Vol. 12, No. 16, February 9, 2009

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz (in photo) delivered his State of the City address at the City Development Council Meeting in Iligan last Jan. 21.

In his report, Mayor Cruz discussed how the city government coped with the major adversities that besieged the city during the year. Among them were the city's struggle against the MOA on Ancestral Domain which would have removed 8 barangays from Iligan and would become part of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity or BJE; the troubles perpetuated by lawless MILF elements; the devastating floods; and the global financial and economic crises.

The mayor also reported on the city's major accomplishments during the year, among which were the increase in revenues generated by the city from P820M in 2007 to P920M in 2008; and various socio-economic services and projects being undertaken during the year. Among the highlights in the report were the updates on major projects, such as Iligan-Bukidnon Road Project worth P145M; the Water Supply Improvement Project, P345M; Materials Recovery Facility, P86M; the Circumferential Road (C-3) Project, P313M; Drug Treatment & Rehabilitation Center, P15M; Farm to Market Roads, P25M; and Barangay Development Projects, P115M; altogether totalling P1,044,000,000.

YEAR OF THE OX
LCHS celebrates lunar new year
By Christine Veronica B. Uy

The Lunar New Year celebration at LCHS had all the precarious trimmings of how the Year of the Ox will eventually unfold in 2009 -- simple and modest sans the usual customary flamboyance for Chinese cultural demonstrations as were previously mounted by the school.

As if taking the cue from the gloomy predictions of an impending and an ironical, un-bullish year, the Chinese department saw to it that the celebration would be straightforward showcasing only a lantern parade which exhibited the zodiac year of animals represented by each grade levels. But despite these reserved intentions, the welcome opening of the Lion and Dragon dance still managed to set the right bullish mood to greet the Chinese community with its usual flair.

And just like any celebration gathering in LCHS, the event ended with much enthusiasm from everyone as they all thronged to the luncheon fares which were abundantly contributed by parents and students alike, as if the recent Christmas and New Year food bash wasn't enough.

Leonardo Go, 76

Leonardo C. Go (Batch '55), a.k.a. Leung Hing, died last Jan. 24 in Cagayan de Oro City. He was 76. He passed away due to complications of lung cancer. He was laid to rest on Jan. 30, 2009 at the Cagayan de Oro Gardens, Airport Road, Lumbia. The late Leonardo Go is survived by his wife, Juanita Quimbo Go, and children: Maria Theresa Go, Marianita Go-Dirilo, Reynaldo Go, Maria Lenita Go, and Noreen Go. His wife Juanita is the sister of the late Jesus Quimbo, husband of Fe "Guat Ching" Dy-Quimbo. We request our pious readers to pray for the eternal repose of his soul.

Congrats, Doc Joe!

Jose U. Tan Jr. (Batch '84) recently completed his Clinical Fellowship in Colorectal surgery at the National University Hospital, Singapore.

Based in Cebu City, he specializes in hand-assisted laparoscopy (laparoscopy appendectomy and laparoscopy colon surgery).  He is the son of Jose Tan and brother of LCHS-AA Treasurer Geraldine "Gigi" Tan (Batch '87). Our congratulations to Dr. Joe Tan Jr.!

Re: "Straight from the Heart"
From Marie Janiefer Q. Lee (Batch '87), Manila, Philippines; email: [email protected]
Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:32:37 -0800 (PST)

To Josefina Rizalina Guiritan:  Hi Dat! Finally got hold of your email address from Spectrum. Thanks for writing and thanks for reading my articles before. Life can be so cruel that it can affect one's heart and soul. I love writing so much but I refrained these past years because all I have are sad stories to tell, and I don't want to turn the Spectrum's mood into something gloomy.  But things are looking up. Hopefully I can submit some articles in the near future.  Hope we could get together here.  I heard from Carina that you're now based in Manila. Hope to see you soon.

To Bro Henry, Achi Nene, Siansei Bian-Bian, Antong, and Mei-Mei:  Just learned about the passing of your dad when I read through the latest issue of the LCHS Spectrum.  Our belated condolences. From Yu-Uy & Josephine Jane Go-Lim

To Juaning and family: We are very sorry for your loss. Our deepest sympathy to your family. --Peter, Tita and family.

Life is about ... waking up each day to discover something new; meeting old folks but making new conversations; walking through old roads but still feeling nice about it; realizing that you have grown older but still feeling young at heart; meeting busy schedules but still finding time for old friends; being nostalgic about bygone days but looking forward to better days. Life is what we make it.


Christine Veronica B. Uy

Last Jan. 19-21, Benghong L. Vy (in photo, left) and Henry T. Siao (in photo, right), President of the LCHS Board of Trustees and School Principal, respectively, took time to attend the First Summit of Philippine-Chinese Schools which was held at the Century Park Hotel, Manila. Judging from the heavy turnout of attendance, the conference managed to pull together school administrators and trustee representatives from various Chinese schools all over the country. The summit was sponsored by the Tan Yan Kee Foundation.

The officers and staff of the Philippine Chinese Education Research Center alternately took their turns in presenting their findings on the status of Chinese schools in the country through their position papers. The center's President, Emilio Gan, opened the first series of discussions with his paper entitled, "Philippine Chinese Instructions' Position," the gist of which distinctly pointed out that Chinese language just like English is also considered a second language. The other equally important dissertations are:

"The Character and Standard in Teaching the Chinese Language" by Yang Mei Mei expressed the importance in teaching conversational approach to Mandarin, drawing on the listening and speaking aspects through literature discussions, songs and dances, as well as mandatory drills on reading and writing.

Vice Chairman of the center, James Wang, deliberated on his paper, "Philippine Chinese School's Chinese Language Instructors." The center's nation-wide survey (about 90%) notably identified the local Chinese teachers' professional deficiency in education units which is a vital requirement in the teaching profession. This existing constraint had prompted Chinese schools in Manila in 1998 to take remedial measures by hiring teachers direct from mainland China. Though such steps are not the solution to the problem but other schools in the other regions soon followed suit. School administrators/proprietors saw much prudence as it resolved to meet up in instituting proper Mandarin teaching and at a comparable cost as hiring local teachers. By the millennium, a four-year scholarship program was drawn out to qualified high school graduates to learn Mandarin in designated schools in China with the stipulation that the grantee will serve five years of teaching in his Alma Mater.

Finally, the fourth topic, "Philippine Chinese Schools' Evaluation," by Hao Hai Ting proposed a standard evaluation system and format which will be conducted to all Chinese schools nation-wide. It defined the need to come up with a unified textbook and teaching instruction which should serve as parameters in assessing the standard and quality of Chinese language teaching in basically all Philippine Chinese schools, an initial step into the accreditation process. This led into the formation of a task force committee composed of board of trustee representatives from each school to work out the aforementioned proposal.

Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

In celebration of Valentines Day, here's a list of the all-time favorite LOVE songs that have remained ours to LOVE and to cherish till death do us part:

o LOVE Is A Many Splendored Thing
o LOVE Me With All Of Your Heart
o I LOVE How You Love Me
o LOVE Means You Never Have To Say You're Sorry
o My LOVE And Devotion
o And I LOVE You So
o April LOVE
o Never My LOVE
o I LOVE You Because
o I'm In The Mood For LOVE
o LOVE Letters
o LOVE Me Tender
o Portrait Of My LOVE
o The Voice Of LOVE
o To Sir With LOVE
o True LOVE
o True LOVE Ways
o What Now My LOVE
o When I Fall In LOVE
o No Other LOVE
o Somewhere My LOVE
o You Don't Have To Say You LOVE Me
o Can't help Falling In LOVE
o Puppy LOVE
o Secret LOVE
o Young LOVE
o From Russia With LOVE
o And I LOVE Her
o My LOVE For You
o World Without LOVE

Charles O. Sy, Batch '67

Rene Tio practices the art of savings.  He believes it's always good to save for a Rene day.

Roderick Ngo recently showed me the Suite Room in his Pier Cuatro Hotel. It's so homey it feels like home suite home.

A giant panda recently escaped from a zoo in China.  It created a pandamonium among the crowd.

I forgot to attend the wedding of my friends, Gerald Lim and Evalor Tan. Can't blame me; their invitation says: Lim-Tan Wedding.

Light travels faster than sound. That explains why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Plans are afoot to construct a new multi-purpose sport center in LCHS.  Spearheading this ambitious project is the Lanao Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (LFCCCI), led by President Robert Co.  The drawings, designed by architect Peter Dy, have been submitted to the LFCCCI for approval. There was a separate design for a similar project prepared years ago by Edmund Samson. But it seems that the design was shelved as it would cost a fortune to construct.

The new design conceptualized by Peter Dy appears to be more viable as it is designed to be constructed in staggered phases.  The first phase, estimated to cost about P11 million, covers the construction of the main edifice. Once completed, the building itself will already be usable for various indoor sport activities and social functions.  Remaining phases may follow later depending on availability of funds.  These phases will cover construction of the main stage, bleachers, sound and lights control room, dressing rooms, showers and lockers, administrative offices, concessionaires and ticket booths, reception lobby, and a host of other amenities.

That the LCHS community deserves a new multi-purpose sport center is not the question.  The community needs a decent venue for various sport events and other school and social functions, such as school programs, convocations, commencement exercises, alumni homecomings, plays, banquets, concerts, among others.  The existing gym is old and battered. It has seen better times. The community needs a new facility that will breed and showcase under a conducive ambience our new generation of talents in sports and cultural pursuits.

The question that is paramount in everyone's mind is: Do we have the funds to push through with the project?  That is as much a challenge for the LFCCCI as it is for the rest of the members of our community.  The LFCCCI cannot undertake this huge project alone.  Every sector of our community must contribute its share -- the business sector, our alumni here and abroad, and other benefactors.

Then and only then can we translate this dream to reality.

Igdono U. Caracho, Batch '66