"A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE" |
A good part of the
summer vacation of 1975 was spent with the Cadet Officer Candidates Course (COCC) of the
Citizen Army Training I (CAT-I) program. It was headed by Philippine Constabulary
Technical Sergeant Eulalio Ubas, the commandant, and his sidekick, Danny Tagle. I
don't recall how and why I signed up to become a CAT-I officer but the experience wasn't
too bad after all. One reason may be because my older brother was also an officer The senior year started and there were a few changes in my class. A significant change was the addition of Melito Darvin, son of long time Physics teacher, Mr. Honesto Darvin. He will become a good friend, and a leader, of our entire Class of 1976. Susan Daplas, from Binakayan, transferred to another high school. Elvira Gatuz, also from Binakayan, and Ma. Nora Camposagrado were added to our class. The boys remained outnumbered by the girls by a ratio of 2 to 1 - but rowdy as ever! While more than a few
struggled with Ms. Yolanda Algoso's Geometry class, Trigonometry under Ms. Aurora
Gervacio, while not necessarily a walk in the park, had a more relaxed atmosphere in
comparison. She was one of those responsible for giving us a solid foundation in
mathematics. Ms. Gervacio will eventually settle in Oceanside, California and become
not only a former teacher, but a friend to her former students living in the Americas.
We learned about the heroes and villains of Jose Rizal's novels in Mrs. Natividad
Enriquez's Pilipino class. We saw
Just like the previous years when boys had Scouting every Saturday, our senior year had us attending another extracurricular activity, the CAT-1 program. This time, it was for both boys and girls. This program was mandatory for all except those who chose to continue as Boy Scouts under Scout Master Carlito Monzon, those with physical impairments and those who were not Filipino citizens. The last two groups were not required to participate in drills and marches but had to show up just the same and do "Special Duty", a task that I haven't figured out up to this day, and what was special about it! Those who chose scouting would become "Maginoo" scouts, one of the higher ranks in the Boy Scouts program. They had an advantage over the boys who were in the CAT-1 program - they were allowed to grow their hair longer! I've had enough of Scouting - with all those camping trips, paying the weekly "dues" and endless meal of sardines - that the prospect of growing my hair longer during the school year did not sway me to sign up again as a Boy Scout. So, on "Sabardays", as Sarge Ubas would always call it, students were divided into platoons, companies and battallions, and performed military drills carrying wooden rifles. Every now and then, a few would pass out because of the heat and humidity, but nothing really serious, maybe a few scratches after falling in the hot concrete. I don't remember if the "Special Duty" people were there to administer first aid. Uniforms were military green "fatigues", and "MidSouth" tailoring, just a block away from school, was the recommended outfitter and got most of the tailoring work. I always wondered why my favorite tailor, "Gentry" (next to the bowling alley and across the "munisipyo"), did not get any part of the deal! I ended up as the platoon leader of the boys' Model Platoon. The word "Model" did not mean anything special, it was just the name of a boys platoon! With the girls, however, it was a different story. It was a well known fact that most of the good looking girls were in the Model Platoon. After dismissing everybody around noon, officers stayed a few more hours for meetings or just hung around with one another. I remember playing the guitar with Noli Panis, Resty Inocentes and Jose Sumangid. Afterwards, I would walk with Egay Sarroca and Malagasang girls, Lilian Tapawan, Eloisa Dayrit and Luisa Dayrit to "Bantayan" to catch a jeepney for the ride home. It was a fun time. The experience formed a special bond among the officers and we became close to one another even if we came from different places and backgrounds.
I had mixed emotions
when high school days finally came to an end. I was sad because I realized I will
miss all the fun with friends and acquaintances, but happy at the same time because I will
be going to college to pursue higher education, will make new friends and finally, embark
on a career. We went our separate ways, we grew up, became responsible adults, or
may have married and raised a family. Through it all as we take this journey of
life, high school proved to be very memorable - the days were fun, enjoyable and almost
worry-free! Those days are long over, they ended almost a quarter of a century ago,
but I will always remember the school, my classmates and teachers, and cherish my moments
with them. We can always go back in time to visit the past, in our memories, if we
wanted to, and say, "It is yesterday once more". Bong |
(he was the corps adjutant) in 1964-1965 when it was still called PMT.
Enlistees for the COCC met at the school grounds, learned basic military drills and lingo
("Military discipline is a state of order and obedience existing within a
command.") and learned about one another. I got to meet new friends from other
classes or sections. The COCC roster represented the entire breadth of the incoming
seniors. In my personal opinion, this was the first time in my high school days when
there was no segregation in the student population, all of us were equals, whether we
would end up in the highest or lowest sections in our fourth year. Sergeant Ubas or
"Sarge", was a disciplinarian and a career military man who knew what he was
doing, a man of integrity, a true officer and a gentleman. He was one of the role
models that I truly admired when I was growing up. Danny Tagle, for his part, played
the tough guy and enforcer, but really had a soft side on his personality. Before
the summer was over, most of us would become officers in the CAT-I program, with Zoilo
Minaldo as our corps commander and Adriano Delorito as the corps adjutant.
the
transformation of Noli Me Tangere's gentle Crisostomo Ibarra into El
Filibusterismo's violent Simon while admiring the beauty of his sweetheart, Maria
Clara. We felt sorry for Sisa and her sons, Basilio and Crispin, and we hated the
"contra-vidas" - the Spanish friars. We also studied Francisco Balagtas'
Florante at Laura, an epic piece of Filipino literature but in a strangely foreign
setting! I remember Lauro Samudio challenging us boys to solve his home-made puzzles
during Mrs. Gloria Tagle's Economics class. These gadgets were made of wires or wood
and can best be described as primitive Pinoy versions of a Rubik's cube. While
tinkering with these puzzles and suddenly surprised by a question from Mrs. Tagle about
the topic being discussed, a hapless boy would be fed the wrong, out-of-topic answer by
the other boys, and this will be followed by laughter. This was one of the pranks
that the boys would always play among themselves, while learning about the Law of Supply
and Demand, or other subjects, at the same time. We may not have realized at the
time, but it may be one of the reasons why we became close and still good friends until
now. How can I ever forget our English teacher, Mrs. Pacita Maligaya? She was
not our original teacher, but for reasons unknown, she came in to replace Ms. Lorna Garcia
in the first few weeks of the school year. It was Mrs. Maligaya's first year of
teaching at Imus Institute. She had a jovial personality and she was well
liked. Everybody got along very well with her. She never knew that some of the
boys, myself included, sneaked out of her class by climbing out of an open window.
This happened on a few occasions towards the end of her class when she was writing
something on the board and unaware of what was happening behind her. Mr. Darvin
introduced us to atoms, matter and energy in his Physics class. He always emphasized
the importance of this subject for students planning to take up technical courses in
college. Each of us recited Jose Rizal's "Mi Ultimo Adios" in maestra
Seņora Corazon Tined's Spanish class. Unfortunately, I felt like a parrot talking
without understanding most of what I was saying! I may have understood the first few
lines pero no comprendo bien el Espaņol despues de tantos aņos. I had my share of
"cutting classes" when one morning, my best friend, Bibing, and I came in a few
minutes late for our first class. We could have come to the class but we decided
instead to just go to the bowling alley and play a few frames. It didn't improve my
game!
the Philippines, the
owners decided to form their own professional league. Most of the star players at
the time were nearing the tail end of their careers (after playing in the MICAA league),
but still managed to have decent years in the new pro league. Among these star
players were Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, William "Bogs" Adornado, Atoy Co,
Jun Papa, Danny Florencio, Freddie Webb, Manny Paner and Yoyong Martirez. Abe King,
from Tinabunan in Imus, played many years after starting out with Toyota. Crispa and
Toyota became the dominant teams, and met many times for league championships. My
favorite team, Yco, became Yco-Tanduay (and eventually Tanduay) in the PBA. Aside
from Webb, it had Mike Bilbao, Joy Cleofas and Marte Samson as its mainstays. They
were a mediocre team, though, and will not win a PBA championship until several years
later. In international boxing, Muhammad Ali knocked out Smokin' Joe Frazier at the
Thrilla in Manila in September of 1975. The bout, still considered one of the
classic fights in boxing history, was officiated by Pinoy referee, Sonny Padilla.
Over the years, we have seen a few Latin dance craze. During our
last year in high school, it was the "salsa". People danced it to the tune
of "El Bimbo" and "La Balanga". Of course, you have heard of the
more recent "Lambada" and "Macarena", but I don't think that
"Sha-la-la" falls into this category! If you were more of a music listener
than a dancer, you will probably remember Elton John's "We All Fall in Love
Sometimes", Janis Ian's "At Seventeen", the Carpenters' "Only
Yesterday" and Barry Manilow's "Mandy" and "Sandra". How
about Morris Albert's "Feelings" and Rupert Holmes' "Terminal"?
You should be able to recall those. Or the song, "Dick and Jane" with the
immortal first line "Look, Dick, look......"? One of the biggest hits in
'75-'76 was David Pomeranz's love song, "If You Walked Away". He is
well-known anywhere else but the United States. I recently discovered that he
re-recorded this song in a duet with Sharon Cuneta. I recall fellow CAT officer
Nestor Ilas, after observing him listening intently on the song being played on the radio,
say afterwards, "Napakaganda ng kantang iyan!" Among the locals, Rico J.
Puno launched a successful singing career with his rendition of Barbra Streisand's
"The Way We Were", infused with Tagalog lyrics. Do you remember the lines,
"....pahalik-halik ka pa sa eyes, sa nose, sa cheeks...at sasabihin mong.. "I
love you"...", and "...namamasyal pa sa Luneta, ng walang pera..."?
Filipino
movie producers have always capitalized on sex to make profits. The bottom line has
always been money. The "bomba" Pinoy movies of the late '60s toned down
into the "bold" movies of the '70s. I and a few other boys went to the
Imus Theater (with its flea infested seats!) to see Ernie Garcia and Chanda Romero
cavorting under a waterfall in one of these movies. One of the most popular bold
movie during this era was Celso Ad. Castillo's "Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng
Lupa". This critically-acclaimed movie starred Miss Universe of 1969, Gloria
Diaz with Elizabeth Oropesa in a supporting role. Although tame when compared with
today's Pinoy bold movies, it showed braless actresses in wet t-shirts. It was also
around the same time that Alma Moreno and Lorna Tolentino emerged as bold stars.
Both will bear children for actor Rudy Fernandez.