179 WM Jimmy Pacanan 10,000.00 11/14/13 151'.t76 Bro. Arsenio'Lim 10,000.00 11/12/13 151 107 Araw Lodge No.18 10,000.00 11/20/'.t3 15't302 Ang Tipolo Lodge No. 334 10,000.00 12/16/13 151699 Bro. Joselito Enriquez 10,000.00 12/16/13 151711 Wenceslao Trinidad Lodge No. 365 10,000.00 12/17/13 151794 Auckland Royal Arch 7,200.00 12121/13 151225 Bro. Alcantara & Bro. Relucio 7,000.00 11/16/13 151423 Gen. Llanera Mem. Lodqe No.168 5,700.00 11/27 /13 151180 Bro. Frederick Duico 5,620.00 11/14/13 151459 WB Dave Pascual 5,000.00 11/29/13 151102 WB Armando Cazzola s,000.00

11/12/13 151127 Walana Lodge No. 13 5,000.00 11/21/13 151325 VW Roseller M. Malabanan 5,000.00 11/12/13 151108 VW Pablito Guevarra 5,000.00 11/18/13 151237 VW Florante Comia 5,000.00

12/06/13 1 51 55',1 Tumauini Lodqe No.251 5,000.00 11/1s/13 151193 San Jose Del Monte Lodge No.357 5,000.00

1112s/13 1 51377 Mayon Chapter No.1, OES 5,000.00

11/22/13 1 51 355 Julian S. Ocampo 5,000.00 MemorialLodge No.146

T** C.li:lleg*:nv i . ;:; ] )*a r :t: irrr:- 87 11/20/13 Gov Luis O. Ferrer Sr. MemorialLodqe No.336 151587 Ganano Lodge No.313 151376 11 /19/13 151273 Bro. Jimmy Lao 12/21/13 151797 12/19/13 151754 Bethel#21 of British Columbia 11/15/13 151202 IMES Class 26 - Santino 11/14/13 151188 La Guardia Lodoe No.378 3,210.00 11/16/13 151224 Bro. GilMendoza 11/11/13 151104 VW Roy M. Chu 11/14/13 151182 11/25/13 151378 Laureano S. Ledres Sr. Memorial Lodqe No.271 11/20/13 Tagaytay Lodge No. 165

1 51 589 12/19/13 151753 11/19/13 151266 umbayan Lodge No.4 11/12/13 151128 VWJojo Ellazar

I.,a-t' The three principal rounds of which are I f denominated as Faith, Hope and _. -. --JI Char- !t' tf ity; which admonish us to have faith in ' tti I .qii God, hope of immortality, and charity J t' .' ,1." for all mankind. The greatest of these is r

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8B *,4-u "For the first time, lve felt t Brotherly Love and Relief. Our tenets are real."

\IW Bdward. Chua Junior Grand Lecturer

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